Jake grabbed his brother’s arm. “Hark!” he whispered. “I thought I heard something over to the right—there in the bushes!” They listened.
“You must be dreaming still! I don’t hear anything. Come on! You aren’t scared, are you?”
“Aw, say! Let’s hurry up, though. We don’t want to get caught. You still got Alexander good and tight?”
28
Jerry resisted a particularly violent kick from Alexander, the frog, and again moved forward. They were now close to the dull patch of canvas that marked Tent Fifteen, the tent furthest away from the lodge3. The twins had marked beforehand the lower bunk4 occupied by Mr. Colby, which was on the far side. With the greatest caution, the twins circled through the underbrush and crept beneath the moorings of the tent-ropes. The councilor’s bunk was now at hand. It was their aim to slip Alexander beneath the blankets, and retreat into the cover of the pines, there to await the startled yell that would tell them Mr. Colby had discovered his slippery bedfellow.
Jake put his mouth close to Jerry’s ear. “Say, I know I heard something—there, right back of the tent! Somebody must be following us!”
“Well, what of it? They can’t see us in the dark. All the more reason to hurry. Ready?” He fished Alexander forth5. “Quick, now—lift up the covers and I’ll chuck him in——” He got no further.
Boom! A thunderous explosion came from a few feet away, and a brilliant flare6 lit the scene like a flash of lightning.
29
With daylight clearness, the startled raiders could see every feature of their surroundings, standing7 out from the night. It was like a stage play. The inside of Tent Fifteen was lit with a blinding radiance. In a cleared space at the open rear of the tent, Sherlock Jones stood, a flaming flashlight-pan held high over his head with one hand, his other hand clicking the shutter8 of the camera, placed on a tripod and aimed straight at the bunk over which bent9 the white faces of the Utway twins. In the darkness, Sherlock had poured more powder into the pan than would have been necessary to light the scene of action, and the resulting explosion had been greater than he was prepared for.
Jerry jumped backward, for in the momentary10 light from the pan he had seen Mr. Colby’s eyes open and shut again, blinded by the dazzling glare. The boy’s backward movement caused him to bump his head heavily against the mooring-pole, and he saw more stars than those that shone in the July heavens. Alexander dropped from his nerveless hand.
Jake Utway, however, was the most startled of all those whose figures stood out in that brief second of brightness. He could not hold in the cry that came to his lips. Not six inches away from his was a face—the face of a man, wild, desperate, knotted with fear!
30
For some precious seconds he was too paralyzed to move. The flare had died down, but in his mind’s eye still stood forth, every feature cut clear in his memory, the face of the stranger. That twisted visage, he was sure, belonged to no one of the leaders of Lenape, nor any of the neighboring farmers that he knew. The head was completely bald, the eyes staring from their sockets11, clenched12 teeth glittering between pale, drawn13 lips. He knew that never, as long as he lived, could he forget that frozen mask of terror.
It seemed ages before he could control his body enough to move. Stumbling blindly beneath the mooring-pole, he made for the shelter of the trees. Behind him came the shrill14 challenge of Mr. Colby: “Halt! Who goes there? What is it?”
Jake ran. He had gone about twenty yards when he tripped over a clump15 of brush, fell forward perilously16, crashed into the trunk of a tree. He lay stunned17 where he fell. Dancing sparks flickered18 before his eyes; a slow pain grew in the left side of his face, which had smashed against the rough bark of a pine.
From a few yards away came the crash of a struggling body, tearing its way through the bushes. “Is that you, Jerry?” he called hoarsely19, finding his voice and struggling to a sitting position. There was no answer, but the thrashing sound continued. What was it?
31
The unknown thing was almost upon him now. His whole face stinging with the recent blow, he tried to flounder to his feet. His upraised arm came into contact with flesh! Some heavy body fell upon his, a writhing20 mass of humanity. His groping hand clutched a bony arm clothed in some rough, thin material. At least his unknown attacker was human! Gritting21 his teeth, Jake Utway pulled himself together and grappled with his strange antagonist22.
The battle was brief. The enemy seemed more bent upon escaping from Jake’s clutch than remaining to wrestle23. It was a question which of the two was the more frightened. Jerry found and clung to a flailing24 leg until a sudden kick sent him sprawling25 again. The branches of the undergrowth crackled as the panic-stricken attacker fought his way free.
32
Painfully Jake scrambled26 to his feet. With his body scratched by the bushes and bruised27 in a dozen places, and his face throbbing28 from its blow against the tree, he now thought of nothing but regaining29 his tent undiscovered. Jerry must already have made his way back to his own tent. Jake hoped that Mr. Avery was not among those hurrying forms that passed near him in the dark, hastening toward the scene of commotion30; but there was a chance that he had not been disturbed, as the lanky31 councilor was known throughout the camp as a sound sleeper32 who had to fight his way to wakefulness at Reveille. Jake’s knowledge of the lay of the land now stood him in good stead, and he quickly found the path and scurried33 toward Tent Ten, stripping off his shirt and sweater as he went. He breathed a sigh of relief as he came to the step of his own tent. Nothing seemed out of the way. His peering eyes made sure that Mr. Avery had not stirred. With shaking fingers Jake undressed fully2, scrambled into his pajamas34, and got into the rumpled35 blankets a fraction of a second before he heard steps at the tent door.
The Chief’s low voice floated through the night. “Taking pictures, were you? Well, Jones, if I didn’t know that you were a bit cuckoo, I might wonder what you were up to. As it is——”
“But, Ch-Chief!” Sherlock whimpered. “If you knew what I was taking a picture of, you’d——”
“Shh! Don’t wake up the whole camp!” came the command. “If you have any explanation to make, you can save it until morning. Now, not another word. You’ve made enough racket for one night!”
33
Jake could not help grinning beneath the covers. Evidently Sherlock, impeded36 with his camera and other apparatus37, had not made his getaway in time. What could the amateur detective have been doing there at that hour? It must have been he whom they heard following them on their expedition. Well, time enough to worry in the morning! He listened sleepily as Sherlock stowed away his outfit38, not dreaming that the camera contained an exposed film which might be a highly incriminating record of their midnight misdoings.
Sherlock, however, made sure that his precious camera was carefully placed in his locker39. He was not minded to lose his sole evidence that he had risked all to obtain proof of the raid. He cast a grim glance toward Jake’s outstretched form as he donned his pajamas for the second time that night. Little did the brothers reck that Sherlock Jones, the detective, had not failed!
34
Sherlock wakened in the morning a few minutes before Reveille, and glanced across the tent to see if the adventure of the night had left any marks upon his mutinous40 tent-mate. It had. The most blundering detective could not have failed to note the clue which a tree-trunk had left on the face of Jake Utway. His left eye was ringed about with an inflamed41 patch of black-and-blue bruises—the most gorgeous “shiner” Sherlock had seen in some time. As he looked, Jake opened the uninjured eye and glanced achingly about him. His gaze fell on the grinning Jones, sitting upright in his bunk.
“How are all the frogs this morning?” Sherlock greeted him. “Say, you ought to ask Ellick for a chunk42 of beefsteak to drape over that eye of yours. In a couple days you’re going to have a bee-yootiful sunset on your face. It’s already started to turn all colors of the rainbow.”
Jake felt his eye tenderly. “There was some commotion in the night, and I got up and must have walked into something,” he said, with due regard for the truth. “You better shut up,” he added belligerently43, “if you don’t want to carry around one just like it.”
Sherlock said nothing, but smiled to himself. He had already decided44 to refer to his latest case under the resounding45 title of “The Clue of the Black-and-Blue Eyebrow46.”
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1
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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4
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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5
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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9
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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11
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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12
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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14
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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15
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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16
perilously
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| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
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17
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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18
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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20
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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21
gritting
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的现在分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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22
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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23
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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24
flailing
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| v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克 | |
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25
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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26
scrambled
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| 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 | |
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27
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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28
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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29
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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30
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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31
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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32
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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33
scurried
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
pajamas
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| n.睡衣裤 | |
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35
rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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38
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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39
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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40
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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41
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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43
belligerently
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44
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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45
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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46
eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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