Such a hiding-place as would have filled the heart of almost any boy with sweet delight Myles and Gascoyne found one summer afternoon. They called it their Eyry, and the name suited well for the roosting-place of the young hawks5 that rested in its windy stillness, looking down upon the shifting castle life in the courts below.
Behind the north stable, a great, long, rambling6 building, thick-walled, and black with age, lay an older part of the castle than that peopled by the better class of life—a cluster of great thick walls, rudely but strongly built, now the dwelling-place of stable-lads and hinds7, swine and poultry8. From one part of these ancient walls, and fronting an inner court of the castle, arose a tall, circular, heavy-buttressed tower, considerably9 higher than the other buildings, and so mantled10 with a dense11 growth of aged12 ivy13 as to stand a shaft14 of solid green. Above its crumbling15 crown circled hundreds of pigeons, white and pied, clapping and clattering16 in noisy flight through the sunny air. Several windows, some closed with shutters17, peeped here and there from out the leaves, and near the top of the pile was a row of arched openings, as though of a balcony or an airy gallery.
Myles had more than once felt an idle curiosity about this tower, and one day, as he and Gascoyne sat together, he pointed19 his finger and said, “What is yon place?”
“That,” answered Gascoyne, looking over his shoulder—“that they call Brutus Tower, for why they do say that Brutus he built it when he came hither to Britain. I believe not the tale mine own self; ne'theless, it is marvellous ancient, and old Robin-the-Fletcher telleth me that there be stairways built in the wall and passage-ways, and a maze20 wherein a body may get lost, an he know not the way aright, and never see the blessed light of day again.”
“Marry,” said Myles, “those same be strange sayings. Who liveth there now?”
“No one liveth there,” said Gascoyne, “saving only some of the stable villains21, and that half-witted goose-herd who flung stones at us yesterday when we mocked him down in the paddock. He and his wife and those others dwell in the vaults22 beneath, like rabbits in any warren. No one else hath lived there since Earl Robert's day, which belike was an hundred years agone. The story goeth that Earl Robert's brother—or step-brother—was murdered there, and some men say by the Earl himself. Sin that day it hath been tight shut.”
Myles stared at the tower for a while in silence. “It is a strange-seeming place from without,” said he, at last, “and mayhap it may be even more strange inside. Hast ever been within, Francis?”
“Nay,” said Gascoyne; “said I not it hath been fast locked since Earl Robert's day?”
“By'r Lady,” said Myles, “an I had lived here in this place so long as thou, I wot I would have been within it ere this.”
“Beshrew me,” said Gascoyne, “but I have never thought of such a matter.” He turned and looked at the tall crown rising into the warm sunlight with a new interest, for the thought of entering it smacked23 pleasantly of adventure. “How wouldst thou set about getting within?” said he, presently.
“Why, look,” said Myles; “seest thou not yon hole in the ivy branches? Methinks there is a window at that place. An I mistake not, it is in reach of the stable eaves. A body might come up by the fagot pile to the roof of the hen-house, and then by the long stable to the north stable, and so to that hole.”
Gascoyne looked thoughtfully at the Brutus Tower, and then suddenly inquired, “Wouldst go there?”
“So be it. Lead thou the way in the venture, I will follow after thee,” said Gascoyne.
As Myles had said, the climbing from roof to roof was a matter easy enough to an active pair of lads like themselves; but when, by-and-by, they reached the wall of the tower itself, they found the hidden window much higher from the roof than they had judged from below—perhaps ten or twelve feet—and it was, besides, beyond the eaves and out of their reach.
Myles looked up and looked down. Above was the bushy thickness of the ivy, the branches as thick as a woman's wrist, knotted and intertwined; below was the stone pavement of a narrow inner court between two of the stable buildings.
“Methinks I can climb to yon place,” said he.
“Thou'lt break thy neck an thou tryest,” said Gascoyne, hastily.
“Nay,” quoth Myles, “I trust not; but break or make, we get not there without trying. So here goeth for the venture.”
“Thou art a hare-brained knave25 as ever drew breath of life,” quoth Gascoyne, “and will cause me to come to grief some of these fine days. Ne'theless, an thou be Jack26 Fool and lead the way, go, and I will be Tom Fool and follow anon. If thy neck is worth so little, mine is worth no more.”
It was indeed a perilous27 climb, but that special providence28 which guards reckless lads befriended them, as it has thousands of their kind before and since. So, by climbing from one knotted, clinging stem to another, they were presently seated snugly in the ivied niche29 in the window. It was barred from within by a crumbling shutter18, the rusty30 fastening of which, after some little effort upon the part of the two, gave way, and entering the narrow opening, they found themselves in a small triangular31 passage-way, from which a steep flight of stone steps led down through a hollow in the massive wall to the room below.
At the bottom of the steps was a heavy oaken door, which stood ajar, hanging upon a single rusty hinge, and from the room within a dull, gray light glimmered32 faintly. Myles pushed the door farther open; it creaked and grated horribly on its rusty hinge, and, as in instant answer to the discordant33 shriek34, came a faint piping squeaking35, a rustling36 and a pattering of soft footsteps.
“The ghosts!” cried Gascoyne, in a quavering whisper, and for a moment Myles felt the chill of goose-flesh creep up and down his spine37. But the next moment he laughed.
“Nay,” said he, “they be rats. Look at yon fellow, Francis! Be'st as big as Mother Joan's kitten. Give me that stone.” He flung it at the rat, and it flew clattering across the floor. There was another pattering rustle38 of hundreds of feet, and then a breathless silence.
The boys stood looking around them, and a strange enough sight it was. The room was a perfect circle of about twenty feet across, and was piled high with an indistinguishable mass of lumber—rude tables, ruder chairs, ancient chests, bits and remnants of cloth and sacking and leather, old helmets and pieces of armor of a by-gone time, broken spears and pole-axes, pots and pans and kitchen furniture of all sorts and kinds.
A straight beam of sunlight fell through a broken shutter like a bar of gold, and fell upon the floor in a long streak39 of dazzling light that illuminated40 the whole room with a yellow glow.
“By 'r Lady!” said Gascoyne at last, in a hushed voice, “here is Father Time's garret for sure. Didst ever see the like, Myles? Look at yon arbalist; sure Brutus himself used such an one!”
“Nay,” said Myles; “but look at this saddle. Marry, here be'st a rat's nest in it.”
Clouds of dust rose as they rummaged41 among the mouldering42 mass, setting them coughing and sneezing. Now and then a great gray rat would shoot out beneath their very feet, and disappear, like a sudden shadow, into some hole or cranny in the wall.
“Come,” said Myles at last, brushing the dust from his jacket, “an we tarry here longer we will have chance to see no other sights; the sun is falling low.”
An arched stair-way upon the opposite side of the room from which they had entered wound upward through the wall, the stone steps being lighted by narrow slits43 of windows cut through the massive masonry44. Above the room they had just left was another of the same shape and size, but with an oak floor, sagging45 and rising into hollows and hills, where the joist had rotted away beneath. It was bare and empty, and not even a rat was to be seen. Above was another room; above that, another; all the passages and stairways which connected the one story with the other being built in the wall, which was, where solid, perhaps fifteen feet thick.
From the third floor a straight flight of steps led upward to a closed door, from the other side of which shone the dazzling brightness of sunlight, and whence came a strange noise—a soft rustling, a melodious46 murmur47. The boys put their shoulders against the door, which was fastened, and pushed with might and main—once, twice; suddenly the lock gave way, and out they pitched headlong into a blaze of sunlight. A deafening48 clapping and uproar49 sounded in their ears, and scores of pigeons, suddenly disturbed, rose in stormy flight.
They sat up and looked around them in silent wonder. They were in a bower50 of leafy green. It was the top story of the tower, the roof of which had crumbled51 and toppled in, leaving it open to the sky, with only here and there a slanting52 beam or two supporting a portion of the tiled roof, affording shelter for the nests of the pigeons crowded closely together. Over everything the ivy had grown in a mantling53 sheet—a net-work of shimmering54 green, through which the sunlight fell flickering55.
“This passeth wonder,” said Gascoyne, at last breaking the silence.
“Aye,” said Myles, “I did never see the like in all my life.” Then, “Look, yonder is a room beyond; let us see what it is, Francis.”
Entering an arched door-way, the two found themselves in a beautiful little vaulted56 chapel57, about eighteen feet long and twelve or fifteen wide. It comprised the crown of one of the large massive buttresses58, and from it opened the row of arched windows which could be seen from below through the green shimmering of the ivy leaves. The boys pushed aside the trailing tendrils and looked out and down. The whole castle lay spread below them, with the busy people unconsciously intent upon the matters of their daily work. They could see the gardener, with bowed back, patiently working among the flowers in the garden, the stable-boys below grooming59 the horses, a bevy60 of ladies in the privy61 garden playing at shuttlecock with battledoors of wood, a group of gentlemen walking up and down in front of the Earl's house. They could see the household servants hurrying hither and thither62, two little scullions at fisticuffs, and a kitchen girl standing63 in the door-way scratching her frowzy64 head.
It was all like a puppetshow of real life, each acting65 unconsciously a part in the play. The cool wind came in through the rustling leaves and fanned their cheeks, hot with the climb up the winding66 stair-way.
“We will call it our Eyry,” said Gascoyne “and we will be the hawks that live here.” And that was how it got its name.
The next day Myles had the armorer make him a score of large spikes67, which he and Gascoyne drove between the ivy branches and into the cement of the wall, and so made a safe passageway by which to reach the window niche in the wall.
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1
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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2
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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3
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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4
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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5
hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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6
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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7
hinds
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| n.（常指动物腿）后面的( hind的名词复数 )；在后的；（通常与can或could连用）唠叨不停；滔滔不绝 | |
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poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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9
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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10
mantled
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| 披着斗篷的，覆盖着的 | |
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11
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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12
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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13
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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14
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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15
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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16
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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17
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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18
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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19
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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20
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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21
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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22
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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23
smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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25
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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26
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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27
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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28
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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29
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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30
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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31
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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32
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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34
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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35
squeaking
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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36
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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37
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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38
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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39
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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40
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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41
rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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42
mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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43
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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44
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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45
sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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46
melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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47
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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48
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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49
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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50
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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51
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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52
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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53
mantling
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| 覆巾 | |
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54
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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55
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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56
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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57
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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58
buttresses
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| n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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59
grooming
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| n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发 | |
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60
bevy
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| n.一群 | |
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61
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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62
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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63
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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64
frowzy
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| adj.不整洁的；污秽的 | |
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65
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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66
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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67
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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