CHAPTER XXVIII. HERC'S SUBTERFUGE.

On down the dark passage dashed Herc. As he sped he extended both hands in front of him. For all he knew he might be dashing into an ambush¹. It was all too plain now that the place into which he had so cheerfully blundered was of a sinister² character.

Suddenly his finger tips encountered something solid that the next instant gave way before them.

A door swung open. Herc found himself in a large room, cluttered³ with rusty⁴ tools, benches, and boxes. High on one wall was a window, through the unwashed panes⁵ of which a gray light sifted⁶ wanly⁷ into the vacant room beneath.

The room was plainly enough a cul-de-sac. There was no means of entering or leaving it,[Pg 223] except by the door through which Herc had come,—that is, if the lofty window be excepted.

Pantingly the Dreadnought Boy looked about him. He must have a hiding place and that quickly. If he was to be of any use to Ned, it would be the worst thing that could happen if he, too, were to be made prisoner.

Poor Herc, if he had only known the true state of affairs! But with his customary impulsiveness⁸ the red-headed boy had followed his nose, and as not infrequently happened in Herc's affairs, it had led him into trouble.

"This place must be a perfect nest of Japanese spies," he mused⁹ to himself, as he gazed swiftly about. "Poor old Ned, they've trapped him and got him hidden away some place. But they won't get me so easily!"

He listened an instant. Footsteps were coming down the passage now.

"They've guessed I came this way. In fact,[Pg 224] they couldn't very well help doing it," thought Herc.

He glanced up at the window above him. Would it be possible to escape that way?

With frenzied¹⁰ haste he began pulling a dusty bench from one corner and flinging upon it the old boxes with which the room was littered. But his time was all too short. Herc had to give over his labors¹¹ half completed at the nearer approach of footsteps.

"I've got to hide some place, and that right quickly," he muttered, glancing about him in every direction.

Herc darted¹² for the dimmest corner and crouched¹³ behind a large open box that stood there.

He had just time to squeeze himself back of it and draw it over him like the shell of a tortoise when the door was burst open.

Half a dozen men, headed by Kenworth, Saki[Pg 225] and the spectacled Jap, burst into the room. They gazed wildly about them.

"Why—why, he's not here!" gasped¹⁴ out Kenworth. "The red-headed fox has escaped!"

"Eem-poss-ible," the spectacled Jap informed him. "There is no way of getting out this room."

"Then he must be here," declared Saki sententiously; "we must find him. He is one of the most dangerous enemies we have got. He is even worse than that Ned Strong, whose body now lies at the bottom of the Sound, for the meddling¹⁵ fool that he was."

"Yes, he is drowned and out of the way," rejoined Kenworth, "and it was we, after all, that had the good fortune to be picked up by a fishing boat after drifting about in our life belts for hours, and to be brought ashore¹⁶ here. And now, confound it, just when everything looks like smooth sailing, Mister Red Head has to bob up and spoil it all."

[Pg 226]

"Never mind that now," said Saki briskly, "he cannot have gone far. We must find him."

"He must be in this room," declared the spectacled Jap; "he could not get out except——"

He stopped short, gazing at the pile of boxes on the rickety bench. They stood right under the high window.

Kenworth was the first to read his thoughts.

"Could he have escaped that way?" he asked.

"I will ask you another question, honorable Kenworth," was the reply. "Could he climb?"

"Climb!" repeated the renegade midshipman with scorn. "Why, man, both those Dreadnought Boys would go in places that it would puzzle a cat to find a footing."

"Then there is your answer. He has escaped by the window."

"Confusion!"

"Yes; but he cannot get far."

"Why not?"

"That window opens on to a roof."

[Pg 227]

"Yes."

"The roof was once an extension, but now it is blocked in on all sides by the high walls of abandoned sail lofts¹⁷."

"Then if he did get up there, he is a prisoner?"

"Without doubt."

"Good." The midshipman's face was flushed with malicious¹⁸ triumph. "He can't escape us this time. Saki, somebody, help me up, quick. This time he'll not get away. One Dreadnought Boy is at the bottom of the Sound. In a few minutes the other will be our prisoner."

1 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

2 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

3 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

5 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

6 sifted   

v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• She sifted through her papers to find the lost letter. 她仔细在文件中寻找那封丢失的信。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter. 她用蓟筛筛蓟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 wanly   

adv.虚弱地；苍白地，无血色地

参考例句：

• She was smiling wanly. 她苍白无力地笑着。 来自互联网

8 impulsiveness   

n.冲动

参考例句：

• Advancing years had toned down his rash impulsiveness.上了年纪以后，他那鲁莽、容易冲动的性子好了一些。
• There was some emotional lability and impulsiveness during the testing.在测试过程中，患者容易冲动，情绪有时不稳定。

9 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

10 frenzied   

a.激怒的；疯狂的

参考例句：

• Will this push him too far and lead to a frenzied attack? 这会不会逼他太甚，导致他进行疯狂的进攻？
• Two teenagers carried out a frenzied attack on a local shopkeeper. 两名十几岁的少年对当地的一个店主进行了疯狂的袭击。

11 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

12 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 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》

15 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

16 ashore   

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。

17 lofts   

阁楼( loft的名词复数 )； （由工厂等改建的）套房； 上层楼面； 房间的越层

参考例句：

• He lofts it into the air, and hugs his head in the deep secret embrace. 他抬手甩了出去，然后赶忙把头紧紧的抱了个密不透风。
• Spring Loaded Bed Loft-Lofts bed, freeing up extra storage space underneath. 弹性床铺抬高器---抬高床铺，释放更多床底下的空间。

18 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。