Résumé
Résumé de Deux jeunes patriotes audacieux
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
Readers who enjoy wartime adventure, clever schemes, disguises and close escapes will find plenty here, along with a warm friendship between two schoolboys and a firm sense of right and wrong.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Two Daring Young Patriots is a First World War adventure by W. P. Shervill. It follows two English schoolboys, Max Durend and Jack Dale, from a rowing contest on the river Suir at their school, Hawkesley, to the streets, mines and forests of occupied Belgium in 1914. The book was written as a story of courage for young readers, and it moves quickly from scene to scene.
Max is half Belgian and half English. His late father built great iron and steel works in Liège, and a manager named Otto Schenk runs them with an iron hand. When German armies invade, those works become a prize, and Max decides that not one shell or rail from his father's factories should help the enemy. With Dale at his side and a loyal workman named Dubec behind him, he takes up disguise, sabotage and daring escapes.
You get a story of friendship, tricks and narrow chances, and a young hero who learns how to wait for the right moment. You also see how an ordinary town lives under occupation. To understand why Max acts as he does, we begin with the boat race that shapes his whole character.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A Patient Stroke Wins the RaceFree
- 2A Father's Death and a Manager's Shadow
- 3War Arrives in the Summer of 1914
- 4A Rescue, Then a Terrible Discovery
- 5A Midnight Raid on the Safe
- 6Sabotage Strikes the Durend Works
- 7Duty Can Ask for Everything
- 8Friendship and Loyal Workers
- 9How the Tale Is Told
Point clé 1 sur 9
A Patient Stroke Wins the Race
The story opens beside the river Suir at Hawkesley, a school with six Houses that compete in a week of boat races. Benson's crew is among the favorites, and its stroke is Max Durend, an eighteen-year-old with dark looks, a reserved manner and a mother who is English. Seven, the oarsman behind him, is Montgomery, a gifted rower with a bitter temper. His sulking spoils the timing of the whole boat.
On the eve of the races Max tells Montgomery that he is no longer in the crew. Montgomery lashes out and leaves a mark on his cheek, and the quarrel becomes the talk of the school. A reserve man named Franklin must take a seat in the boat. Dale, the slim and cheerful coxswain, stays loyal and tries to hold the crew together.
The races at Hawkesley are bumping races. Boats start four lengths apart on a narrow river, and each must touch the boat ahead to win its place. Franklin cannot keep up at a fast pace, so Max rows long and slow, and Johnson's catch Benson's on the first day. For three more days the crew grumbles, and the school jeers, because Max keeps his plan from most of the crew.
Max is playing a waiting game. He wants Franklin to settle into the rhythm before he asks the crew for a sprint. On the fourth day he gives a racing start and bumps Colson's within five minutes. The next day he rows steadily, watches his stopwatch, and unleashes a final sprint in the last minute to catch Johnson's. The day after, Benson's bump Cradock's and reach the Head of the River.
Mr. Benson tells the crew that there is almost nothing determination cannot achieve. Montgomery shakes Max's hand and apologizes. This lesson stays with Max and Dale for the rest of the book, and they recall it in the worst hours of the war. The chapter also shows a flaw in Max, who keeps his plans to himself and lets others think the worst.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Deux jeunes patriotes audacieux
What is Two Daring Young Patriots about?
It tells of Max Durend and Jack Dale, two English schoolboys in Belgium when the First World War begins. They disguise themselves as workmen and use sabotage and clever plans to keep the Durend factories in Liège from helping the German army.
Who is Otto Schenk in Two Daring Young Patriots?
Otto Schenk is the manager of the Durend works, trusted by the family and feared by the workers. He rules the shops with a heavy hand, and his true loyalties become the main obstacle to Max's plans.
Is Two Daring Young Patriots a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction. The characters are invented, but the setting is real, including the German attack on Liège in August 1914 and the occupation that followed. The author wrote it as a patriotic adventure for young readers.
Why does the story begin with a rowing race?
The race at Hawkesley shows Max's character and gives the book its main lesson. His patient plan and steady purpose win a race that looks lost, and he later calls on that lesson in every danger he faces.
Is Two Daring Young Patriots easy to read?
Yes, the style is plain and brisk. Chapters are short and mostly built around one scheme or escape. The clear sequence of events and the lively dialogue between Max and Dale make the story simple to follow.