CHAPTER XXIII. TRAILED BY A CHASSEUR.

 The soldier was evidently figuring in his mind as to what would be the next move on his part.[109] Finding no sign of life in the place where he expected, no doubt, to lay a hand or an eye on the impertinent party that had stolen the flagon, the chasseur seemed to hesitate about dropping down into what must have appeared to him a dungeon¹, and risking the chance of a hidden enemy leaping upon him from some shadowy corner.

It apparently² occurred to him that more light would clear the problem, for he drew himself up to a sitting position on the cross-piece, produced a match and scratched it across the sole of his shoe.

The tiny flicker³ did not give much satisfaction. The shadows were too deep for a little flame like that to penetrate⁴ them to any great distance.

The boys stood like statues, flat against the wall, on the same side, and some twenty feet from the opening where the soldier was wasting matches. The darkness hung about them like a pall⁵.

It was one exciting moment when Billy had a sneeze coming on, and did not know whether or not he could conquer it. A sneeze just then would have settled the whole business.

But Billy did not sneeze; he nearly suffocated⁶, though, by holding his cap so closely against his face.

The soldier had apparently exhausted⁷ his supply of matches, for the final scratch was accompanied by a grunt⁸ that sounded like sacres allumettes, blasted matches.

[110]

With that he swung himself down into the passage on the other side of the opening.

Billy, after a few minutes’ wait, made a move toward the opening.

Henri laid a restraining hand upon Billy’s arm.

“Wait a bit,” he whispered, “better let Reddy do his shadow act and find out where our friend in the red trousers has taken himself.”

Reddy instantly shifted his heavily laden⁹ knapsack from his shoulders, removed his gold-filled jacket, kicked off his shoes, and edged his way along the wall on tiptoes.

Under the opening he stood in listening attitude for several minutes; then, taking advantage of the rough stonework of the inside wall, he climbed like a squirrel to the cross-piece.

Cautiously poking¹⁰ his head through the opening, Reddy had another look and listened for his fellow countryman in uniform.

The soldier was nowhere to be seen—and Reddy could view the short passage as far as the foot of the spiral staircase, where the light came down from the open plate above.

Reddy lowered himself into the passage and cat-footed to the staircase, winding¹¹ his way upward, every nerve on edge, and he ready for any emergency.

The soldier was not in evidence yet, but Reddy could now trace the chasseur by the marks on the[111] dusty floor of the passage, for it was still light up here, though the sun, it could be seen through the panel opening in the royal bed chamber¹², was sinking, and evening was near.

With eyes to the floor and crouched¹³ like an Indian trailer, the boy noted¹⁴ that the chasseur had gone toward the panel opening into the dining-hall, at least the traces showed that the footmarks reversed themselves, retracing¹⁵ in the same direction. Reddy could distinguish the soldier’s tracks from those which he and his companions had made that morning, because the legging strap¹⁶ under the man’s shoes was clearly outlined in the dust.

Reddy, seeing that the coast was clear, for the time being, scooted back to where Henri and Billy were anxiously waiting and called them by name. Reddy’s knapsack, jacket, and shoes fell about him in the passage, speedily followed by the two boys. Henri stood on the chair and closed the wall section, which settled back without leaving a seam or mark on the wall surface.

“I’ll bet they won’t find that hole unless they batter¹⁷ down the whole wall,” was Henri’s comment.

The boys lost no time in getting upstairs and into the main passage, and there paused to give Henri a moment to figure the next move.

It was suddenly made manifest that at least one[112] way was blocked, for loud voices rang out in the passage in the direction of the dining-hall.

The chasseur had gone for assistance to aid him in solving the puzzle that he had at first wanted to solve by himself.

Billy and Reddy thought that this time sure they were done for, but Henri was still in the reckoning. He was at home, and knew every crook¹⁸ and cranny in the maze¹⁹ of passages.

As the soldiers approached nearer and nearer, arguing in rapid-fire French as they came, Henri wheeled, slammed the bedroom panel into place, and hustling²⁰ his companions into a run retreated up the passage to the north, stopping an instant to close the plate over the staircase.

“That fellow will have to do some tall explaining when he comes up with his crowd, for he won’t be able to show all that he may claim to have seen; that is, for a while, anyway.”

Henri was taking a positive dislike to the soldier who had proved such a bother at this critical period.

At the very end of the passage they were traversing arose a stained glass window of most exquisite²¹ design. On each side of the window the wainscoting was inlay work, model of ancient arts and crafts.

Henri used his hands on this surface as he would finger a checker or chess board. A large square swung open like a cupboard door and Henri motioned[113] his comrades to pass through, and he, at their heels, closed the panel.

They stood in a narrow gallery, looking down into a chapel²² interior, most beautiful to behold²³. Hurrying along this gallery, the boys halted at a door heavily mounted with brass²⁴ fittings. It was opened without effort and the boys found themselves at the head of another of those steep stairways, this one, however, running straight down—and a long way down.

It led to the crypt, or subterranean²⁵ vault²⁶, under the chapel. Here the boys lighted their lanterns, at the suggestion of Henri. The latter shouldered a protruding²⁷ stone in the wall of the cell and it gave way, disclosing of all the passages they had encountered in the house the most dismal²⁸ and forbidding.

“Push in,” said Henri, “and we’re on the way to ‘Old Round Tower!’”

1 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

4 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

5 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

6 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

8 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

11 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。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

13 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 retracing   

v.折回( retrace的现在分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯

参考例句：

• We're retracing the route of a deep explorer mission. 我们将折回一个深入的探险路线中去。 来自电影对白
• Retracing my steps was certainly not an option. 回顾我的脚步并不是个办法。 来自互联网

16 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

17 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

18 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

19 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

20 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

21 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

22 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

23 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

24 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

25 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

26 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

27 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

28 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。