CHAPTER IX. The Mystery Deepens.

 Never had I longed so eagerly to walk, as I did that evening when all three cousins ran out of the room in pursuit of their missing brother. I had not really been anxious before, for Harold, although only nine years old, was well able to take care of himself, and I had only regretted that he would probably get into trouble again with father for disobedience. It never entered my head that he could possibly be hidden in the house, far less that he should be in the oak chest, which for all I knew was locked up.

 

The housemaid coming in just then, I begged her to carry me up to the tower-room, putting aside for the moment the fear I had always had, before my cousins came, of trusting myself to any one but father.

 

When we reached our den¹ the children were standing² by the chest, which was open, and was empty.

 

"He has been here," said Rupert; "see how the things are pressed down."

 

"I don't believe he could get in," said I; "it isn't long enough."

 

But my doubts were silenced by Kathleen stooping and lifting from one corner a handkerchief stained with blood, which was still wet.

 

"This is Harold's!" she cried. "Whatever has happened to him!"

 

"His nose has been bleeding," said Jack³, promptly⁴; "you know it often does. It would be enough to make a mummy's nose bleed to be shut up in that old chest. I wish I had never told him what a splendid place it would be to hide in. It seems I'm always to be at the bottom of the mischief⁵. We shouldn't have gone in that boat if I had not suggested fishing, and Edric would still have had five fingers on each hand if I hadn't fired the gun. Now poor old Harold will get into a scrape for hiding so long, just because I went and showed him how the spring of the chest worked, after I had ferreted it out myself. Halloa, what are you about, Rupert? Don't kill me; I didn't mean any harm."

 

Rupert had suddenly sprung at Jack, and seizing him by the arm almost screamed out—

 

"Spring, did you say? Then it can't be opened from the inside."

 

In another moment Rupert had flung out the few odds⁶ and ends of old clothing which were in the bottom of the chest, and sprang into it; as he did so, his heels made a strange, hollow sound, which caught my attention. He was rather tall for his age, and had to double himself up in a way that would have delighted the heart of his gymnasium master before he could say—

 

"Now shut it down, quick, and I'll see if I can open it; but mind you undo⁷ the spring directly I give three knocks."

 

Of course, he could do nothing; the box could only be opened from the outside by pressing the springs. We were glad enough to reply, to his signal, and release the prisoner. Then we all stood with puzzled faces looking at the open chest.

 

"What have you been up to?" said a cheery voice, and never were we more relieved to see my mother. She listened gravely and quietly to our account.

 

"If he has really been in that box, and the handkerchief certainly seems to prove it, then some one must have got him out. Perhaps one of the servants did. Let us go and inquire. You had better all come downstairs; you look as white as the miller⁸. There's nothing much to be frightened at, after all. If Harold were able to get out of the chest, he certainly was not smothered⁹. As to his nose bleeding, you know that won't hurt him. Perhaps he is asleep in bed; have you looked?"

 

"We've ransacked¹⁰ every room in the house, and the servants have not seen him since six o'clock."

 

Ten o'clock came, and with his usual punctuality father sounded the gong for prayers. He insisted on doing it with the outer doors wide open, so that if Harold were within earshot, he would be reminded that it was bedtime. I had never been up to evening prayers before; and as I lay with my hands clasped, I looked out for a moment to the calm summer sky. There was a glorious moon, which made a path of silver among the rhododendron bushes. It all looked very beautiful, and my heart joined with delight in the words of thanksgiving which father was speaking. Then he went on to pray that we might all be guarded through the night; I thought of Harold, and said, Amen. I had said my prayers night and morning ever since I was old enough to know Who it was to whom I owed everything, but I am sure I had never really prayed before. A change came over me that evening; God seemed nearer to me, I seemed nearer to Him, and I realised fully¹¹ for the first time that He was my loving Father and King.

 

My eyes were closed for a moment in earnest, silent prayer; when I opened them again—could it possibly be fancy?—I thought I saw a figure going swiftly down the rhododendron path.

 

"The ghost!" I cried, not waiting till the family were off their knees; "there's Jack's ghost again!"

 

Father ran out of the window; but, of course, as he had not seen the mysterious visitor when he came before, he did not know which way he went, and turned to the left. That gave the man a start; and although I called out to father which way to go, he did not succeed in finding any one.

 

We all waited in intense excitement till father came back; and then the finishing touch to our evening was given by our young coachman coming in with a broad grin on his face, without even waiting to knock at the door.

 

"If you please, mum, Master Harold's sitting on my bed. I think he's summat light-headed, for he keeps on asking how he got there, and declares that he was in the oak chest and couldn't get out. Do you mind coming to see him, mum?"

 

Robert had been out all the evening with my parents, and had only had time to attend to the horse and put the carriage away when the gong sounded for prayers, so he had not been in his room, which was above the coach-house, since he dressed at four o'clock. Rupert and Kathleen did a dance of delight round the table; while Jack, who was still attired¹² in his dressing-gown, had to content himself with playing the castanets with his fingers and whistling.

 

"What a funny go," he cried, when his brother and sister had dropped breathless into the one big armchair. "Listen! What do you say to my ghost being the one who rescued him? If so, he must have left Robert's room when you saw him, Edric. Oh dear, what a thing it is to feel like a bottle of ginger¹³ beer, and yet have to behave as if you were as flat as ditch water, owing to your stupid foot." Then, with his usual sensitiveness, Jack felt that he had said something which might hurt me, and hastened to mend it.

 

"That's my own fault, isn't it, Edric? And that's just why it's harder to bear. Virtue¹⁴ is its own reward, they say, and so is wickedness. Here he comes! 'I've waited long for you, my man; Oh, welcome safe to land,'" he sang, gently, as Harold came in, holding mother's hand and looking rather bewildered.

 

"Now, young man," said father, "give an account of yourself. What do you mean by disobeying me and going out of the house when you promised not, and harrowing the hearts of your brothers and sister and all your relations?"

 

"Please, uncle, I didn't go out of the house," said Harold, earnestly.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 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。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

8 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

9 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

10 ransacked   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
• The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 attired   

adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bride was attired in white. 新娘穿一身洁白的礼服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is appropriate that everyone be suitably attired. 人人穿戴得体是恰当的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

14 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。