They had made arrangements for a nature ramble1, so, after an early lunch at Grimbal's Farm, they went to the trysting-place by the harbour to meet the other members of the club. Beata and Romola turned up alone to-day, unencumbered by younger brothers and sisters or the donkey. They had brought businesslike baskets with them, and were armed with note-books to record specimens2, some apples and nuts, and a couple of log-lines.
"We might be able to get some fishing!" they explained eagerly. "Father went out yesterday in old Mr. Davis's boat, and he brought home the most lovely mackerel. Wouldn't it be a surprise if we could get some for ourselves? I don't see why we shouldn't!"
The idea appealed to the others. Fish were undoubtedly3 a division of zoology4 and ought to be included in their nature study. Specimens would be no less scientifically interesting from the fact that they could be eaten afterwards. Fay instantly rushed into Helyar's General Store to buy a log-line of her own; Mavis and Merle, after cautiously ascertaining5 the cost, invested in one between them, while Tattle, Nan, and Lizzie contented6 themselves with purchasing a few fishhooks and a ball of fine string.
"I suppose we ought really to take some bait with us," remarked Romola casually7. "There isn't time, though, to go and dig for lob-worms. What's to be done about it?"
"Oh, we'll use limpets or anything else we can get," decreed Beata. "We'll find something along the rocks, you'll see. Mavis, where are we going? You know all the best walks. We elect you leader this afternoon."
"It's beautiful along the cliffs towards St Morval's Head. There's a path most of the way, and we can scramble8 where there isn't. I wouldn't have dared to take the children, but I vote we venture it."
"Anywhere you like so long as we don't waste any more time; I'm just crazy to start!" agreed Fay.
So they went by a narrow alley9 and up steep flights of steps to the hill above the town, and took the track that led along the edge of the cliffs towards St. Morval's Head. It was a glorious autumn afternoon, and, though the bracken was brown and withered10, there were specimens of wild flowers to be picked and written down in the note-books. Summer seemed to have lingered, and had left poppies, honeysuckle, foxgloves, and other blossoms that were certainly out of season. Tattie, who was keen on entomology, recorded a red admiral, a clouded yellow butterfly, and a gamma moth11, though she did not consider them worth chasing and catching12 for her collection.
Flocks of goldfinches and long-tailed tits were flitting about, and they spied some black-caps and pipits, and even a buzzard falcon13 poised14 in the air high above the cliffs. Here quite a little excitement occurred, for several sea-gulls attacked the buzzard and with loud cries tried to drive it away, following it as it soared higher and higher into the heavens, and finally routing it altogether and sending it off in the direction of Port Sennen.
The path along which the girls had been walking was the merest track through the bracken. So far there had been either a low wall or a hedge as a protection at the edge of the cliff, but now these outposts of civilisation15 vanished and they were at the very brink16 of the crags. Tattie, whose head was not of the strongest, turned giddy and refused to go farther; indeed, she was so overcome that she sank on the ground and buried her face in her hands.
"I daren't look down!" she shuddered17. "I know I shall fall if I do. Oh! I wish I'd never come! How am I going to get back?"
"There's only about a hundred yards like this," urged Mavis. "After that the path is all right again. Take my arm."
"No, no! I daren't! I can't go either backwards18 or forwards. I feel as if
I should faint!" sobbed19 Tattie, waxing quite hysterical20.
Here was a dilemma21! She must certainly be made to move one way or the other. With great difficulty Fay and Beata between them got her back to the path along which they had come, where she collapsed22 under the shelter of the wall, and sat down to recover.
"I'll be all right now," she said, wiping her eyes. "I can go home alone.
Don't let me keep any of you."
"We'll come with you," said Lizzie Colville. "Nan and I don't like walking so near the edge either. I wouldn't cross that place for worlds."
So it was arranged that the Ramsays and the Castletons and Fay should go on to St. Morval's Head, while the rest of the company turned back.
"It's a pity, but it's no good taking people who turn giddy," commented Mavis. "If they can't manage that piece of cliff, how would they scramble down into the cove23?"
"They haven't got tennis shoes on for one thing," remarked Merle, "and boots are horribly slippery. You ought to have rubber soles for these rocks. It just makes all the difference. Mavis and I always wear them at Chagmouth."
"So do we. We learnt that at Porthkeverne. We're used to scrambling24. As for Fay she's a real fairy. I believe she could fly if you gave her a push over the edge to start her off."
"Don't try, thanks, or I might turn into a mermaid25 instead of a fairy or a bird! I often think, though, I'd like a private aeroplane of my own. They're things that are bound to come sooner or later. I only hope I shan't be too old to use one when they do. What a view it is here!"
The difficult piece of cliff had led them round a corner, and they were now facing a magnificent sweep of coast-line. Below them, fixed26 to a buoy27 that floated on the water, a bell was ringing incessantly28, its clanging sound floating over the sea like the knell29 of a mermaid's funeral.
"It's to warn the vessels30 off the rocks," explained Mavis. "They can hear it in a fog when they can't see quite where they are." Merle and I always call it 'The Inchcape Bell.' Oh, you know the story?
'The worthy32 abbot of Aberbrothock
Had fixed that bell on the Inchcape rock.
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.'
Then the pirate, Sir Ralph the Rover, goes and cuts it off, just out of spite, and sails away. Years afterwards his ship comes back to Scotland, and there's a thick fog, and he's wrecked33 on the very Inchcape rock from which he stole the warning bell.
'Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair;
He cursed himself in his wild despair.
The waves poured in on every side,
And the vessel31 sank beneath the tide.'"
"Serve him right too! It was a sneaking34 rag to play!" commented Merle.
"The bell makes me think of an old hermitage," said Romola. "I expect to see a monk35 walking along, telling his beads36. Who was St. Morval? Didn't he have a little chapel37 on the cliffs here?"
"Romola always thinks of the Middle Ages," laughed Beata. "That's because she poses so much for Dad's pictures. It sounds like a church bell under the sea to me. When we lived at Porthkeverne we were close to the lost land of Lyonesse, and there was a lovely story about a mermaid. They said she used to come and sit on a broad flat stone outside the church and listen to the singing; and the priest heard of it, so one day he came out and talked to her, and asked her if she wouldn't like to be baptized, and she said she'd think about it. So she swam away; but she came back again and again, and it was decided38 that she was to be baptized on Easter Sunday. But on Good Friday there was a terrible storm, and the waves came up and swallowed the whole of the village, so that when the poor mermaid arrived she found the church sunk under the sea, and the priest and all the people drowned. There was nobody to baptize her, and there never has been since, and she swims about the water weeping and singing any little bits of the service that she can remember. The fishermen said if anybody was at sea and heard her it was bad luck, and a sign he would certainly be drowned before long."
"I love the quaint39 old legends!" said Mavis. "I shall always think of your mermaid now, when I hear the bell. This is our way down to the cove. It's a most frightful40 scramble. Can you manage it?"
The girls went first over grass and gorse, then climbed down a tiny track so narrow and slippery they were obliged to sit and slide, and finally, with some difficulty, scrambled41 on to the grim rugged42 rocks beneath. They were on a kind of platform, covered with seaweed and little pools, and with deep swirling43 water below.
Beata decided it would be a good place to fish, so they got out their log-lines. The first and most manifest thing to do was to find bait. There were plenty of limpets on the rocks, and with penknives they managed to dislodge some of them. It was only when a limpet was caught napping that it was possible to secure him: once he sat down tight and excluded the air from his shell, no amount of pulling could move him. The victims thus gathered were sacrificed by Beata and Merle, who acted as high priestesses, and chopped them up, and placed them upon the hooks, for neither Mavis nor Romola would touch them, and even Fay was not particularly keen upon this part of the fishing operations. They were ready at last, and cast their lines. Merle, unfortunately, through lack of experience, had not unreeled hers far enough, and the heavy weight sank deeply in the water and jerked the whole thing out of her hands into the sea.
"Oh, what a shame! And we've only just paid two and sixpence for it! What an utter idiot I was! I never thought it would pull like that. See, it's floating about down there!"
"I'll get it for you if I can," said Beata. With some manoeuvring she managed to fling her own line over it and drag it slowly in, losing it several times but rescuing it in the end.
After that mishap45 Merle was wiser, and threw with more discretion46. Fay also tried her luck, and the girls sat waiting for bites. But alas47! none came. There were several false alarms, but the lines when hauled in held nothing more exciting than hunks of seaweed. It was really most disappointing.
"I'm afraid they don't like the bait," said Beata at last. "If we could find a few lob-worms now, it might tempt48 them. They're evidently rather dainty."
"And I expect we don't know much about it!" said Mavis.
"Well, people have to learn some time, I suppose. You can't tumble to fishing by instinct!"
It was decided to go farther along and try to find lob-worms. The difficulty was to scramble down the rocks on to the sand. From above it looked quite easy and possible, but at close quarters the crags were very precipitous. At one point, however, they determined49 to venture. They sat on the edge of the sloping rock, let go, and then simply slid down, hanging on to pieces of ivy50 and tufts of grass. The cove, when they thus reached it, was worth the trouble of getting there. Sand-gobies were darting51 about in the pools, and came swimming up to fight for the pieces of limpet which the girls dropped in for them. They found a few lobworms and re-baited their hooks and cast their lines afresh, but met with no better success than before.
"I'm fed up with fishing!" announced Romola at last. "Let's go home!"
She had voiced the general opinion of the party. All immediately began to wind up their lines.
"The tide's coming in fast, and we're close to the blow-hole," said
Mavis. "It seems a pity not to stop and watch it."
The blow-hole was a curious natural phenomenon. The sea, pouring into a narrow gully, forced air and water to spurt52 through an opening at certain intervals53. First a low groaning54 noise was heard, which waxed louder and louder until—so Beata declared—it resembled the snoring of Father Neptune55. Then suddenly a shower of spray spurted56 from the aperture57, the sunshine lighting58 it with all the prismatic colours of the rainbow. For a few seconds it played like a fountain, then died down as the wave receded59. The girls were so interested in watching it that they quite forgot the sea behind them. While their backs were turned to it, the great strong tide was lapping and swelling60 in, moving higher and higher up the rocks, and covering the pools, and creeping into the cove, and changing the sand and seaweed into a lake. When Mavis happened to look round she found her basket floating. She started up with a cry. The one accessible spot where they had climbed down now had a deep pool under it.
"We must wade61!" gasped62 Beata, and hurriedly pulling off her shoes and stockings she plunged63 as pioneer into the water.
She soon realised it was too dangerous a venture. The slimy seaweed underneath64 caused her to slip, and the strong swirl44 of the tide nearly swept her from her feet. With difficulty she splashed back again.
"We might swim it!" she suggested. "But what about our clothes?"
Mavis shook her head.
"We can't cross there till the tide goes down."
"Are we going to be drowned?" asked Romola, in a tremulous little voice.
"Certainly not!"—Mavis sounded quite calm and sensible—"we're safe enough here, but we're in a jolly nasty fix. We can sit above high-water mark, but it means staying till the tide goes down and that won't be for hours, and then it will be dark and how can we see to scramble up the cliffs?"
"I suppose we've got to wait till morning!" groaned65 Fay. "This is some adventure at any rate!"
"Rather more than most of us bargained for!" agreed Beata.
"I wouldn't care a nickel, only Mother'll be in such a state of mind when
I don't turn up!"
"And Uncle David will be waiting to go home in the car. I wonder what he'll do?"
"They'll have the fright of their lives!"
"And we shall have the colds of ours!" shivered poor Romola. "October isn't exactly the month you'd choose for camping out. I wish we'd brought some more biscuits with us. I'm hungry!"
"Don't talk of biscuits or eating! I'm just ravenous66."
Five very disconsolate67 girls found a sheltered corner under the cliff and squatted68 down to watch the sunset. There was a glorious effect of gold and orange and great purple clouds tipped with crimson69, but they were none of them quite in the mood to appreciate the beauties of nature, and would much have preferred the sight of a tea-table. It was beginning to grow very cold. They buttoned their sports coats about their throats, and huddled70 close together for warmth. The sun sank into the sea like a great fiery71 ball, and the darkness crept on. Presently the moon rose, shining over the sea in a broad spreading pathway of silver, that looked like a gleaming fairy track across the water to the far horizon, where a distant lighthouse glinted at intervals like a fiery eye. The waiting seemed interminable. Romola, who felt the cold most, had a little private weep.
"I've always been crazy on stories of shipwrecks72 and desert islands," said Fay, "but when you go through it yourself somehow it seems to take the edge off the romance. I don't want any more to be a Robinson Crusoe girl! I'd rather stay warm with pussie by the fire."
"If we'd had a box of matches with us we might have lighted a fire!" sighed Beata. "Why didn't we bring some?"
"Why didn't we look at the tide and get home in decent time? It's no good crying over spilt milk!" grunted73 Merle rather crossly.
After that they all subsided74 into silence for a while. There was no sound except the monotonous75 lap of the waves. The sea-gulls and cormorants76 had flown past at sunset and gone to roost. The absolute quiet, and the dark shadows, and the silver light of the moon gave such an eerie77 atmosphere to the scene that presently Fay could stand it no longer.
"I guess I'll stir up the spooks!" she remarked, and scrambling to her feet she made a trumpet78 of her hands and called out a loud "Coo-o-ee."
To the immense astonishment79 of everybody an answering shout came from somewhere across the water. Instantly all sprang up and woke the echoes with their loudest possible lung-power. Before long came a splash of oars80, and a boat, with a lantern fastened to its bow, entered the cove. It advanced cautiously to the rocks, and a tall boyish figure sprang out and held it steady, while some one in a fisherman's jersey81 stretched out a strong hand to help the girls to enter. Only when they were safely seated and the moonlight shone on their faces did Mavis recognise their rescuers.
"Mr. Penruddock—and surely not Bevis!" she exclaimed.
He enjoyed her amazement82.
"I've got the week-end. There's been 'flu' at school, so they've sent some of us off while Matron fumigates83 the rooms. I thought I'd find you at the farm. There was a pretty to-do when it grew dark and you didn't turn up. The Doctor went to the Vicarage to ask if you were there, and they said you'd gone along the rocks fishing. So we took the boat and came to look for you. I say, you were in a jolly old mess, weren't you? Rather cold for sleeping out?"
"If we'd known you were coming over we wouldn't have started."
"I didn't know myself till the last minute. I'll bike over to Durracombe to-morrow afternoon if I may? I haven't seen you and Merle for ages. You've given Chagmouth people an excitement! I should think half the town's waiting on the quay84 for you! We'd rather a business to find you. But 'all's well that ends well,' isn't it?"
点击收听单词发音
1 ramble | |
v.漫步,漫谈,漫游;n.漫步,闲谈,蔓延 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 specimens | |
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 zoology | |
n.动物学,生态 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 ascertaining | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 contented | |
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 casually | |
adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 scramble | |
v.爬行,攀爬,杂乱蔓延,碎片,片段,废料 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 alley | |
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 withered | |
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 moth | |
n.蛾,蛀虫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 falcon | |
n.隼,猎鹰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 poised | |
a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 shuddered | |
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 sobbed | |
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 hysterical | |
adj.情绪异常激动的,歇斯底里般的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 dilemma | |
n.困境,进退两难的局面 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 collapsed | |
adj.倒塌的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 cove | |
n.小海湾,小峡谷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 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: |
|
|
25 mermaid | |
n.美人鱼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 buoy | |
n.浮标;救生圈;v.支持,鼓励 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 incessantly | |
ad.不停地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 knell | |
n.丧钟声;v.敲丧钟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 wrecked | |
adj.失事的,遇难的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 sneaking | |
a.秘密的,不公开的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 quaint | |
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 scrambled | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 swirling | |
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 swirl | |
v.(使)打漩,(使)涡卷;n.漩涡,螺旋形 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 mishap | |
n.不幸的事,不幸;灾祸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 discretion | |
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 tempt | |
vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 ivy | |
n.常青藤,常春藤 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 darting | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 spurt | |
v.喷出;突然进发;突然兴隆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 groaning | |
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 Neptune | |
n.海王星 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 spurted | |
(液体,火焰等)喷出,(使)涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 ); (短暂地)加速前进,冲刺 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 aperture | |
n.孔,隙,窄的缺口 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 lighting | |
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 receded | |
v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 swelling | |
n.肿胀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 wade | |
v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 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: |
|
|
63 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 groaned | |
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 ravenous | |
adj.极饿的,贪婪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 disconsolate | |
adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 huddled | |
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 shipwrecks | |
海难,船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 ); 沉船 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 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: |
|
|
74 subsided | |
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 cormorants | |
鸬鹚,贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 eerie | |
adj.怪诞的;奇异的;可怕的;胆怯的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 oars | |
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 jersey | |
n.运动衫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 fumigates | |
v.用化学品熏(某物)消毒( fumigate的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 quay | |
n.码头,靠岸处 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |