And now, as Ned, Bob, and Jerry stood outside the cabin door, through which they had a glimpse of the well-remembered figure, and as together they uttered the magic word “Professor Snodgrass,” the same thing happened as happened to Ali Baba.
The door of the cabin was quickly shut, and not by the figure seated at the table before the mass of papers.
For a few seconds the three lads remained transfixed with surprise. They looked at one another, then glanced at the closed door, and then peered into each others’ faces.
[102]
Jerry was the first to recover the use of his voice.
“Did you see that, fellows?”
“Did we see it?” echoed Ned. “I should say so!”
“What does it all mean?” asked Bob. “Why should our old friend, Professor Snodgrass, treat us like that—shutting the door in our faces?”
“He didn’t!” declared Jerry.
“He did!” asserted Bob. “I saw him!”
“You saw the door close,” went on Jerry. “But the professor didn’t shut it. If you had been standing2 where I was, you could have observed that. There was some one else in the room who acted for him.”
“That’s right!” chimed in Ned. “He didn’t even see us. He didn’t look up once from his papers. It was the same old Professor Snodgrass—more intent on finding out how many legs some new kind of ant has than on his meals. Yes, the same old professor!”
“Are you sure about that?” asked Jerry.
“Sure of it?” reiterated3 Ned. “Why, of course! Aren’t you?”
“You called his name out, just as we did, and then the door went shut,” declared Bob. “You spoke4 his name.”
“Yes; and at the time I really thought it was the professor,” admitted Jerry. “But when I[103] think of what took place I begin to have my doubts.”
“Professor Snodgrass never acted that way before, that’s sure,” and Ned seemed siding with Jerry Hopkins. “Every other time he’s seen us he’s been tickled5 to death. This time——”
“He didn’t see us this time—that’s all there is to it,” declared Jerry. “Professor Snodgrass or not, whoever is in that room never looked up to see us, though he—whoever he is—may have heard us call out the name.”
“If it isn’t the professor who is it?” demanded Bob.
“Who’s the fellow I had the row with in the restaurant?” Jerry countered.
“Oh! Le cochon!” Bob exclaimed. “That’s so! He does look a lot like our friend. But not from the front, Jerry Hopkins! Not from the front!” he added quickly, as he recalled that circumstance, and the fact that this time they had had a full-face view of the man now sitting behind the closed cabin door. “The pepper-pot looks like the professor from the back view, but not from the front. We proved that several times.”
“And besides,” went on Ned, “this isn’t the mysterious cabin, either. There are no marines on guard here.”
“I grant you that,” said Jerry, and he was smiling at his two chums in a manner that, had they[104] not been so excited, would have roused their curiosity.
“And this isn’t the same cabin, either!” reiterated Ned. “The one where the marines are on guard, and where we think the pepper-pot is held a prisoner, is on the deck below.”
“Are you sure of that?” asked Jerry, and the manner of his asking made both Ned and Bob look more closely at the corridor in which they were then standing. Next they glanced at the closed door, noting the number, and with one accord they exclaimed:
“It’s the same!”
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” remarked Jerry, with a little nod of satisfaction. “But we might as well hike along. No use standing here talking over the mystery. Besides, the professor may not like it.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t the professor,” said Ned.
“No, I only said I had my doubts,” corrected Jerry. “I don’t really know what to think.”
“As you say, it’s a mystery,” conceded Bob. “But can’t we get to the bottom of it? Say, all sorts of things are happening on our homeward trip. Here we are delayed because of some mysterious explosion on board, there’s a mysterious prisoner in a mysterious cabin guarded by marines, and now we think we see in the same cabin the[105] real professor. Say, it’s beyond me all right!”
“Yes, it’s queer,” admitted Jerry. “Let’s go off by ourselves and talk it over.”
“Good idea,” agreed Ned. “I guess we’ll have enough excitement doing that not to need other recreation.”
In as secluded6 a spot as the three Motor Boys could find on the crowded troopship, they talked over the incidents of the trip thus far.
“Then you are sure the cabin where we saw the professor—or at least the cabin where the door was shut so soon after we uttered his name—you’re sure that’s the same cabin where the marines were on guard, are you, Jerry?” asked Ned.
“Positive,” was the tall lad’s reply.
“But how do you account for the change?” asked Bob. “Why are the guards withdrawn7, and why is it that this pepper-pot—if it is he in the cabin—looks so much more like Professor Snodgrass from the front than he did at first?”
“The only way I can account for that,” replied Jerry, “is that it really is Professor Snodgrass this time.”
“This time!” echoed Ned. “Do you mean to say the professor is on board here?”
“He might be,” the tall lad admitted. “You remember we met only the other day a fellow we knew well. He’d been on board since the start of[106] this unfortunate trip, and yet we didn’t know it until we ran plumb8 into him. It may be the same with the professor.”
“But he’d be sure to look us up if he were here,” declared Bob. “He always does. He’s very friendly, and he likes to be with us. He’d be sure to speak to us if he were on board.”
“Yes, if he knew we were here,” admitted Jerry. “But he may not. If it was he in the cabin, where the door was just closed, you can make up your mind he never saw us.”
“No, I don’t believe he did,” assented9 Bob. “But if that is the same cabin where pepper-pot was guarded, and he’s gone now, and the real Professor Snodgrass is in his place, how do you account for it?”
“I don’t account for it,” answered Jerry, with a smile. “All I am sure of is that this is the same cabin where the marines were. You can be as sure of that as I am—in fact, I guess you are sure, aren’t you?”
Ned and Bob nodded in affirmation.
“Then,” went on the tall lad, “all that I am sure of, next, is that the guards are gone. And you must admit that it is possible for both Professor Snodgrass and the man we call le cochon to be in that cabin at the same time, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course it is,” assented Ned. “But from the way that pepper-pot talked of our friend[107] I shouldn’t think they’d want to be in the same cabin.”
“Maybe they don’t want to be, but circumstances may force them to,” suggested Jerry, with a laugh. “Boys,” he went on, “I believe there’s something queer going on here aboard the Sherman. We’ve done our part in telling what we know. Now it’s up to our superior officers.”
Ned and Bob were silent for a moment. Then the stout10 lad broke the silence by saying:
“Well, it certainly is a mystery! I only wish we could have a talk with Professor Snodgrass—provided he’s here—and see what he has to say.”
“I wish the same thing myself,” admitted Jerry. “And now perhaps we’d better go on with our original plan, and see if we can do something to organize a little fun to kill this deadly monotony of waiting for help.”
“Yes, let’s do that,” agreed Ned.
As they started once more on their errand a commotion11 was heard on the deck above. The shuffling12 of many feet told of soldiers rushing to and fro, while there were shouts that seemed to be those of alarm.
“Hello! Something else doing!” cried Ned, as he hurried toward a companionway that led to the upper decks.
The three reached the deck together, and as they emerged into the open they were immediately[108] enveloped13 in swirling14 clouds of white vapor15.
“Smoke!” cried Bob. “The ship is on fire!”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Jerry. “It’s a heavy fog! Just what is to be expected when there’s a dead calm at this time of year. We’re fog-bound, as well as disabled.”
“But why should a mere16 fog cause such a commotion?” asked Ned.
Before Jerry could answer the three boys were startled by hearing through the dim, misty17 whiteness a well-known voice saying:
“Don’t disturb me now, and please don’t come too close! This is the best chance I’ve had for a long while to catch some of the mist-flies. Please don’t interrupt me, gentlemen!”
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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2
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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3
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
spoke
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| 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 | |
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5
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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6
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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7
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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8
plumb
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| adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深 | |
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9
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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13
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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15
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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16
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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