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CHAPTER XIII. DISCOVERY IMPENDS.
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 HARVEY asked in a muffled1 voice: “May I take away my handkerchief?”
 
“It can do no harm, but I don’t know that your precaution did any good.”
 
“I kept my eyes open and peeped over the top; the way the Professor studied us proved he had misgivings2, but he did not see my features.”
 
“It looks as if he is not satisfied.”
 
The elder referred to the fact that the aviator3, instead of veering4 to the left and coming to a stop as he had done earlier in the day, continued his straightaway course. Harvey unshipped his field glass and leveled it at the object which rapidly grew smaller and finally flickered5 from sight.
 
“He is doing that to mislead us,” said Harvey.
 
“Is there any way by which we can make him believe he has succeeded?”
 
“How would it do to stop paddling and begin fishing if he comes into sight again?”
 
“I am proud of a brother bright enough to think of that; it is a good plan, for if he is not satisfied[147] he will come back for another view and he mustn’t catch us napping.”
 
Accordingly the paddle was swung again, and the younger brother gave his attention to watching the sky in every direction, for it was possible that with so swift a machine as was at his command the Professor might make a wide circuit and swoop6 down upon them again from the rear.
 
“If he does,” said Harvey, “it will show that he doesn’t like the look of things, and if I resort to my handkerchief again he will know why I do so.”
 
“Which will be as bad as if you didn’t do it. If we can reach the end of the lake before he returns we’ll begin our hunt without more delay, but—”
 
“By George! Yonder he comes!”
 
“Quick! Get out your fishing line; I always carry mine.”
 
Dick dropped the paddle in the bottom of the canoe and in a twinkling had flung the sinker into the crystalline water. It took Harvey a little longer, but he did it, with a number of seconds to spare. They could well affect not to be aware of the aerocar, though it was sailing low down, since it moved silently, and true fishermen are always absorbed in the work, or rather pleasure, of trying to woo a bite from the finny inhabitants below[148] the surface. Neither seemed to look up, but none the less they kept a stealthy watch for the monoplane in which they were interested.
 
Professor Morgan gave a thrilling exhibition of his machine’s capability7 and his skill in handling it. He made a sweeping8 curve which took him past the fishermen, swooping9 gracefully10 to the right and to the left at a height of less than a hundred feet. When he was nearest them he shouted:
 
“Hello, there! What are you doing?”
 
Harvey Hamilton just then was excitedly pulling at his line as if he had a bite and was more anxious to land his catch than to do anything else. Dick suspended his occupation and looked up.
 
“Can’t you see we are fishing?” was his fitting reply in the form of a question.
 
“You are watching me,” insisted the aviator, as he made another circle and came nearer.
 
“What do we care about you? You are scaring away the fish; I wish you would clear out and leave us alone.”
 
“Who is that with you?”
 
“Bill Jones, from Squedunk; he hasn’t much sense and if you don’t look out he’ll take a shot at you with his revolver, and if he doesn’t I will!”
 
And Dick dropped his fishing line over the edge[149] of the canoe, picked up his rifle and pointed11 it at the loony inventor.
 
“Get!” he commanded, “before I fire!”
 
The demonstration12 was unexpected, and scared Professor Morgan. Had it not been done at the psychological moment, it is likely he would have approached still closer and forced Harvey to disclose himself. The youth was in a tremor13, but it was hard for him to restrain his merriment over the rank bluffing14 of his brother. The Professor yanked his levers and with his feet abruptly15 turned the rudder so that his machine shot off at a tangent at an amazing rate of speed. Instead of turning back over his course, he made for the wooded, rocky, mountainous country which had been his destination when he believed he was not under the eye of any one. As soon as he was beyond distinct vision, Harvey dropped his fishing line and brought his field glass into use.
 
“Keep an eye on him as long as he’s in sight,” warned Dick, who also laid his line aside and turned to watch the aviator. The latter held to a direct course for half a mile or more, by which time he was above the section where the brothers believed Bohunkus Johnson was kept in confinement16.
 
“He seems to have stopped,” said Dick.
 
“He has; he is descending17.”
 
[150]Holding his machine in poise18 for a minute or two, Harvey saw it dropping down like a weight suspended at the end of a rope. It disappeared behind a mass of rocks and amid a group of large trees covered with exuberant19 foliage20.
 
“It looks as if that is the spot for which we are hunting,” said Harvey lowering the glass.
 
“All the same it isn’t; it’s a trick meant to make us believe it is. Professor Morgan may be crazy regarding aeroplanes, but he isn’t in a good many other things. It has become a game of hide and seek between us.”
 
Conceding this to be the truth, our young friends had to decide upon their next step.
 
“If we land and go to the place, he will know we are more interested in him than he thinks we ought to be. He is watching us from where he landed.”
 
“And if we go there we shall not find Bunk21. I do not think he is anywhere near. Meanwhile, the best thing we can do is to keep on fishing. Doubtless he has a glass and is scrutinizing22 us like a cat watching a mouse. Let’s drop our lines into the water.”
 
They did so and a minute later Harvey felt a tug23 at his hook. Drawing in his line, he landed a plump bass24 that must have weighed nearly two pounds.
 
[151]“If the Professor has noticed that,” remarked the younger, “it will help him to believe we are no more than we pretend to be; but, Dick, I don’t understand why he doesn’t shut us off from interfering25 with him.”
 
“How would he do it?”
 
“Pick up Bunk and carry him away.”
 
“Where to?”
 
“He could keep him in his workshop for the little while that must pass before he starts on his grand flight.”
 
“The Professor is shrewd enough to know the risk he will run. He took him away from that place because he was afraid Bunk would give him the slip. It would require too much of the Professor’s time to watch Bunk and hold him under his thumb. Besides, what is to prevent our hurrying to Dawson or some other nearby town and securing a writ26 of habeas corpus from a judge which would require the Professor to produce the body of Bunk in court and explain why he is held in durance,—I believe that’s the way they put it. Such a proceeding27 would not only be highly unpleasant to the Professor but would be followed by more unpleasant ones,—such as a lunacy commission to look into his own affairs. The aerial trip[152] across the Atlantic would be knocked higher than Gilderoy’s kite.”
 
“If he is afraid to keep Bunk in his workshop, he can take him to any one of a score of places where he would be as well hidden as now.”
 
“That is what I’m afraid of. It seems to me we played our parts so well that very little suspicion is left in the Professor’s mind. Were it otherwise he would shift Bunk’s temporary home, though it isn’t likely he can hit at once upon one that is as satisfactory.”
 
“Then for the present we must continue to be fishermen.”
 
“So it strikes me, and if he is observing us closely he will admit that we are giving a very good imitation of fishermen,” added Dick as he drew in a bass almost as large as his brother’s. “You are facing the spot where you last saw him; give that as much attention as you do your line.”
 
Thus the situation remained for more than half an hour, during which two more fish were landed. It irked the brothers thus to sit idle, with the soft summer afternoon slipping past and the minutes going by unimproved. When they left camp it was with high hopes of bringing Bunk back before nightfall, but the prospect28 looked doubtful.
 
Suddenly Harvey saw a peculiar29 flickering30 agitation[153] behind the rocks where the monoplane had disappeared.
 
“Something’s up!” he whispered, letting his line fall and bringing his glass again into play. “The Professor is bestirring himself.”
 
First the widespread wings of the monoplane rose slowly into sight; the powerful engine, slender body and rudders at the rear following. The uplifter was doing duty and the Dragon of the Skies climbed the aerial stairway smoothly31 and silently.
 
“See whether he has Bunk with him,” cautioned Dick, looking keenly in the same direction; “that’s the important point.”
 
“By George! he has!” exclaimed Harvey; “I see him plainly!”
 
“Let me have a look!”
 
Harvey passed the instrument to his brother, who hastily leveled it at the machine. “You can’t miss him,” added the younger; “he is sitting in his old place on the seat beside the Professor, who is so tall that his head rises far over Bunk’s.”
 
Dick was silent for a brief while. Suddenly he lowered the glass with a laughing exclamation32.
 
“Ah, but the Professor is sly. I see the form behind him as you have described, but it isn’t Bohunkus Johnson!”
 
[154]“What do you mean?” asked the amazed Harvey.
 
“Study it out for yourself,” replied the other, handing over the instrument.
 
A few seconds’ scrutiny33 was enough. That which Harvey had taken for their colored friend was a cunningly arranged dummy34 which might well deceive a spectator. Professor Morgan had adjusted a coat and other garments so as to resemble the form of the negro and make the mistake almost certain. But for the keener shrewdness of his brother, Harvey would have been deceived.
 
“I see what you mean, Dick; I hadn’t the first suspicion of such a trick.”
 
“We are not dealing35 with a fool when we butt36 against the Professor.”
 
“He keeps going toward Purvis,” said Dick, who had once more resorted to his field glass; “he seems to be certain he has misled us.”
 
“Why shouldn’t he be? His last view showed him we were fishing as hard as ever and he must believe we shall not figure any more in his affairs.”
 
“Well, Dick, we must be up and doing if we expect to help Bunk.”
 
“True; we are through fishing for the present.”
 
[155]They flung the lines down in the boat, Dick took up the paddle.
 
“If we have to camp out to-night, we shall have our supper with us. There’s some consolation37 in that. I don’t believe the Professor will show up again before to-morrow morning. He may have his invention completed by that time, but everything must remain guesswork for awhile.”
 
Under the propulsion of the paddle the light craft skimmed swiftly over the placid38 lake. Dick put forth39 all his skill and the canoe touched the shingle40 a few minutes later and both stepped ashore41 and drew the boat up the shore.
 
“It strikes me, Harv, that it will be better for us to separate. We don’t know whether to hunt for Bunk at the place where the Professor halted awhile ago, or to look for him farther over to the right where I have seen his machine several times.”
 
“I should say that the spot you saw is most likely the right one.”
 
“So it seems to me, but the afternoon is so far gone that we shall need every minute and we mustn’t go too far astray. It’s a safe guess that one of us will establish communication with Bunk pretty soon.”
 
Further discussion made it seem that the section[156] selected by Dick was about a fourth of a mile to the east of the other. Thus it would not become necessary for them to lose mutual42 touch. Like all boys accustomed to hunt and wander together in the woods, they had a system of signaling by means of whistling. Bunk was also familiar with the code. The three had made their wishes known when a mile apart.
 
“If you find him,” said Dick, “whistle three times and I’ll do the same if I succeed.”
 
“Suppose both fail?”
 
“When it becomes too dark to hunt longer, I’ll call to you; you will answer in our usual way and each will tramp toward the other. Then we’ll make camp and start in again at daybreak.”
 
It was agreed that in case either met the Professor or ran into danger and needed help, he would summon it by five or six short sharp blasts from his lips.
 
“You have your rifle and I only my revolver, so I shall be more likely to need you,” said Harvey as the brothers parted company.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 muffled fnmzel     
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己)
参考例句:
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 misgivings 0nIzyS     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧
参考例句:
  • I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
  • Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后, 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧! 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
3 aviator BPryq     
n.飞行家,飞行员
参考例句:
  • The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
  • Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。
4 veering 7f532fbe9455c2b9628ab61aa01fbced     
n.改变的;犹豫的;顺时针方向转向;特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转
参考例句:
  • Anyone veering too close to the convoys risks being shot. 任何人改变方向,过于接近车队就有遭枪击的风险。 来自互联网
  • The little boat kept veering from its course in such a turbulent river. 小船在这湍急的河中总是改变方向。 来自互联网
5 flickered 93ec527d68268e88777d6ca26683cc82     
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
6 swoop nHPzI     
n.俯冲,攫取;v.抓取,突然袭击
参考例句:
  • The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
  • We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。
7 capability JsGzZ     
n.能力;才能;(pl)可发展的能力或特性等
参考例句:
  • She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
  • Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。
8 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
参考例句:
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
9 swooping ce659162690c6d11fdc004b1fd814473     
俯冲,猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。
  • And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东,一下子谈到西。
10 gracefully KfYxd     
ad.大大方方地;优美地
参考例句:
  • She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
11 pointed Il8zB4     
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。
12 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
13 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震
参考例句:
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
14 bluffing bluffing     
n. 威吓,唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing. 我认为他不会开枪—我想他不过是在吓唬人。
  • He says he'll win the race, but he's only bluffing. 他说他会赢得这场比赛,事实上只是在吹牛。
15 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
16 confinement qpOze     
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限
参考例句:
  • He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
  • The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。
17 descending descending     
n. 下行 adj. 下降的
参考例句:
  • The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
  • The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置,然后再下山。
18 poise ySTz9     
vt./vi. 平衡,保持平衡;n.泰然自若,自信
参考例句:
  • She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻,但很快恢复了镇静。
  • Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。
19 exuberant shkzB     
adj.充满活力的;(植物)繁茂的
参考例句:
  • Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西,不会有强大的生命力。
  • All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。
20 foliage QgnzK     
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶
参考例句:
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
  • Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。
21 bunk zWyzS     
n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位;废话
参考例句:
  • He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
  • Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。
22 scrutinizing fa5efd6c6f21a204fe4a260c9977c6ad     
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来,输入输出管道各就各位,检查着它的目标。 来自互联网
23 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
24 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
参考例句:
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
25 interfering interfering     
adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事!
  • I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预,让我自己拿主意。
26 writ iojyr     
n.命令状,书面命令
参考例句:
  • This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
  • You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。
27 proceeding Vktzvu     
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报
参考例句:
  • This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
  • The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。
28 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
29 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
30 flickering wjLxa     
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的
参考例句:
  • The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
  • The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。
31 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
32 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
33 scrutiny ZDgz6     
n.详细检查,仔细观察
参考例句:
  • His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好,但是经不起仔细检查。
  • Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。
34 dummy Jrgx7     
n.假的东西;(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头
参考例句:
  • The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹,只是一个假货。
  • The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。
35 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
36 butt uSjyM     
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶
参考例句:
  • The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
  • He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。
37 consolation WpbzC     
n.安慰,慰问
参考例句:
  • The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
  • This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。
38 placid 7A1yV     
adj.安静的,平和的
参考例句:
  • He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
  • You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
39 forth Hzdz2     
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。
40 shingle 8yKwr     
n.木瓦板;小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌);v.用木瓦板盖(屋顶);把(女子头发)剪短
参考例句:
  • He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土,下面露出一块松木瓦块。
  • He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。
41 ashore tNQyT     
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸
参考例句:
  • The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前,孩子们就上岸了。
  • He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。
42 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。


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