"My dear Thomas, when you have been in the Admiralty a little longer you will know that 'bow' is not the gentleman who sets the time. What do you suppose would happen at Queen's Hall if the second bird-call said to the conductor, 'Henry, you're late'?"
"The whole gallery would go out and get its hair cut," said Archie.
"I'm not used to the Morse system of rowing, that's the trouble," explained Thomas. "Long-short, short-short-long, short-long. You're spelling out the most awful things, if you only knew."
"Be careful how you insult me, Thomas. A little more and I shall tell them what happened to you on the ornamental3 waters in Regent's Park that rough day."
"Really?" asked Simpson with interest.
"There's a long way yet," said Myra. "Dahlia and I will row if you're tired."
"This is an insult, Thomas. Shall we sit down under it?"
"Yes," said Thomas, getting up; "only in another part of the boat."
We gave up our seats to the ladies (even in a boat one should be polite) and from a position in the stern waited with turned-up coat-collars for the water to come on board.
"We might have sailed up a little higher," remarked Simpson. "It's all right, I'm not a bit wet, thanks."
"It's too shallow, except at high tide," said Myra. "The Armadillo would have gone aground and lost all her—her shell. Do armadilloes have shells, or what?"
"Feathers."
"Well, we're a pretty good bank-holiday crowd for the dinghy," said Archie. "Simpson, if we upset, save the milk and the sandwiches; my wife can swim."
The woods were now beginning to come down to the river on both sides, but on the right a grassy7 slope broke them at the water's edge for some fifty yards. Thither8 we rowed, and after a little complicated manoeuvring landed suddenly, Simpson, who was standing9 in the bows with the boat-hook, being easily the first to reach the shore. He got up quickly, however, apologized, and helped the ladies and the hampers10 out. Thereafter he was busy for some time, making the dinghy fast with a knot peculiarly his own.
"The first thing to do is to build a palisade to keep the savages11 off," said Archie, and he stuck the boat-hook into the ground. "After which you are requested to light fires to frighten the wild beasts. The woodbines are very wild at this time of the year."
"We shall have to light a fire anyhow for the tea, so that will be very useful," said the thoughtful Dahlia.
"Now you've spoilt my whole holiday. It was bad enough with the cake last week, but this is far, far worse. I shall go into the wood and eat berries."
"It's all right, here it is. Now you're happy again. I wish, if you aren't too busy, you'd go into the wood and collect sticks for the fire."
"I am unusually busy," I said, "and there is a long queue of clients waiting for me in the ante-room. An extremely long queue—almost a half-butt in fact."
I wandered into the wood alone. Archie and Dahlia had gone arm-in-arm up the hill to look at a view, Simpson was helping15 Myra with the hampers, and Thomas, the latest arrival from town, was lying on his back, telling them what he alleged16 to be a good story now going round London. Myra told it to me afterwards, and we agreed that as a boy it had gone round the world several times first. Yet I heard her laugh unaffectedly—what angels women are!
Ten minutes later I returned with my spoil, and laid it before them.
"A piece of brown bread from the bread-fruit tree, a piece of indiarubber from the mango tree, a chutney from the banana grove17, and an omelet from the turtle run, I missed the chutney with my first barrel, and brought it down rather luckily with the ricochet."
"But how funny; they all look just like sticks of wood."
"That is Nature's plan of protective colouring. In the same way apricots have often escaped with their lives by sitting in the cream and pretending to be poached eggs."
"The same instinct of self-preservation," added Archie, "has led many a pill called Beauchamp to pronounce its name Cholmondeley."
Simpson begged to be allowed to show us how to light a fire, and we hadn't the heart to refuse him. It was, he said, the way they lit fires on the veldt (and other places where they wanted fires), and it went out the first time because the wind must have changed round after he had begun to lay the wood. He got the draught18 in the right place the next time, and for a moment we thought we should have to take to the boats; but the captain averted19 a panic, and the fire was got under. Then the kettle was put on, and of all the boiled water I have ever tasted this was the best.
"You know," said Archie, "in Simpson the nation has lost a wonderful scoutmaster."
"Oh, Samuel," cried Myra, "tell us how you tracked the mules20 that afternoon, and knew they were wounded because of the blood."
Troop B to betray the secret password to you."
"I ignore you because you're jealous. May I have some more tea, Miss
Mannering?"
"Call me Myra, Scoutmaster Simpson of The Spectator troop, and you shall."
"I blush for my unblushing sex," said Dahlia.
"I blush for my family," said Archie. "That a young girl of gentle birth, nurtured23 in a peaceful English home, brought up in an atmosphere of old-world courtesy, should so far forget herself as to attempt to wheedle24 a promising25 young scoutmaster, who can light a fire, practically speaking, backwards—this, I repeat, is too much."
"I suppose the tide comes as far as this?" he said.
"It does, captain."
"Then that would account for the boat having gone."
"That and Simpson's special knot," I said, keeping calm for the sake of the women and children.
Archie jumped up with a shout. The boat was about twenty yards from the shore, going very slowly upstream.
"It's very bad to bathe just after a heavy meal," I reminded him.
"I'm not sure that I'm going to, but I'm quite sure that one of us will have to."
"Walk up the river with it," said Myra, "while Dahlia and I pack, and the one who's first digested goes in."
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1
butting
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| 用头撞人（犯规动作） | |
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2
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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4
overdoing
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| v.做得过分( overdo的现在分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
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5
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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6
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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7
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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9
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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hampers
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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12
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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13
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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14
unpacking
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| n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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15
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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16
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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17
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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18
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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19
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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21
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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22
anchovy
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| n.凤尾鱼 | |
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23
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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24
wheedle
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| v.劝诱，哄骗 | |
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25
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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26
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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