CHAPTER FOURTEEN Peril in the Night

 Randy would have liked nothing better than to have been at Lowell Harbor to welcome his father, but the quarantine made that impossible. However, Randy left word for his father to phone him on arrival.

 

Hours after the sensational¹ telecast, the radiophone finally buzzed. Randy ran to it, flipped² a switch, and listened on the two-way microphone.

 

“Pops!” Randy exclaimed. “Yes, it’s me! How are you?” On and on the excited conversation went.

 

“Isn’t it wonderful, Mom?” Ted³ said to his mother.

 

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“It certainly is!” she answered. “Your dad and I really believed Randy would never see his father alive again.”

 

Yank had been allowed into the house. He seemed to realize that this was a moment of good times, for he capered⁴ about like an animated⁵ ball of fur. He even tried to make noises into the mike himself, but Randy playfully pushed him off.

 

Feeling pretty good himself now, Ted thought that if Yank wanted action he’d give it to him. He cuffed⁷ the little animal gently along his head. Yank tore after him, catching⁸ him near the air lock. Down went the boy and color bear together. Yank growled⁹ menacingly but did not impress Ted with his mock ferocity. Yank got on top of Ted, and Ted called for help.

 

Just then Randy’s long conversation with his father ended, and he came over to join the fun. Then the three of them were scrambling¹⁰ and yelling together. Ted halted his play for a moment to look up and see Jill standing¹¹ in the doorway¹², her face beaming as though she would like to join the fun. Mrs. Kenton looked around, and her face darkened.

 

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“You’d better get back in that bed, young lady!” her mother threatened.

 

Jill squealed¹³ and ran off to bed. Ted saw that his mother was not really angry. She was smiling, and Ted knew she was glad to find that Jill was feeling so much better.

 

The rest of the day passed on the same high note of joy. Where several days ago, everything had been fear and gloom, now everything was rosy¹⁴. The next day, after Randy had talked with his father again, he was impatient to get out and meet him. Ted, too, was beginning to feel the pinch of the quarantine.

 

The boys went out to take a look at the garden. The stems were high and full of broad leaves. It looked like a miniature jungle here. And in such a short time! Ted checked the atmosphere gauge¹⁵ that showed the percentage of oxygen to carbon dioxide in the greenhouse. The gas from the carbon dioxide tank had to be just so, or the plants would suffocate¹⁶ from an overabundance of oxygen.

 

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When the boys returned to the living room, Mrs. Kenton said to them, “I have a surprise for you two. Turn your heads.”

 

They did so, and when she told them to look around they saw a fully⁶ dressed Jill standing there, her cheeks pink and healthy again. Ted hugged his sister as though she had been away a long time and was just getting back.

 

At last, the day that, it had seemed, would never arrive finally did come. Randy was up especially early that morning, saying that he wanted to visit his father before he went to school.

 

The children were in the living room awaiting breakfast.

 

“I’m sure they’ll let you off from school one more day to be with your father, Randy,” Mrs. Kenton called from the kitchen.

 

“Even if they do, I don’t want to lose any time seeing him,” Randy said.

 

Suddenly Jill pointed¹⁷ a shaky finger toward the front door. “L-look, there’s a man at the door?”

 

Ted turned around, startled. “I wonder who...” he began.

 

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But Randy was not puzzled. He ran across the room and flipped the switch that controlled the air lock. A few minutes later a robust¹⁸ man in a space suit entered and pulled off his helmet. He had a rugged¹⁹, kindly²⁰ face which showed the effects of the terrible strain he had been under so long. But he was smiling.

 

“Pops!” Randy cried and threw his arms around him.

 

“Boy, what a squeeze you have!” Mr. Matthews grunted²¹. “You’ve grown, Randy.”

 

When their prolonged greeting was over, Randy introduced his father to the Kentons. Ted’s hand was almost lost in the large, powerful grip of Mr. Matthews.

 

“You’re just in time for breakfast, Mr. Matthews,” Mrs. Kenton said.

 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a home-cooked meal,” the man answered wistfully. “I’d like to join you.”

 

As they were eating, Dr. Matthews heard the story of his son’s adoption²² by the Kentons. Then he said, “I can’t thank you folks enough for taking care of my boy just as if he were one of your own.”

 

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“Pops!” Randy cried.

 

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“Randy has been one of us,” Mrs. Kenton said warmly.

 

“What do you say about that?” his father asked. “Do you want to leave these nice people?”

 

Randy looked uncertain. It was a situation he had given little thought to before. “I don’t really like leaving them,” Randy said hesitantly. Then he seemed to have an idea. “I’ve got it, Dad! Why can’t you come and live here?”

 

Mr. Matthews laughed. “I’m afraid that’s carrying hospitality too far. No, we’ll build us a house of our own, as close by as we can. Until we get an allotment of housing material, we’ll get a room in headquarters.”

 

“There’s no use both of you living there,” Mrs. Kenton said. “Why not led Randy stay on here until your house is ready to move into?”

 

“Sure,” Ted put in. “Why can’t Randy do that?” He had been saddened at the thought of Randy leaving the household. It had seemed as though Randy was going to be with them always, for he had not believed that Randy’s father was ever coming back.

 

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Randy thought this was a fine idea. Ted could see that he did not like parting with the Kentons any more than they did with him. Mr. Matthews was reluctant to take further advantage of the Kenton hospitality, but at last was talked into the proposition.

 

The children went along with Randy’s father back toward town, following along in the Kenton boat. Mr. Matthews said he’d arrange for Randy to have the day off from school so that the two of them could have a good visit.

 

The young Kentons were glad to be back in the thick of things. They found school particularly interesting that day, because a field trip was announced by Mr. Garland.

 

“Every year this class is given an exploring field trip over certain areas of the planet so that you can get a firsthand knowledge of Mars’s geography,” the instructor²³ declared. “The trip is by plane and will last two days. You must have your parents’ consent, of course.”

 

That afternoon, as Ted and Jill left school, Ted said, “What do you think of that trip, Sis?”

 

“It sounds like fun!” she said. “I hope we can go.”

 

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“I’d like to, too, but don’t forget Mom would be by herself.”

 

“I’d forgotten about that,” Jill said disappointedly. “Mother would tell us to go on, if we asked her, I know, but I still wouldn’t want to leave her. There are so many things that could happen.”

 

“We’ll just have to forget it then,” Ted said. “Maybe we can make it another time.”

 

The two kept a brooding silence, and Ted wondered if Jill was as disappointed as he was. When Randy found out that they had decided²⁴ not to go, he said he did not care to go either.

 

That night Ted had a dream. In it he was exploring on the great barren desert with Jill and Randy but they wore no helmets and it seemed as though they could hardly get their breath. They gasped²⁵ and choked, and the dream grew into a nightmare of terror. Suddenly, Ted woke. He sat up in bed in a cold sweat, feeling a strange lightheadedness. His breath was coming hard into his lungs.

 

It had not only been a dream. Something had happened to the atmosphere in the house.

 

1 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

2 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 capered   

v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• While dressing, he capered and clowned like a schoolboy. 他一边穿，一边象个学生似的蹦蹦跳跳地扮演起小丑来。 来自辞典例句
• The lambs capered in the meadow. 小羊在草地上蹦蹦跳跳。 来自辞典例句

5 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

6 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。

7 cuffed   

v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She cuffed the boy on the side of the head. 她向这男孩的头上轻轻打了一巴掌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother cuffed the dog when she found it asleep on a chair. 妈妈发现狗睡在椅子上就用手把狗打跑了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

13 squealed   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

15 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

16 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。

17 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。

18 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

19 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

20 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

21 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

22 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

23 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

24 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

25 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》