Latest / U.S. Marine Operations in Korea - The Pusan Perimeter / 20 - Under the Lilacs (version 3, dramatic reading) by Louisa May Alcott
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen of Under the Lilacs by Louisa may Alcott.
- 0:05Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
- 0:09Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
- 0:14Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Under the Lilacs by Louisa may Alcott,
- 0:21Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen, speaking Pieces. The first of September came all
- 0:27Speaker 1: too soon, and school began among the boys and girls
- 0:31Speaker 1: who went trooping up to the East Corner knowledge box,
- 0:34Speaker 1: as they called it, was our friend Ben, with a
- 0:38Speaker 1: pile of neat books under his arm. He felt very
- 0:41Speaker 1: strange and decidedly shy, but put on a bold face
- 0:46Speaker 1: and let nobody guess that though nearly thirteen he had
- 0:50Speaker 1: never been to school before, Miss Celia had told his
- 0:54Speaker 1: story to teach her, and she, being a kind little
- 0:57Speaker 1: woman with young brothers of her own, made things as
- 1:01Speaker 1: easy for him as she could. In reading and writing,
- 1:04Speaker 1: he did very well and proudly took his place among
- 1:07Speaker 1: lads of his own age. But when it came to
- 1:10Speaker 1: arithmetic and geography, he had to go down a long
- 1:14Speaker 1: way and begin almost at the beginning. In spite of
- 1:17Speaker 1: Thorny's efforts to tool him along fast, it mortified him sadly,
- 1:23Speaker 1: but there was no help for it, and in some
- 1:25Speaker 1: of the classes he had dear little Betty to console
- 1:28Speaker 1: with him when he failed, and smile contentedly when he
- 1:32Speaker 1: got above her, as he soon began to do, for
- 1:35Speaker 1: she was not a quick child, and plotted through first
- 1:38Speaker 1: parts long after sister bab was flourishing away among girls
- 1:43Speaker 1: much older than herself. Fortunately, Ben was a short boy
- 1:47Speaker 1: and a clever one, so he did not look out
- 1:50Speaker 1: of place among the ten and eleven year olders, and
- 1:53Speaker 1: fell upon his lessons with the same resolution with which
- 1:57Speaker 1: he used to take a new leap, or practiced patiently
- 2:01Speaker 1: till he could touch his heels with his head. That
- 2:04Speaker 1: sort of exercise had given him a strong, elastic little body.
- 2:09Speaker 1: This kind was to train his mind and make its
- 2:12Speaker 1: faculties as useful, quick and sure as the obedient muscles, nerves,
- 2:17Speaker 1: and eye, which kept him safe where others would have
- 2:21Speaker 1: broken their necks. He knew this and found much consolation
- 2:25Speaker 1: in the fact that, though mental arithmetic was a hopeless task,
- 2:29Speaker 1: he could turn a dozen somersaults and come up as
- 2:32Speaker 1: steady as a judge. When the boys laughed at him
- 2:35Speaker 1: for saying that China was in Africa. He routed them
- 2:39Speaker 1: entirely by his superior knowledge of the animals belonging to
- 2:43Speaker 1: that wild country. And when first class in reading was called,
- 2:48Speaker 1: he marched up with the proud consciousness that the shortest
- 2:51Speaker 1: boy in it did better than tall Moses Town or
- 2:55Speaker 1: fat Sam Kidderage teacher praised him all she honestly could,
- 3:00Speaker 1: and corrected his many blunders so quietly that he soon
- 3:04Speaker 1: ceased to be a deep distressful red during recitation, and
- 3:09Speaker 1: tugged away so manfully that no one could help respecting
- 3:12Speaker 1: him for his efforts and trying to make light of
- 3:15Speaker 1: his failures. So the first hard week went by, and
- 3:20Speaker 1: though the boy's heart had sunk many a time at
- 3:23Speaker 1: the prospect of a protracted wrestle with his own ignorance,
- 3:27Speaker 1: he made up his mind to win and went at
- 3:30Speaker 1: it again on the Monday, with fresh zeal, all the
- 3:33Speaker 1: better and braver for a good, cheery talk with Miss
- 3:37Speaker 1: Celia in the Sunday evening twilight. He did not tell
- 3:41Speaker 1: her one of his greatest trials, however, because he thought
- 3:45Speaker 1: she could not help him.
- 3:46Speaker 2: There.
- 3:47Speaker 1: Some of the children rather looked down upon him, called
- 3:50Speaker 1: him tramp and beggar twitted him with having been a
- 3:54Speaker 1: circus boy and lived in a tent like a gypsy.
- 3:58Speaker 1: They did not mean to be cruel, but did it
- 4:00Speaker 1: for the sake of teasing, never stopping to think how
- 4:04Speaker 1: much such sport can make a fellow creature suffer. Being
- 4:08Speaker 1: a plucky fellow, Ben pretended not to mind, but he
- 4:12Speaker 1: did feel it keenly because he wanted to start afresh
- 4:16Speaker 1: and be like other boys. He was not ashamed of
- 4:19Speaker 1: the old life, but finding those around him disapproved of it,
- 4:24Speaker 1: he was glad to let it be forgotten, even by himself,
- 4:28Speaker 1: for his latest recollections were not happy ones, and present
- 4:32Speaker 1: comforts made past hardships seem harder than before. He said
- 4:37Speaker 1: nothing of this to miss Celia, but she found it
- 4:39Speaker 1: out and liked him all the better for keeping some
- 4:43Speaker 1: of his small worries to himself. Bab and Betty came
- 4:46Speaker 1: over Monday afternoon, full of indignation at some boyish insult
- 4:51Speaker 1: Sam had put upon Ben, and finding them too full
- 4:55Speaker 1: of it to enjoy the reading, miss Celia asked what
- 4:58Speaker 1: the matter was. Then both little girls burst out in
- 5:02Speaker 1: a rapid succession of broken exclamations, which did not give
- 5:07Speaker 1: a very clear idea of the difficulty.
- 5:10Speaker 3: Sam didn't like it because Ben jumped fogg than heat it,
- 5:14Speaker 3: and he said Ben ought to be in the poorhouse,
- 5:16Speaker 3: and Ben said he ought to be in a pig pen.
- 5:19Speaker 4: So he had such a greedy thing, bringing lovely big
- 5:23Speaker 4: apples and not giving any one a single bite.
- 5:25Speaker 3: Then he was mad and we all laughed, and he
- 5:28Speaker 3: said want to fight?
- 5:29Speaker 4: And Ben said no, thank ye, not much fun in
- 5:32Speaker 4: pounding a feather bed.
- 5:33Speaker 3: Oh, he was awfully mad Ben, and chased Ben out
- 5:37Speaker 3: the big maple.
- 5:38Speaker 4: He's there now for Sam won't let him come down
- 5:41Speaker 4: till he takes it all back.
- 5:42Speaker 3: Ben won't, And I do believe he'll have to stay
- 5:46Speaker 3: up all night.
- 5:47Speaker 1: Said Betty distressfully.
- 5:49Speaker 4: He won't care, and we'll have fun firing up his supper.
- 5:52Speaker 4: Nutcakes and cheese will go splendidly, and maybe baked pears
- 5:56Speaker 4: wouldn't get smashed. He's such a good catch.
- 5:58Speaker 1: Added Bab, decidedly, relishing the prospect.
- 6:02Speaker 5: If it does not come by tea time, we will
- 6:04Speaker 5: go and look after him. He seems to me. I
- 6:07Speaker 5: have heard something about Sam's troubling him before, haven't, I.
- 6:10Speaker 1: Asked Miss Celia Ready to defend her protegee against all
- 6:14Speaker 1: unfair persecution.
- 6:16Speaker 4: Yes'm Sam and Mose are always plaguing Ben. They're big boys,
- 6:20Speaker 4: and we can't make them stop. I won't let the
- 6:23Speaker 4: girls do it, and the little boys don't dare to
- 6:25Speaker 4: since teacher spoke to.
- 6:26Speaker 1: Them, answered Bab.
- 6:28Speaker 5: Why does not teacher speak to the big ones?
- 6:31Speaker 3: Ben won't tell them or let us. He says he'll
- 6:34Speaker 3: fight his own battles and hates tell tales. I guess
- 6:38Speaker 3: he won't like to buy us tell you, but I
- 6:40Speaker 3: don't care what's too bad?
- 6:43Speaker 1: And Betty looked ready to cry over her friend's tribulations.
- 6:47Speaker 5: I'm glad you did, for I will attend to it
- 6:50Speaker 5: and stop the sort of.
- 6:51Speaker 1: Thing, said miss Celia, after the children had told some
- 6:55Speaker 1: of the tormenting speeches which had tried poor Ben. Just
- 6:59Speaker 1: then Thorney appeared, looking much amused, and the little girls
- 7:03Speaker 1: both called out in a breath.
- 7:05Speaker 3: Did you see Ben and gett him down?
- 7:08Speaker 6: He got himself down in the neatest way you can imagine.
- 7:11Speaker 1: And Thorny laughed at the recollection. Where's Sam, asked.
- 7:16Speaker 6: Bab, staring up at the sky to see where Ben
- 7:18Speaker 6: has blown?
- 7:19Speaker 1: To Oh, tell about it begged Betty.
- 7:22Speaker 6: Well, I came along and found Ben treed in Sam
- 7:26Speaker 6: stoning him. I stopped that at once and told the
- 7:30Speaker 6: fat boy to be off. He said he wouldn't till
- 7:33Speaker 6: Ben begged his pardon, and Ben said he wouldn't do
- 7:37Speaker 6: that if he stayed up for a week. I was
- 7:41Speaker 6: just preparing to give that rascal of scientific thrashing when
- 7:44Speaker 6: a load of hay came along and Ben dropped on
- 7:47Speaker 6: to it so quietly that Sam, who was trying to
- 7:50Speaker 6: bully me, never saw him go. It tickled me, so
- 7:55Speaker 6: I told Sam I guessed I'd let him off that time,
- 7:58Speaker 6: and walked away, leaving him to hunt for Ben and
- 8:01Speaker 6: wonder where the dickens he had vanished.
- 8:03Speaker 1: To the idea of Sam's bewilderment. Amused the others as
- 8:08Speaker 1: much as Thorny, and they all had a good laugh
- 8:11Speaker 1: over it before miss Celia.
- 8:13Speaker 5: Asked where has Ben gone? Now?
- 8:16Speaker 6: Oh, he'll take a little ride, and then slipped down
- 8:19Speaker 6: and raced home full of the fun of it. But
- 8:22Speaker 6: I've got to settle Sam. I won't have our Ben
- 8:25Speaker 6: hectored by anyone but yourself.
- 8:28Speaker 1: Put in his sister with a sly smile for Thorny
- 8:31Speaker 1: was rather domineering at times.
- 8:34Speaker 6: He doesn't mind my poking him now and then. It's
- 8:37Speaker 6: good for him, and I always take his part against
- 8:40Speaker 6: other people. Sam is a bully, and so is Mosey,
- 8:44Speaker 6: and I'll thrash them both if they don't stop.
- 8:46Speaker 1: Anxious to curb her brother's pugnacious propensities, miss Celia proposed
- 8:52Speaker 1: milder measures, promising to speak to the boys herself if
- 8:56Speaker 1: there was any more trouble.
- 8:57Speaker 5: I have been thinking that wish you have some of
- 9:00Speaker 5: merry making for Ben on his birthday. My plan was
- 9:03Speaker 5: a very simple one, but I will large it and
- 9:06Speaker 5: have all the young folks come, and Ben shall be
- 9:09Speaker 5: keen of the fun. He needs encouragement in well doing,
- 9:12Speaker 5: for he does try. And now the first hard part
- 9:15Speaker 5: is nearly over. I'm sure he will get on bravely.
- 9:19Speaker 5: If we treat him with respect and show our regard
- 9:22Speaker 5: for him, others will follow our example, and that would
- 9:25Speaker 5: be better than fighting about it.
- 9:27Speaker 6: So it will. What shall we do to make our
- 9:30Speaker 6: party tiptop.
- 9:31Speaker 1: Asked Thorny, falling into the trap at once, for he
- 9:35Speaker 1: dearly loved to get up theatricals, and had not had
- 9:38Speaker 1: any for a long time.
- 9:40Speaker 5: We will plan something splendid, a grand combination, as you
- 9:44Speaker 5: used to call your draw mixer of tragedy, comedy, melodrama.
- 9:48Speaker 1: And farce, answered his sister, with her head already full
- 9:53Speaker 1: of lively plots.
- 9:54Speaker 6: We'll startle the natives. I don't believe they ever saw
- 9:57Speaker 6: a play in their lives. Hey, Bab, I've seen a circus.
- 10:01Speaker 1: We'd dress up and do babes in the wood, added Betty,
- 10:05Speaker 1: with dignity.
- 10:07Speaker 6: Foe, that's nothing. I'll show you acting that will make
- 10:10Speaker 6: your hair stand on end, and you shall act too.
- 10:14Speaker 6: Bab will be capital for the naughty.
- 10:16Speaker 1: Girls began Thorny, excited at the prospect of producing a
- 10:21Speaker 1: sensation on the boards and always ready to tease the girls.
- 10:26Speaker 1: Before Betty could protest that she did not want her
- 10:29Speaker 1: hair to stand up, or Bab could indignantly decline the
- 10:33Speaker 1: roll offered her, a shrill whistle was heard, and miss
- 10:36Speaker 1: Celia whispered with a warning, Look.
- 10:39Speaker 5: Hush, Ben is coming, and he must not know anything
- 10:42Speaker 5: about this yet.
- 10:43Speaker 1: The next day was Wednesday, and in the afternoon miss
- 10:47Speaker 1: Celia went to hear the children speak pieces. Though it
- 10:51Speaker 1: was very seldom that any of the busy matrons and
- 10:54Speaker 1: elder sisters found time or inclination for these displays of
- 10:58Speaker 1: youthful oratory. Miss Celia and Missus Moss were all the
- 11:02Speaker 1: audience on this occasion, but Teacher was both pleased and
- 11:06Speaker 1: proud to see them, and a general Russell went through
- 11:09Speaker 1: the school as they came in, all the girls turning
- 11:12Speaker 1: from the visitors to nod at Bab and Betty, who
- 11:16Speaker 1: smiled all over their round faces to see Maw sitting
- 11:20Speaker 1: up side of Teacher, and the boys grinned at Ben,
- 11:24Speaker 1: whose heart began to beat fast at the thought of
- 11:26Speaker 1: his dear mistress coming so far to hear him say
- 11:30Speaker 1: his peace. Thorny had recommended Marco Bozarus, but Ben preferred
- 11:36Speaker 1: John Gilpin, and ran the famous race with much spirit,
- 11:40Speaker 1: making excellent time in some parts and having to be
- 11:43Speaker 1: spurred a little in others, but came out all right,
- 11:47Speaker 1: though quite breathless at the end, sitting down amid great applause,
- 11:52Speaker 1: some of which, curiously enough, seemed to come from outside,
- 11:56Speaker 1: which in fact it did, for Thorny was bound to hear,
- 11:59Speaker 1: but not come in lest his presence should abash one orator.
- 12:04Speaker 1: At least other pieces followed all more or less patriotic
- 12:09Speaker 1: and warlike among the boys, sentimental among the girls. Sam
- 12:14Speaker 1: broke down in his attempt to give one of Webster's
- 12:17Speaker 1: great speeches, Little sy Fay boldly attacked again to the
- 12:22Speaker 1: natteral a king inns, and shrieked his way through it
- 12:26Speaker 1: in a shrill, small voice, bound to do honor to
- 12:29Speaker 1: the older brother who had trained him, even if he
- 12:32Speaker 1: broke a vessel in the attempt. Billy chose a well
- 12:36Speaker 1: worn piece, but gave it a new interest by his
- 12:39Speaker 1: style of delivery. For his gestures were so spasmodic, he
- 12:43Speaker 1: looked as if going into a fit, and he did
- 12:46Speaker 1: such astonishing things with his voice that one never knew
- 12:49Speaker 1: whether a howl or a growl would come next.
- 12:53Speaker 2: When the woods against a stormy sky, their giant branches tossed.
- 12:58Speaker 1: Billy's arms went round like the sails of a windmill.
- 13:02Speaker 2: The hymns of lofty cheer not only shook the depths
- 13:07Speaker 2: of the desert gloom, but.
- 13:08Speaker 1: The small children on their little benches and the schoolhouse
- 13:12Speaker 1: literally rang.
- 13:14Speaker 2: To the anthems of the free. When the ocean eagle sword.
- 13:19Speaker 1: Billy appeared to be going bodily up and.
- 13:22Speaker 2: The pines of the forest roared.
- 13:25Speaker 1: As if they had taken lessons of van Amberg's biggest lion.
- 13:30Speaker 2: Woman's fearless eye was expressed by a wild glare, man
- 13:35Speaker 2: Hunt's brow severely high, by.
- 13:38Speaker 1: A sudden clutch at the reddish locks falling over the
- 13:41Speaker 1: orator's hot forehead, and a sounding thump on his blue
- 13:45Speaker 1: checked Bosom told.
- 13:46Speaker 2: Where the fiery heart of youth was located? What thought
- 13:51Speaker 2: they thus far? He asked, in.
- 13:54Speaker 1: Such a natural and inquiring tone, with his eye fixed
- 13:57Speaker 1: on Mamie Peters, that the startle innocent replied deneux, which
- 14:03Speaker 1: caused the speaker to close in haste, devoutly pointing a
- 14:07Speaker 1: stubby finger upward at the last line. This was considered
- 14:11Speaker 1: the gem of the collection, and Billy took his seat, proudly,
- 14:15Speaker 1: conscious that his native town boasted an orator who, in
- 14:19Speaker 1: time would utterly eclipse Edward Everett and Wendell Phillips. Sally
- 14:24Speaker 1: Fulsom led off with the coral grove, chosen for the
- 14:28Speaker 1: express purpose of making her friend Almira Mullet start and
- 14:33Speaker 1: blush when she recited the second line of that pleasing poem.
- 14:37Speaker 5: Where the purple mullet and goldfish rove.
- 14:40Speaker 1: One of the older girls, gave Wordsworth's Lost Love in
- 14:44Speaker 1: a pensive tone, clasping her hands and bringing out the oh,
- 14:49Speaker 1: as if a sudden twinge of toothache seized her when
- 14:52Speaker 1: she ended, but.
- 14:53Speaker 4: She is in her grave, and oh the difference to me.
- 14:59Speaker 1: Bab always a funny piece, and on this afternoon set
- 15:03Speaker 1: them all laughing by the spirit with which she spoke
- 15:06Speaker 1: the droll poem Pussy's Class, which some of my young
- 15:10Speaker 1: readers may have read. The mew and the were capital.
- 15:16Speaker 1: And when the.
- 15:17Speaker 4: Fond Mamma wrapped her nose, the children.
- 15:20Speaker 1: Shouted for Miss Bab made a paw of her hand,
- 15:23Speaker 1: and ended with an impromptu purr, which was considered the
- 15:27Speaker 1: best imitation ever presented to an appreciative public. Betty bashfully
- 15:32Speaker 1: murmured Little White Lily, swaying to and fro as regularly,
- 15:37Speaker 1: as if in no other way could the rhymes be
- 15:40Speaker 1: ground out of her memory.
- 15:42Speaker 5: That is all I believe.
- 15:44Speaker 6: If either of the ladies would like to say a
- 15:45Speaker 6: few words to the children, I should be pleased to
- 15:48Speaker 6: have them.
- 15:49Speaker 1: Said teacher, politely, pausing before she dismissed school with the.
- 15:54Speaker 5: Song Please, ma'am I'd like to speak my.
- 15:56Speaker 1: Peace, answered miss Celia, obeying a sudden impulse and stepping
- 16:02Speaker 1: forward with her hat in her hand, She made a
- 16:05Speaker 1: pretty courtesy before she recited Mary Howitt's sweet Little Ballad
- 16:10Speaker 1: Mabel on Midsummer Day. She looked so young and merry,
- 16:14Speaker 1: and used such simple but expressive gestures, and spoke in
- 16:18Speaker 1: such a clear, soft voice that the children sat as
- 16:22Speaker 1: if spellbound, learning several lessons from this new teacher, whose
- 16:27Speaker 1: performance charmed them from beginning to end, and left a
- 16:31Speaker 1: moral which all could understand and carry away.
- 16:34Speaker 5: In that last verse, this good to make all duty sweet,
- 16:39Speaker 5: to be alert and kind, This good, like little Mabel,
- 16:42Speaker 5: to have a willing mind.
- 16:44Speaker 1: Of course, there was an enthusiastic clapping when miss Celia
- 16:48Speaker 1: sat down, but even while hands applauded, consciences pricked and
- 16:53Speaker 1: undone tasks, complaining words, and sour faces seemed to rise
- 16:58Speaker 1: up reproachfully before many of the children, as well as
- 17:02Speaker 1: their own faults of elocution. Now we will sing, said teacher,
- 17:07Speaker 1: and a great clearing of throats ensued. But before a
- 17:11Speaker 1: note could be uttered, the half open door swung wide,
- 17:14Speaker 1: and Sancho, with Ben's hat on walked in upon his
- 17:18Speaker 1: hind legs and stood with his paws meekly folded, while
- 17:23Speaker 1: a voice from the entry saying rapidly.
- 17:26Speaker 6: Benny had a little dog. His fleece was white as snow,
- 17:29Speaker 6: and everywhere that Benny went, the dog was sure to go.
- 17:33Speaker 6: He went into the school one day, which was against
- 17:36Speaker 6: the rule. It made the children laugh and play to
- 17:40Speaker 6: see a dog.
- 17:41Speaker 1: Mischievous Thorny got no further for a general explosion of
- 17:45Speaker 1: laughter drowned the last words, and Ben's command, out you rascal,
- 17:51Speaker 1: sent sanch to the right about in double quick time.
- 17:55Speaker 1: Miss Celia tried to apologize for her bad brother, and
- 17:59Speaker 1: teacher tried to assure her that it didn't matter in
- 18:02Speaker 1: the least, as this was always a merry time, and
- 18:05Speaker 1: Missus Moss vainly shook her finger at her naughty daughter's.
- 18:09Speaker 1: They as well as the others, would have their laugh out,
- 18:13Speaker 1: and only partially sobered down when the bell rang for attention.
- 18:17Speaker 1: They thought they were to be dismissed, and repressed their
- 18:20Speaker 1: giggles as well as they could in order to get
- 18:23Speaker 1: a good start for a vociferous roar when they got out.
- 18:27Speaker 1: But to their great surprise, the pretty lady stood up
- 18:30Speaker 1: again and said, in her friendly way.
- 18:33Speaker 5: I just want to thank you for this pleasant little
- 18:36Speaker 5: exhibition and ask leave to come again. I also wish
- 18:39Speaker 5: to invite you all to my boy's birthday party on
- 18:42Speaker 5: Saturday week. The archery meeting is to be in the afternoon,
- 18:45Speaker 5: and both clubs will be there. I believe in the
- 18:48Speaker 5: evening we're going to have some fun. We one can
- 18:51Speaker 5: laugh as much as we please without breaking any of
- 18:53Speaker 5: the rules. In Ben's name, I invite you and hope
- 18:56Speaker 5: you will all come, for we mean to make this
- 18:59Speaker 5: the happiest bird they ever had.
- 19:01Speaker 1: There were twenty pupils in the room, but the eighty
- 19:04Speaker 1: hands and feet made such a racket at this announcement
- 19:07Speaker 1: that an outsider would have thought a hundred children at
- 19:10Speaker 1: least must have been at it.
- 19:12Speaker 2: Miss Celia was.
- 19:13Speaker 1: A general favorite because she nodded to all the girls,
- 19:17Speaker 1: called the boys by their last names, even addressing some
- 19:21Speaker 1: of the largest as mister, which won their hearts at once,
- 19:25Speaker 1: so that if she had invited them all to come
- 19:27Speaker 1: and be whipped, they would have gone, sure that it
- 19:30Speaker 1: was some delightful joke. With what eagerness they accepted the
- 19:34Speaker 1: present invitation. One can easily imagine, though they never guessed
- 19:38Speaker 1: why she gave it in that way, and Ben's face
- 19:41Speaker 1: was a sight to see. He was so pleased and
- 19:44Speaker 1: proud at the honor done him that he did not
- 19:47Speaker 1: know where to look, and was glad to rush out
- 19:50Speaker 1: with the other boys and vent his emotions in whoops
- 19:53Speaker 1: of delight. He knew that some little plot was being
- 19:56Speaker 1: concocted for his birthday, but never dreamed of anything so
- 20:01Speaker 1: grand as asking the whole school teacher and all. The
- 20:05Speaker 1: effect of the invitation was seen with comical rapidity, for
- 20:09Speaker 1: the boys became overpowering in their friendly attentions to Ben.
- 20:14Speaker 1: Even Sam, fearing he might be left out, promptly offered
- 20:18Speaker 1: the peaceful olive branch in the shape of a big
- 20:21Speaker 1: apple warm from his pocket, and Moe's proposed a trade
- 20:25Speaker 1: of jack knives, which would be greatly to Ben's advantage.
- 20:29Speaker 1: But Thorny made the noblest sacrifice of all, for he
- 20:33Speaker 1: said to his sister as they walked home together.
- 20:36Speaker 6: I'm not going to try for the prize at all.
- 20:39Speaker 6: I shoot so much better than the rest, having had
- 20:42Speaker 6: more practice. You know that it is hardly fair. Ben
- 20:46Speaker 6: and Billie are next best, and about even, for Ben's
- 20:50Speaker 6: strong wrist makes up for Billy's true eye, and both
- 20:53Speaker 6: want to win. If I am out of the way,
- 20:56Speaker 6: Ben stands a good chance for the other fellows don't
- 21:00Speaker 6: amount too much Bob does.
- 21:03Speaker 5: She shoes nearly as well as Ben, and wants to
- 21:06Speaker 5: win even more than he or Billy. She must have
- 21:09Speaker 5: her chance at any.
- 21:10Speaker 6: Rate, so she may, but she won't do anything girls can't,
- 21:15Speaker 6: though it's a good exercise, and pleases them to try.
- 21:19Speaker 5: If I had full use of my both arms, I
- 21:21Speaker 5: show you that girls can do a great deal when
- 21:23Speaker 5: they like. Don't be too lofty, young man, for you
- 21:26Speaker 5: may have to come down, laughed.
- 21:28Speaker 1: Miss Celia amused by his heirs no fear, and Thorny
- 21:33Speaker 1: calmly departed to set his targets for Ben's.
- 21:36Speaker 5: Practice we shall see.
- 21:38Speaker 1: And from that moment miss Celia made bab her especial pupil,
- 21:43Speaker 1: feeling that a little lesson would be good for mister Thorny,
- 21:46Speaker 1: who rather lorded it over the other young people. There
- 21:50Speaker 1: was a spice of mischief in it, for miss Celia
- 21:53Speaker 1: was very young at heart in spite of her twenty
- 21:56Speaker 1: four years, and she was bound to see that her
- 21:59Speaker 1: side had a fair chance. Believing that girls can do
- 22:02Speaker 1: whatever they are willing to strive patiently and wisely for so,
- 22:07Speaker 1: she kept Bab at work early and late, giving her
- 22:11Speaker 1: all the hints and help she could with only one
- 22:14Speaker 1: efficient hand, and Bab was delighted to think she did
- 22:18Speaker 1: well enough to shoot with the club. Her arms ached
- 22:21Speaker 1: and her fingers grew hard with twanging the bow, but
- 22:25Speaker 1: she was indefatigable, and being a strong, tall child of
- 22:29Speaker 1: her age with a great love of all athletic sports,
- 22:33Speaker 1: she got on fast and well, soon learning to send
- 22:36Speaker 1: arrow after arrow with ever increasing accuracy, nearer and nearer
- 22:41Speaker 1: to the bull's eye. The boys took very little notice
- 22:45Speaker 1: of her, being much absorbed in their own affairs. But
- 22:48Speaker 1: Betty did for Bab what Sancho did for Ben, and
- 22:52Speaker 1: trotted after arrows till her short legs were sadly tired,
- 22:56Speaker 1: though her patience never gave out. She was so sure
- 23:00Speaker 1: Bab would win that she cared nothing about her own success,
- 23:04Speaker 1: practicing little and seldom hitting anything when she tried. End
- 23:09Speaker 1: of Chapter nineteen