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CHAPTER I
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 "It'll be an awfully1 long day," said Robin2.
 
"Yes," said Peter and Jan.
 
"We'd better do something then," said Robin.
 
"Yes," said Peter and Jan again.
 
But it was difficult to know exactly what to do! For to-day was the day on which the Lennox cousins were to arrive—Dick and Donald, who had been invited to spend the last weeks of the holidays with the Vaughans. The Vaughans had been looking forward to this day immensely, but now it had come at last they felt that they could hardly get through the hours before their visitors would actually arrive. There would be "tons of things," as Peter said, "to do then," but there seemed nothing to do to-day.
 
"Let's go over to the Island," said Robin at last.
 
The island lay in the middle of the river that flowed at the bottom of the Vaughans' garden; it was only the work of a few minutes to pull across to the wooded little place where Brown the gardener had his cottage, but where, otherwise, the birds had it pretty much to themselves, as Jan said.
 
For the Vaughans were tremendously hard workers; Robin was entered for his first real exam.; Peter and Jan were each head of their forms at their respective schools, and "meant to keep head." Thus the Island certainly was left to the birds except in the holidays; but—a holiday camp was to be one of the tremendous pleasures ahead when the Lennoxes came.
 
"For they're Scouts3, you see, like us, so they're sure to be keen," Robin had said, in appealing to his mother.
 
"It'll be such awfully good practice," Peter had gone on.
 
"And, as I'm a Guide——!" Jan had begun.
 
Mrs. Vaughan had laughed; she was a "jolly good mother for Scouts and Guides to have," as the boys and girls declared, because "she never fussed." She trusted them and left them to themselves, so that they might learn "self-reliance," as she told them. After she had laughed, however, on this occasion she shook her head. "I have no objection to your camping out for a night or two," she said. "After all, Robin camped with his troop last year, and the holiday won't have done much for him if he can't captain the rest of you over on the Island, but——"
 
"Oh, Mother!" said Jan, who guessed what was coming.
 
"Yes, I won't have Jan sleeping out of doors. Pneumonia4 two years ago, you remember, Jan? Or perhaps you don't,—you were too small; but—I do! No, Jan may choose either to sleep at home and join the boys by day, or—" Mrs. Vaughan wrinkled her brow—"perhaps Gardener's wife, Mrs. Brown, has a spare room. Yes, of course she has. Now, Jan, would you feel more on the spot and more of a regular camper if I could arrange for you to sleep in the Island Cottage?" "Oh, yes." Jan's eyes sparkled with delight.
 
"And the Lennox boys are Scouts too, so they'll be willing enough, I've no doubt," went on Mrs. Vaughan. "In fact I mentioned something of the plan to your aunt, and she seemed very pleased. Well, I think it can be arranged, but—it would be well to wait for really settled weather, wouldn't it?"
 
"The wind's in a good quarter now," Peter had said.
 
That had been yesterday, and the Lennoxes were coming in a few hours. It had been decided5, though, that for a day or two the newcomers should sleep at the Chase and be introduced to the interests that the house and garden afforded. "You must remember," as Mrs. Vaughan told the children, "everything will be new and interesting to them. It is the first time they have been to the Chase, and the house will mean a good deal to them as belonging to their mother's family for so many generations. They may not want to camp out just at once, and——"
 
"It's queer, isn't it?" said Peter to the others as they made their way over to the Island, "to think that they've never yet seen the house, though Father is their uncle, and everything!"
 
"That's because they've always lived so far north," said Robin, "though it isn't as though the Chase is as it used to be, then—in the old days I mean. They'll understand that, though; they must have heard——" he sighed. "It must have been rippingly jolly," he said, "to live here in the old days."
 
"It is—now," said Jan loyally; but she and Peter knew what Robin meant. For the Chase had been the home of the Vaughan family for generations; it was an old rambling6 place standing7 in large grounds, but, ever since the children could remember, most of the house had been shut up and empty. Stories of the old days when their father and his sister had been young—before the change of fortunes had come which had made everything so different—were interesting to hear, if a little strange to understand.
 
"I often wonder," said Jan, when they were making their way across to the Island for another look at the camping ground on which they had fixed8, "exactly what the mystery was."
 
"I do, too. But Dad never told us. When War's over, and he's back, perhaps he will. We'll be older," said Robin. "It's—a family secret, something to do with something that happened. It killed Grandfather, I believe. He died of a broken heart, or something. There was lots of money to pay, too, and—the Chase has been pretty nearly all shut up ever since, but——"
 
"I think it's strange," said Jan, "and I think it'd be better to tell us. We might help, you know. Oh, of course I know we all work frightfully hard at school because we're to bring back the family fortunes, but there are things I want to know about. There's a gap in the gallery where a picture's been taken down,—in between the portraits of Dad and Aunt Agnes when they were children,—Mother wouldn't tell me why. Not that I'd ask again, but——"
 
"Perhaps the Lennoxes will know," suggested Peter.
 
"If they do, I'm not sure that we ought ——" Robin was beginning when the sound of a horn was heard. It was Mrs. Vaughan's signal to the children when they were on the Island that they were wanted at once at home. At its sound the three turned their steps back to the boat, and in a few minutes Robin and Peter were pulling across. "Oh, my dears," said their Mother, standing on the opposite bank, her face quite pale with anxiety, "such an unexpected thing has happened!"

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
2 robin Oj7zme     
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
参考例句:
  • The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
  • We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
3 scouts e6d47327278af4317aaf05d42afdbe25     
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员
参考例句:
  • to join the Scouts 参加童子军
  • The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组,然后开始巡逻这个地区。
4 pneumonia s2HzQ     
n.肺炎
参考例句:
  • Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
  • Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。
5 decided lvqzZd     
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。
6 rambling MTfxg     
adj.[建]凌乱的,杂乱的
参考例句:
  • We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
  • It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。
7 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
8 fixed JsKzzj     
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。


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