登陆注册
5288900000014

第14章 CHAPTER V. THE IN-OR-IN(1)

Georgie Bassett was a boy set apart. Not only that; Georgie knew that he was a boy set apart. He would think about it for ten or twenty minutes at a time, and he could not look at himself in a mirror and remain wholly without emotion. What that emotion was, he would have been unable to put into words; but it helped him to understand that there was a certain noble something about him that other boys did not possess.

Georgie's mother had been the first to discover that Georgie was a boy set apart. In fact, Georgie did not know it until one day when he happened to overhear his mother telling two of his aunts about it. True, he had always understood that he was the best boy in town and he intended to be a minister when he grew up; but he had never before comprehended the full extent of his sanctity, and, from that fraught moment onward, he had an almost theatrical sense of his set-apartness.

Penrod Schofield and Sam Williams and the other boys of the neighbourhood all were conscious that there was something different and spiritual about Georgie, and, though this consciousness of theirs may have been a little obscure, it was none the less actual. That is to say, they knew that Georgie Bassett was a boy set apart; but they did not know that they knew it. Georgie's air and manner at all times demonstrated to them that the thing was so, and, moreover, their mothers absorbed appreciation of Georgie's wonderfulness from the very fount of it, for Mrs. Bassett's conversation was of little else. Thus, the radiance of his character became the topic of envious parental comment during moments of strained patience in many homes, so that altogether the most remarkable fact to be stated of Georgie Bassett is that he escaped the consequences as long as he did.

Strange as it may seem, no actual violence was done him, except upon the incidental occasion of a tar-fight into which he was drawn by an obvious eccentricity on the part of destiny.

Naturally, he was not popular with his comrades; in all games he was pushed aside, and disregarded, being invariably the tail-ender in every pastime in which leaders "chose sides"; his counsels were slighted as worse than weightless, and all his opinions instantly hooted. Still, considering the circumstances fairly and thoughtfully, it is difficult to deny that his boy companions showed creditable moderation in their treatment of him. That is, they were moderate up to a certain date, and even then they did not directly attack him--there was nothing cold--blooded about it at all. The thing was forced upon them, and, though they all felt pleased and uplifted--while it was happening--they did not understand precisely why. Nothing could more clearly prove their innocence of heart than this very ignorance, and yet none of the grown people who later felt themselves concerned in the matter was able to look at it in that light. Now, here was a characteristic working of those reactions that produce what is sometimes called "the injustice of life", because the grown people were responsible for the whole affair and were really the guilty parties. It was from grown people that Georgie Bassett learned he was a boy set apart, and the effect upon him was what alienated his friends. Then these alienated friends were brought (by odious comparisons on the part of grown people) to a condition of mind wherein they suffered dumb annoyance, like a low fever, whenever they heard Georgie's name mentioned, while association with his actual person became every day more and more irritating. And yet, having laid this fuse and having kept it constantly glowing, the grown people expected nothing to happen to Georgie.

The catastrophe befell as a consequence of Sam Williams deciding to have a shack in his backyard. Sam had somehow obtained a vasty piano-box and a quantity of lumber, and, summoning Penrod Schofield and the coloured brethren, Herman and Verman, he expounded to them his building-plans and offered them shares and benefits in the institution he proposed to found. Acceptance was enthusiastic; straightway the assembly became a union of carpenters all of one mind, and ten days saw the shack not completed but comprehensible. Anybody could tell, by that time, that it was intended for a shack.

There was a door on leather hinges; it drooped, perhaps, but it was a door. There was a window--not a glass one, but, at least, it could be "looked out of", as Sam said. There was a chimney made of stovepipe, though that was merely decorative, because the cooking was done out of doors in an underground "furnace" that the boys excavated. There were pictures pasted on the interior walls, and, hanging from a nail, there was a crayon portrait of Sam's grandfather, which he had brought down from the attic quietly, though, as he said, it "wasn't any use on earth up there." There were two lame chairs from Penrod's attic and along one wall ran a low and feeble structure intended to serve as a bench or divan. This would come in handy, Sam said, if any of the party "had to lay down or anything", and at a pinch (such as a meeting of the association) it would serve to seat all the members in a row.

For, coincidentally with the development of the shack, the builders became something more than partners. Later, no one could remember who first suggested the founding of a secret order, or society, as a measure of exclusiveness and to keep the shack sacred to members only; but it was an idea that presently began to be more absorbing and satisfactory than even the shack itself.

同类推荐
  • 发财秘诀

    发财秘诀

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Volume Eight

    Volume Eight

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 海东高僧传

    海东高僧传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 宝授菩萨菩提行经

    宝授菩萨菩提行经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 四品学法经

    四品学法经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 玩家1号(纯文字版)

    玩家1号(纯文字版)

    斯皮尔伯格执导电影《头号玩家》原著小说!一部被誉为“极客圣经”的科幻经典!深刻影响美国虚拟现实甚至整个科技产业三观!美国流行文化鬼才恩斯特·克莱恩成名作品。2045年,现实世界丑陋不堪。只有一个地方让韦德·沃兹焕发出生机:绿洲。这是一个让人全身心沉浸其中的虚拟宇宙。人类中的绝大部分都在这里消磨时光。绿洲那个古怪的创造者死了。他给世人留下了一连串刁钻的谜题,解谜的线索隐藏在几十年前的流行文化元素之中。那个时代的音乐、电影和游戏是他一生的挚爱。第一个解开这些谜题的人将成为他巨额财产的继承人——成为执掌绿洲的人。韦德解开了第一个谜题。转眼之间,他成了各方势力追逐的对象……
  • 第十六届新概念获奖者作文精选(A卷)

    第十六届新概念获奖者作文精选(A卷)

    黄兴主编的《第十六届新概念获奖者作文精选(A卷)》是一部收录第十六届全国新概念作文大赛获奖者优秀作品的文集。《第十六届新概念获奖者作文精选(A卷)》在2014年的新概念作文大赛结果出来后的第一时间,选取获奖的作者的新作,结集出版,分为A、B两卷,本书为A卷。按类别分成“少年派:你是我遇见的另一个自己”“时光绘:乱世年华”“伽蓝雨:村庄与墙”“流光舞:心之所向在远方”“摩羯记:蝉鸣少年与恋桃镇”五个章节。这些作者多数为90后,文章均为小说和散文,文风多样,可读性强。本书可以当作作文“圣经”,得到老师和家长的认同。对于喜爱青春文学的青少年读者,本书也是不错的青春文学阅读宝典。
  • 犹太商人羊皮卷

    犹太商人羊皮卷

    “三个犹太人坐在一起,就可以决定世界!”“世界的钱,装载美国人的口袋里;而美国人的钱,却装在犹太人的口袋里。”这是对犹太人非凡智慧的盛赞。有着数千年文明的犹太民族,虽然没有给人留下什么特别值得骄傲的宫殿和建筑,但却给我们留下了永恒的智慧,而这智慧正是一切财富的根源。也正是凭借着这些智慧,到了最近1000年左右,犹太人登上了“世界第一商人”的宝座,他们在其他领域的成就也让世人刮目相看。在世界民族之林中,很难再找到一个民族像犹太民族那样,在5000多年的历史中,竟有2000多年流离失所,行走天涯,且屡遭屠戮。他们在世界各地流浪,没有一种力量可以保护他们的安全。
  • 家庭生活万事通

    家庭生活万事通

    本书从家居艺术、恋爱婚姻、家庭安全、服饰打扮、卫生保健、防病治病、居室美化、购物技巧、法律常识等方面,共汇集了1000多个生活技巧和生活难题的解决方法。全书内容源于生活,贴近生活,为你提供轻松时尚的生活方案。
  • 相见欢之为爱轮回(全书完)

    相见欢之为爱轮回(全书完)

    一个其貌不扬的古怪老师,却在体内暗藏着南唐后主李煜的灵魂一个来路不明,性感多才的音乐老师,却在体内暗藏着大周后娥皇的灵魂这是一场现代爱情悲剧,还是唯美爱情的重演?这是人生宿命,还是一场惊天大阴谋?而当两个灵魂苏醒的时候,所有的一切却刚刚开始……=================================================本小说原名《琵琶》。一把著名传世的琵琶牵出了生与死、情与愁、爱与恨的碰撞=================================================故事简介:太平兴国三年的七夕节,李煜应该在这一天悄然死去,但他却从死亡中迸发出来。关于李煜的故事远远不止41年,这41年是历史的永恒,之后的千百年却是一段传奇。通过灵魂游离的千年——在二十一世纪的今天,远方传来了一声远古的声音,发出这种声音的是一种失传了千年的乐器——烧槽琵琶。而烧槽琵琶的声音更像是一种呼唤,来自于地底下、或者是时间背后的呼唤。神秘的音乐女教师似乎对这种声音有著特殊的信仰,她要去寻找这个声音,找到那个烧槽琵琶,因为这是开启轮回之门的钥匙。她跟随著一个古怪的男老师开了始寻找烧槽琵琶的探险,最后,他们在一处荒凉的古墓里的找到了这个琵琶,但是真正的阴谋却刚刚开始。烧槽琵琶不见了,他们又陷入了另一场危机之中……终于回到了北宋年间,李煜从死亡中复活,作为北宋俘虏的他开始了复仇的计划,他与宋太宗赵光义的明争暗斗也随之拉开……但是当烧槽琵琶重新来到他们身边时,一切都不同了。他放弃了与赵光义的暗斗,而且开始了一场逃亡的生涯,在宋廷军队不断地的追击中,李煜一次次与死亡擦肩而过,他能否摆脱赵光义的势力,他的终点又是何处?然而,跟随在他身边的烧槽琵琶,却也暗藏了一个惊天的大秘密……李煜还是重新登上了帝位,他又一次当上了皇帝,这一次面对的敌人除了北宋的赵光义外,还有来自大辽的耶律德光。这一次的敌人更加地凶狠和残酷,他与娥皇的爱情宿命在战火纷飞中经受着生离死别。这所有的敌人不仅仅为了夺取李煜的性命而来,也不仅仅是为了占领疆土而来,更是为了这把神密的烧槽琵琶,他们要将其占为己有……然而烧槽琵琶铭刻了李煜对娥皇无限的爱意,又岂能让人夺去,在保卫疆土和保护琵琶之中,到底孰轻孰重?在要江山还是要美人的选择中,李煜又会选择谁?
  • 男生十七:恰逢年华正酣时

    男生十七:恰逢年华正酣时

    陈朝阳第二次看见辛薇和尹朵儿是在课间操的时候,两个女孩就站在隔壁班的女生队伍里。当时陈朝阳同尹朵儿的距离仅有一米之遥,尹朵儿就那么随着自己心跳的频率,随着陈朝阳步子前行的节奏,一下一下转动脑袋,在尹朵儿看来,那一眼便是地老天荒……
  • 飞向蓝天的历程(趣味科学馆丛书)

    飞向蓝天的历程(趣味科学馆丛书)

    “趣味科学馆”丛书,是一套自然科学类读物。丛书包罗科学的多个领域,涉及“信息化”、“绿色革命”、“发明、“生态资源”、“航天”、“军事”、“日食、月食”等当下热门关键词,有引领读者关注热点、提升其认识水平的现实价值。刘芳主编的《飞向蓝天的历程》为丛书之一。《飞向蓝天的历程》内容涉及飞机的各个侧面,并进行合乎逻辑的排列组合。文字浅显易懂,生动活泼。
  • 魂怨

    魂怨

    据说,鬼不过是六道众生之一。鬼福报不如人,相当可怜;人不应当怕鬼,应该去同情鬼;人鬼各行其道,本相安无事。鬼找人通常是有未了之缘从而魂生怨气,至人而死。死人禁地,生人勿近!一次偶然的机会,我偷喝了坟前的冥酒,原本以为没有什么事情发生,从噩梦中惊醒,才发现原来自己被一个千年诅咒所束缚,暮然回首,只见阴曹地府就在眼前。生死阴阳,隔岸相望。超越轮回之境,探寻生死奥秘。
  • 大明总督

    大明总督

    沉睡的恶魔再次唤醒了战争,旧的国家开始分裂,新的国家形成。世界潜伏着巨大的危机,卡拉迪亚正在等待英雄的降临。路被浓雾遮蔽,没有人注意到你的出现。路的尽头,是卡拉迪亚的未来。而你,将亲自经历这一切。在这个即将巨变的时代里,你将扮演怎样的角色?
  • 何为神袛

    何为神袛

    本书不会上架,也不会有封面,爱看不看吧。章字数少于1000