Chapter 3 In a Smash-Up

Though the young inventor listened intently, in an endeavor to hearthe conversation of the men at the table behind him, all he couldcatch was an indistinct murmur¹. The strangers appeared to haveheeded the caution of one of their number and were speaking in lowtones.
Tom and Ned finished their meal, and started to leave therestaurant. As Mr. Swift's son passed the table where the men satthey looked up quickly at him. Two of them gave Tom but a passingglance, but one--he whom the young inventor had noticed in the post-office--stared long and intently.
"I think he will know me the next time he sees me," thought Tom, andhe boldly returned the glance of the stranger.
The bolts were ready when the inventor's son called at the machineshop a second time, and making a package of them Tom fastened it tothe saddle of his bicycle. He started for home at a fast pace, andwas just turning from a cross road into the main highway when he sawahead of him a woman driving a light wagon². As the sun flashed onTom's shining wheel the horse gave a sudden leap, swerved³ to oneside, and then bolted down the dusty stretch, the woman screaming atthe top of her voice.
"A runaway⁴!" cried Tom; "and partly my fault, too!"
Waiting not an instant the lad bent⁵ over his handle-bars and pedaledwith all his force. His bicycle seemed fairly to leap forward afterthe galloping⁷ horse.
"Sit still! Don't jump out! Don't jump!" yelled the young inventor."I'll try to catch him!" for the woman was standing⁸ up in front ofthe seat and leaning forward, as if about to leap from the wagon.
"She's lost her head," thought Tom. "No wonder! That's a skittishhorse."
Faster and faster he rode, bending all his energies to overtake theanimal. The wagon was swaying from side to side, and more than oncethe woman just saved herself from being thrown out by grasping theedge of the seat. She found that her standing position was adangerous one and crouched⁹ on the bottom of the swaying vehicle.
"That's better!" shouted Tom, but it is doubtful if she heard him,for the rattling¹⁰ of the wagon and the hoofbeats of the horse drownedall other sounds. "Sit still!" he shouted. "I'll stop the horse foryou!"
Trying to imagine himself in a desperate race, in order to excitehimself to greater speed, Tom continued on. He was now even with thetail-board of the wagon, and slowly creeping up. The woman was allhuddled up in a lump.
"Grab the reins¹¹! Grab the reins!" shouted Tom. "Saw on the bit! Thatwill stop him!"
The occupant of the wagon turned to look at the lad. Tom saw thatshe was a handsome young lady. "Grab the reins!" he cried again."Pull hard!"
"I--I can't!" she answered frightenedly. "They have dropped down!Oh, do please stop the horse! I'm so--so frightened!"
"I'll stop him!" declared the youth firmly, and he set his teethhard. Then he saw the reason the fair driver could not grasp thelines. They had slipped over the dashboard and were trailing on theground.
The horse was slacking speed a bit now, for the pace was telling onhis wind. Tom saw his opportunity, and with a sudden burst of energywas at the animal's head. Steering¹² his wheel with one hand, with theother the lad made a grab for the reins near the bit. The horseswerved frightenedly to one side, but Tom swung in the samedirection. He grasped the leather and then, with a kick, he freedhimself from the bicycle, giving it a shove to one side. He was nowclinging to the reins with both hands, and, being a muscular lad andno lightweight, his bulk told.
"Sit--still!" panted our hero to the young woman, who had arisen tothe seat. "I'll have him stopped in half a minute now!"
It was in less time than that, for the horse, finding it impossibleto shake off the grip of Tom, began to slow from a gallop⁶ to a trot,then to a canter, and finally to a slow walk. A moment later thehorse had stopped, breathing heavily from his run.
"There, there, now!" spoke¹³ Tom soothingly¹⁴. "You're all right, oldfellow. I hope you're not hurt"--this to the young lady--and Tommade a motion to raise his cap, only to find that it had blown off.
"Oh, no--no; I'm more frightened than hurt."
"It was all my fault," declared the young inventor. "I should nothave swung into the road so suddenly. My bicycle alarmed yourhorse."
"Oh, I fancy Dobbin is easily disturbed," admitted the fair driver."I can't thank you enough for stopping him. You saved me from a badaccident."
"It was the least I could do. Are you all right now?" and he handedup the dangling¹⁵ reins. "I think Dobbin, as you call him, has hadenough of running," went on Tom, for the horse was now quiet.
"I hope so. Yes, I am all right. I trust your wheel is not damaged.If it is, my father, Mr. Amos Nestor, of Mansburg, will gladly payfor its repair."
This reminded the young inventor of his bicycle, and making surethat the horse would not start up again, he went to where his wheeland his cap lay. He found that the only damage to the bicycle was afew bent spokes¹⁶, and, straightening them and having again apologizedto the young woman, receiving in turn her pardon and thanks, andlearning that her name was Mary Nestor, Tom once more resumed histrip. The wagon followed him at a distance, the horse evincing nodesire now to get out of a slow amble¹⁷.
"Well, things are certainly happening to me to-day," mused¹⁸ Tom as hepedaled on. "That might have been a serious runaway if there'd beenanything in the road."
Tom did not stop to think that he had been mainly instrumental inpreventing a bad accident, as he had been the innocent cause ofstarting the runaway, but Tom was ever a modest lad. His arms werewrenched from jerking on the bridle¹⁹, but he did not mind that much,and bent over the handle-bars to make up for lost time.
Our hero was within a short distance of his house and was coastingeasily along when, just ahead of him, he saw a cloud of dust, verysimilar to the one that had, some time before, concealed²⁰ theinexperienced motor-cyclist.
"I wonder if that's him again?" thought Tom. "If it is I'm going tohang back until I see which way he's headed. No use running any morerisks."
Almost at that moment a puff²¹ of wind blew some of the dust to oneside. Tom had a glimpse of the man on the puffing²² machine.
"It's the same chap!" he exclaimed aloud; "and he's going the sameway I am. Well, I'll not try to catch up to him. I wonder what he'sbeen doing all this while, that he hasn't gotten any farther thanthis? Either he's been riding back and forth²³, or else he's beenresting. My, but he certainly is scooting along!"
The wind carried to Tom the sound of the explosions of the motor,and he could see the man clinging tightly to the handle-bars. Therider was almost in front of Tom's house now, when, with asuddenness that caused the lad to utter an exclamation²⁴ of alarm, thestranger turned his machine right toward a big oak tree.
"What's he up to?" cried Tom excitedly. "Does he think he can climbthat, or is he giving an exhibition by showing how close he can comeand not hit it?"
A moment later the motor-cyclist struck the tree a glancing blow.The man went flying over the handle-bars, the machine was shunted tothe ditch along the road, and falling over on one side the motorraced furiously. The rider lay in a heap at the foot of the tree.
"My, that was a smash!" cried Tom. "He must be killed!" and bendingforward, he raced toward the scene of the accident.

1 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

2 wagon   

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。

3 swerved   

v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯，以躲开一个骑自行车的人。
• The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅，司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

5 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

6 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

7 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

8 standing   

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。

9 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

10 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

11 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

12 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

13 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。

14 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

16 spokes   

n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动

参考例句：

• Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
• The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句

17 amble   

vi.缓行，漫步

参考例句：

• The horse is walking at an amble.这匹马正在溜蹄行走。
• Every evening,they amble along the bank. 每天晚上，他们都沿着江边悠闲地散步。

18 mused   

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

19 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

20 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。

21 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

22 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 forth   

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。

24 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。