CHAPTER XXXIII THE SHADOW FALLS

 As long as he lives, Johnny will not forget that ride across the bay. There was no moon. The water was black as ink. They were all crowded into one flat-bottomed boat. A wave would have thrown them all into the lake. But there were no waves. The water was still as the grave. He was crowded in close to Joyce Mills. He could feel her very heart beat. She said nothing but for all that, he knew what she thought. She was thinking of her father; of how he would love to be here, and wondering a bit sadly where he was and if he were living at all.

 

Had she but known!

 

The boat grounded at last quite noiselessly on a sandy shore. A few whispered instructions and they were away single file over a winding¹ moss-padded trail.

 

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At last the lights of the lodge² began to shine through the trees. They scattered³, circling the place. Weapons in hand, they waited. Came the sharp command of the Federal officer. He called upon those in the lodge to surrender.

 

All that followed will remain forever blurred⁴ in Johnny’s memory. A figure rose from the bush to leap at Joyce Mills. Instinctively⁵ he sprang at the figure. They went down together. They rolled over and over, fighting hard. For one brief second he was under, pinned down. Cold steel pressed against his temple.

 

“This is the end!” he thought.

 

Then something, a gray shape, came hurtling over him. A shot rang out, something crashed into him. His light went out.

 

He could not have been unconscious more than ten minutes. When he came to, the forest was silent once more. A figure lay beside him, a man with a gray beard, his figure enshrouded in a long gray coat.

 

“The Gray Shadow!” he thought with a start. “At last he is still.”

 

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Joyce Mills was hovering⁶ over him. When he sat up dizzily, she gave a sharp cry of joy.

 

Heavy footsteps came crashing through the brush. Drew Lane, Tom Howe and “The Ferret” were there.

 

“What happened?” Drew demanded. “They surrendered tamely enough, old Greasy⁷ Thumb and Three Fingers. The Chief was with them and—”

 

“The Chief!” Johnny could not conceal⁸ his surprise.

 

“Yes, and his whispering reporter. But what is this? And who are these?”

 

He pointed⁹ first to the Gray Shadow; then to a dark form huddled¹⁰ in the weeds.

 

“The Ferret” played the light of his electric torch on the dark huddled form.

 

“That,” he said impressively, “is the Spy—the worst man that ever lived. And he’s done for. Thank God! A bullet in his head.”

 

“And this,” said Johnny, tearing away a fake beard, “is Newton Mills.”

 

As he said this, Joyce Mills threw up her hands to utter a low cry.

 

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“Let’s see!” “The Ferret” crowded in. He played the light on the pale, blood-stained face. He bent¹² over it for an instant.

 

“Some one bring water,” he said in a business-like voice. “It’s only a scalp wound. He’ll be around directly.”

 

Johnny, watching Joyce Mills, admired her more than ever. For, after all, it was her father, the man she loved more than life, who lay there before her. She swayed back and forth¹³ once or twice; then turning to Johnny, she said a bit unsteadily, “I hope that we are going to have chicken dinner together in the shack¹⁴ to-morrow, father and Drew, Tom and I.”

 

“Why not in the cabin that has seen love and hate, life and death?” asked Johnny, finding it hard to control his emotions.

 

The hunting lodge was large. When Newton Mills came to, he was comfortably stowed away in one of its many beds. Joyce Mills was left there with him.

 

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The others gathered about a great fireplace. The prisoners, Greasy Thumb and his pal¹¹, were not handcuffed. The windows were heavily shuttered from without, and a Federal officer sat on guard at the door.

 

“Nice night,” said Johnny, seating himself beside Drew Lane.

 

Across the fire the Chief scowled¹⁶ at him.

 

A radio was at Johnny’s elbow. He turned the dial.

 

“Just in time to hear the Voice.”

 

“The Ferret” started. The Chief’s scowl¹⁵ deepened. The whispering reporter moved uneasily in his place.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Meanwhile, Grace Palmer, the college girl, had received a second mysterious letter. It came this time by messenger. It read:

 

“The package you seek is hidden among the rocks of the breakwater on the island, just at the point where it turns from east to north.”

 

She read this with no little astonishment¹⁷.

 

“The Crown Jewels!” she murmured.

 

She looked at her watch. It was nearly ten o’clock, a moonless night.

 

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For a moment she hesitated, a moment only. Then she went to the telephone.

 

She got Curlie on the wire. He was back from his trip. She read the note.

 

“But would you go there to-night?” he asked.

 

“With you, yes. To-morrow may be too late.”

 

“O.K. Meet me at the west entrance of the 12th Street Station.”

 

“I’ll be there.”

 

She hung up. Five minutes later her car slid out of the driveway and went gliding¹⁸ down the boulevard.

 

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

7 greasy   

adj. 多脂的，油脂的

参考例句：

• He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

8 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

11 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

12 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

14 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

15 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

16 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

17 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

18 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。