CHAPTER VII. The Mysterious Visitor.

 If any one had told me I was a coward, I should have been very indignant, and I think rightly so; but I must confess that I lay and trembled, as I looked through the open window, and wondered who had screamed and what was the matter. The steps in the wall, the white figure skulking¹ among the bushes, and finally the scream; was that not enough material wherewith to make a very nice little chapter of horrors? Never had I so much regretted my helplessness. If I had only been able to walk, nothing would have prevented my going upstairs and telling Rupert that I thought Jack² had got into trouble; as it was, I could only exercise my brains for some other way to let him know.

 

Mother came in just then, and exclaimed at my white face. That was the best thing that could have happened. I made her promise not to get Jack into further trouble, and then I told her all about it. She went into the garden at once, and found him lying on the ground writhing⁴ with pain, with his foot caught in a man-trap, which he had himself found in the loft⁵ the day before, and put in the path out of mischief⁶, and then forgotten to remove it.

 

Cautioning him not to struggle, for he would only make the pain greater and get more firmly fixed⁷, she ran to find father, who came with some men to release the prisoner.

 

 "FATHER CAME WITH SOME MEN TO RELEASE THE PRISONER." 

"FATHER CAME WITH SOME MEN TO RELEASE THE PRISONER."

Father then carried him into the room where I was lying, and put him on a sofa near me. "It has broken your ankle, I'm afraid," he said, examining Jack's foot carefully. "Send George for the doctor at once, Mary." Then poor father walked up and down the room as if he were worried almost out of his mind.

 

"I was after the ghost," said Jack, presently, in a timid voice; "I was creeping behind him, and was just close up when my foot was gripped by that thing. I believe I screamed once; if so, he heard me, and won't come again."

 

"Don't talk such nonsense," said mother, who had returned by this time. "There are no such things as ghosts."

 

"Of course, I know that," said Jack, recovering a little of his usual spirit. "The ghost I was after wore a white mackintosh coat and a pair of big sailor's boots. I wonder—oh, Edric, do you remember the footmarks in the mud?"

 

"What of them?" said father, sternly. "Do you remember, young gentleman, that you are a prisoner, and have no business at all out of that room; and here you are with a broken ankle talking nonsense about ghosts and footmarks in the mud. Why did you leave the tower when I told you not to do so?"

 

"For two reasons, uncle. First, I wanted to see Edric. You see we all like Edric, and we felt——" a little pause, and Jack seemed to choke; "we felt sorry about yesterday. I dreamt of fingers all night, uncle, indeed I did—covered with blood, too."

 

"Go on," said father, gravely.

 

"Well, we wanted to know how Edric was. The servant who brought our meals was as dumb as any old monk⁸ who had promised never to speak, so we couldn't get anything out of her. I was standing⁹ by the window at about eight o'clock, wondering whether I dared climb down the ivy¹⁰ and run round to the dining-room to see Edric, when all of a sudden I saw something moving in the bushes. I put my head out without saying a word to the others, who were all busy writing to tell father and mother how naughty we have been; and what do you think I saw? A man, in a white coat and sailor's slouch hat, beginning to climb up the ivy. I waited till he had got half-way up, and then I sneezed; like this." Jack sneezed so naturally that we all laughed. "That's the way I get the windows shut at school if it's cold. Mother told Mr. Barton to be particularly careful that we didn't catch cold; so when we want the windows shut I just keep on sneezing till he does it."

 

"What happened next?" asked father, speaking in his natural manner for the first time since our escapade.

 

Jack's sensitive nature felt the change at once. "You should have seen him," he said, brightly. "He dropped down like a cat, and bolted."

 

"Did he look up?"

 

"I don't know. I took my head in quick, for fear he might owe me one if he should ever see me again. I waited a minute, and then climbed down after him. I couldn't see him anywhere, so I went to look at Edric."

 

Now, although I have told you all that my cousin said without any breaks, you must remember he had a broken ankle, and many times he stopped in great pain in the middle of a sentence. Father noticed this; and as soon as he had heard all that he required, he put his hand on Jack's head and told him to lie quietly till the doctor came.

 

"You can't think of all the dreadful things I was going to do to you," he said. "You will learn some day that everything we do wrong brings its own punishment. It does not come perhaps directly, as Edric's lost finger and your broken ankle did; but it does come, my boy."

 

"But he wanted to help you, father," I said, hastily, sorry that my hero should be looked upon as a culprit.

 

"That was right enough, laddie; but he set to work the wrong way. It is no use doing evil that good may come; good never does come in the end from such work. He should have obeyed me first, and helped me afterwards."

 

It was a bit of a puzzle to me then; but now that I am older, I know that father was right. As it was, I am afraid that I was not as grieved about Jack's broken ankle as I should have been. For the next few days, at all events, I knew he would be my constant companion, for he would lie on the sofa near me.

 

Nothing more was said by my parents about our mysterious visitor, though, of course, Jack and I were never tired of talking about him. We made him out to be everything in turns, from a Russian nobleman to a London burglar in disguise.

 

Thursday evening came, and brought welcome release to the other prisoners in the tower-room; and on Friday morning my two bearers came and carried me off to the den³, where we talked till it was a wonder our tongues did not ache.

 

They had heard nothing about the cause of Jack's accident, and great was their amazement¹¹ when they were told of the stranger who knew so well the way to the tower-room.

 

"How long is it since this room was used?" asked Rupert.

 

"It has never been used that I can remember," I replied. "Mother thought it would make a good playroom for you because it is so far away. When I first came into it with her, it was thick with dust, and had nothing in it but that oak chest and this chair."

 

"Then I'll be bound that man knows more about it than you do," said Rupert. "You'll find out some day; I only hope it will be whilst we are here."

1 skulking   

v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There was someone skulking behind the bushes. 有人藏在灌木后面。
• There were half a dozen foxes skulking in the undergrowth. 在林下灌丛中潜伏着五六只狐狸。 来自辞典例句

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

4 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

5 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

6 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

9 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。

10 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

11 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。