CHAPTER XIII AT THE GROTTO

 "We have dropped something," said Cora as the party started off again.

 

"Yes," replied Gertrude, "I agree with Ray that the boys are jolly. We miss them already."

 

"Hush¹!" cautioned Cora. "We are to have nothing to do with boys on this trip."

 

She laughed at her own assertion.

 

"Nothing more to do with them?" asked Belle². Bess kept her machine within talking distance.

 

"Till the next time," replied Cora, throwing in the second speed gear.

"But we will certainly have to hurry now. What on earth do you suppose

Walter will do with that ram³?"

"What on earth do you think the ram will do with Walter?" replied Ray.

 

"He paid the farmer three dollars for him, and the man declared he could have him for nothing," said Belle. "Now, that three dollars—"

 

"Would have bought orchids," interrupted Cora, teasing Belle for her sentimentality.

 

"Cora," spoke⁴ Hazel suddenly, "did you hear what Ed said to Jack⁵ about

Paul's hold-up?"

"The forbidden topic," interrupted Gertrude. "Hazel, you don't want to lose the sheepskin for insubordination, do you?"

 

"But, Gertrude, please," begged Hazel quite seriously, "I really must speak to Cora. I will promise not to be blue, but you know I am very anxious about Paul."

 

"Then speak on, very briefly," replied Gertrude. "I will allow you exactly five minutes."

 

"Thanks," said Hazel. "Cora," she began again, "Ed told Jack that the papers lost from the mail belonged to Mr. Robinson, and have to do with a very valuable patent. Do you suppose the post-office will do anything to Paul?"

 

"Oh, you precious baby!" exclaimed Cora. "Don't you know that Paul has been entirely⁶ cleared? The mystery is simply who took the papers and otherwise left the mailbag intact?"

 

"Poor Paul!" sighed the sister.

 

"Poor Hazel!" added Cora. "A sister who is always worrying about a handsome brother is bound to lose him, eh, Gertrude?"

 

Gertrude blushed. She had only met Paul once, and at that time her remark was so positive that Cora had seized the opportunity of teasing the girl. That she never noticed boys was Gertrude's claim at college, and now Cora was delighted to have a chance of reversing the claim.

 

Daisy and Maud, who had been at some distance from the Whirlwind, now cut past Bess and Belle, making their way to the side of the big maroon⁷ car.

 

"Cora," called Daisy, "I forgot to tell you. I found this little satchel⁸ by the road where we stopped."

 

Cora gazed at the black bag that Daisy held up for her inspection⁹.

 

"Why," faltered¹⁰ Cora, "that must belong to Clip. Why didn't you ask to whom it did belong?"

 

"I really never thought a word about it until Maud said just now it must be Clip's."

 

"But why did you pick it up without asking?" insisted Cora, her voice somewhat indignant.

 

"It was dropped on the road. I thought of course it belonged to some of the girls, and just threw it in my car in a hurry when you called to us to hasten along," said Daisy, her voice sharp and eyes flashing.

 

"I am sure it must belong to Clip," said Cora, calming down. "I hope it will not inconvenience her."

 

"I wish you would take the smelly thing," shouted Daisy. "It smells like papa's office, and I hate drugs."

 

"Clip was going to see some sick relative," went on Cora, "and of course the satchel—"

 

"Must be filled with the sickness," and Daisy laughed sarcastically¹¹. "Well, papa's bag smells that way, but he has more than one 'sick relative.'"

 

Cora frowned. Gertrude looked surprised. Hazel shook her head at

Daisy.

"Toss it here," called Cora. "I just love disinfectants."

 

Daisy threw the bag into the Whirlwind. Then she put on speed and passed the big car.

 

For a few miles the girls seemed very quiet, scarcely any conversation being held.

 

It was but a short run to the Grotto¹², the little wayside tea-house. The party was a full hour late, but Cora knew she could depend upon generous excuses for the motor girls.

 

So many things might happen by the way, and so many things did happen.

 

"I suppose," murmured Ray, "the biscuit will be stony¹³. I do love hot biscuit."

 

"Don't worry. Tillie will keep things hot, if she possibly can do so. But I hear they have had some very busy days at the Grotto. I hope we have not hit upon the very busiest. Gertrude, have I told you about the Grotto? Did you know that Mathilde Herold and Adele Genung are keeping a tea-house this summer, to earn enough money for their senior year? And they have done surprisingly well. Yes, their folks have a summer place near the tea-house, so the girls go home nights, and of course the place must be very pretty—Tillie is an artist in decorating."

 

"Splendid!" exclaimed Gertrude. "Of course I know Tillie. What girl at Springsley doesn't know her? She has been decorating for every affair at the gym. And she always helped with chapel¹⁴. Oh, yes, indeed, Cora, I agree with you, Tillie Herold is an artist."

 

"Well, let us hope her talent is not confined to mere¹⁵ walls," said Ray.

"Hot biscuit requires a different stroke, I believe."

"In accepting us for to-day," said Cora. "Tillie stipulated¹⁶ that we should dine table d'hote and no questions asked. I hope, Ray, you will not be disappointed."

 

"Oh, there they are!" exclaimed Hazel. "I see some one waving her apron¹⁷!"

 

"That's Adele," replied Cora. "She knows how to wave aprons¹⁸. Don't you remember, Gertrude, the night she served the Welsh rarebit, when she made an apron of our best table-piece with a string through the middle?"

 

Cora turned her auto¹⁹ to the roadside. Then she called to the cars following:

 

"Here we are, girls. Get your machines well in from the road."

 

"Oh, what a charming place!" exclaimed Belle, who was not slow to observe the attractions of the little Grotto. It seemed all porch and vines, one of those picture places, ample for an eating house, but unsuited for anything else.

 

"There!" gasped²⁰ Daisy; "that's the sort of house to live in!"

 

"To live out of, you mean," put in Maud. "I can't see how one could live 'in' there."

 

The cars were all motionless now. Cora and Gertrude had already "escaped" from the college hug of Adele and Tillie. When the Chelton girls had been introduced, the vine-covered porch was actually filled with the members of the motor party.

 

"How splendid!" exclaimed Tillie, with that delightful²¹ German accent that defies letters and requires a pretty mouth to "exhale²²."

 

"Darling!" went on Adele, with all the extravagance of schoolgirl enthusiasm.

 

"You leave us no adjectives," remarked Cora. "I never saw anything so sweet. How ever did you get those vines to grow so promptly²³?"

 

"Wild cucumber," said Adele with a laugh, "Why, you know, dear, wild cucumber can no more help growing than you can. Isn't she tall, Tillie? I do believe you have grown inches since school, Cora."

 

"Yes, mother bemoans²⁴ it. My duds are all getting away from me."

 

"And we have been waiting lunch for you ladies. I did hope we would not have a single visitor to-day, so that we might entertain you properly," went on Adele, "but two horrid²⁵ men called. Wanted 'tea'; but indeed I know what they wanted—just a quiet place to talk about their old patent papers."

 

"Yes, and one broke a beautiful china cup," said Tillie.

 

"But he had his thumb gone," Adele hurried to say. "I saw him directly I went to pick up the pieces. So I suppose we could not exactly blame the man for dropping Tillie's real German cup."

 

"His thumb gone!" repeated Cora absently.

 

"Oh!" exclaimed Hazel. "The man we met after Paul's hold-up had lost a joint²⁶ of his thumb."

 

"And papa said the papers stolen were patent papers!" exclaimed Bess, all excitement.

 

"Hush!" whispered Belle. "Bess, you know father particularly said we were not to speak of that."

 

If, as is claimed, the mature woman has the wonderful advantage of an instinct almost divine, then the growing girl has, undoubtedly²⁷, the advantage of intuitive shocks—flashes of wireless²⁸ insight into threatening surroundings.

 

Such a flash was distinctly felt now through the Grotto—even the two young proprietors²⁹, who were not supposed to be really concerned, felt distinctly that "something was doing somewhere."

 

Cora sank down into a low wicker chair. Bess and Belle managed to both get upon a very small divan³⁰, while Daisy, Maud and Ray, the "three graces," stood over in the corner, where an open window let in just enough honeysuckle to sift³¹ the very softest possible sunshine about the group.

 

But Hazel lingered near the telephone. She had confided³² to Cora that

Paul was not at all well when he left home in the morning, and just now

she was wondering if it would seem silly for her to call up the

Whitehall Company and ask to speak with her brother.

At that instant the telephone bell rang.

 

It sent the expected shock through the little assemblage, and Cora jumped up as if she anticipated a message.

 

Tillie took down the receiver.

 

Presently she was saying "no" and "yes," and then she repeated Cora's name.

 

She handed the receiver to Cora with a whispered word.

 

Hazel's face went very white.

 

"You little goose!" exclaimed Bess, who instantly noticed the change.

"Is there no one here worth a telephone message but Hazel Hastings?"

"Yes, Ed—Ed Foster," they heard Cora say. Then she listened a long time. Her face did not betray pleasure, and her words were plainly disguised.

 

"All right, Ed," she said finally. "I will attend to it at once. Oh, yes, a perfectly³³ lovely time. Thank you—we are just about to dine. Good-by."

 

Cora was slow to hang up the receiver. And when she turned around

Hazel Hastings confronted her.

"Oh, is it Paul?" asked Hazel. "Tell me quickly. What has happened to

Paul?"

"Hazel," said Cora, "you must have your lunch. You are dreadfully excitable."

 

But it was Cora Kimball who was distracted, who played with her lunch without apparent appetite, and it was she who could take but one cup of tea in the fascinating little tea-house, the college girls' Grotto.

1 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

2 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

3 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

4 spoke   

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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 maroon   

v.困住，使（人）处于孤独无助之境；n.逃亡黑奴；孤立的人；酱紫色，褐红色；adj.酱紫色的，褐红色的

参考例句：

• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks.埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。
• Robinson Crusoe has been marooned on a desert island for 26 years.鲁滨逊在荒岛上被困了26年。

8 satchel   

n.(皮或帆布的)书包

参考例句：

• The school boy opened the door and flung his satchel in.那个男学生打开门，把他的书包甩了进去。
• She opened her satchel and took out her father's gloves.打开书箱，取出了她父亲的手套来。

9 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

10 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

11 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

12 grotto   

n.洞穴

参考例句：

• We reached a beautiful grotto,whose entrance was almost hiden by the vine.我们到达了一个美丽的洞穴，洞的进口几乎被藤蔓遮掩著。
• Water trickles through an underground grotto.水沿着地下岩洞流淌。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 stipulated   

vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的

参考例句：

• A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
• Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀，我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句

17 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

18 aprons   

围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份）

参考例句：

• Many people like to wear aprons while they are cooking. 许多人做饭时喜欢系一条围裙。
• The chambermaid in our corridor wears blue checked gingham aprons. 给我们扫走廊的清洁女工围蓝格围裙。

19 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

20 gasped   

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》

21 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

22 exhale   

v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发

参考例句：

• Sweet odours exhale from flowers.花儿散发出花香。
• Wade exhaled a cloud of smoke and coughed.韦德吐出一口烟，然后咳嗽起来。

23 promptly   

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。

24 bemoans   

v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的第三人称单数 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹

参考例句：

• He always bemoans the shortage of funds for research. 他总是叹息研究经费不足。 来自互联网

25 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

26 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

27 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

28 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

29 proprietors   

n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These little proprietors of businesses are lords indeed on their own ground. 这些小业主们，在他们自己的行当中，就是真正的至高无上的统治者。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques. 许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的酒店。 来自辞典例句

30 divan   

n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集

参考例句：

• Lord Henry stretched himself out on the divan and laughed.亨利勋爵伸手摊脚地躺在沙发椅上，笑着。
• She noticed that Muffat was sitting resignedly on a narrow divan-bed.她看见莫法正垂头丧气地坐在一张不宽的坐床上。

31 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

32 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。