1 Home from school
　　1
　　Home from school
　　The quiet house was quiet no longer! The four children were back from boarding school, and wereeven now dragging in their trunks, shouting to one another. Kiki the parrot joined in the generalexcitement, of course, and screeched loudly.
　　‘Aunt Allie! We’re back!’ yelled Jack. ‘Be quiet, Kiki! I can’t hear myself shout!’
　　‘Mother! Where are you?’ called Dinah. ‘We’re home again!’
　　Her mother appeared in a hurry, smiles all over her face. ‘Dinah! Philip! I didn’t expect youquite so soon. Well, Lucy-Ann, you’ve grown! And Philip, you look bursting with health!’
　　‘I don’t know why,’ grinned Philip, giving Mrs Cunningham a big hug. ‘The food at school isso frightful I never eat any of it!’
　　‘Same old story!’ said Mrs Cunningham, laughing. ‘Hallo, Kiki! Say how do you do!’
　　‘How do you do?’ said the parrot, solemnly, and held out her left foot as if to shake hands.
　　‘New trick,’ said Jack. ‘But wrong foot, old thing. Don’t you know your left from your rightyet?’
　　‘Left, right, left, right, left, right,’ said Kiki at once, and began marking time remarkably well.
　　‘Left, right, left …’
　　‘That’s enough,’ said Jack. He turned to Mrs Cunningham. ‘How’s Bill? Is he here too?’
　　‘He meant to be here to welcome you all,’ said Mrs Cunningham, Bill’s wife. ‘But he had asudden ’phone call this morning, took the car, and went racing off to London all in a hurry.’
　　The four children groaned. ‘It isn’t some job that’s turned up just as we’re home for the Easterhols, is it?’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Bill’s always got some secret work to do just at the wrong time!’
　　‘Well, I hope it isn’t,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘I’m expecting him to telephone at any moment tosay if he’s going to be back tonight or not.’
　　‘Mother! Shall we unpack down here and take our things up straight away?’ called Dinah. ‘Fourtrunks lying about the hall leave no room to move.’
　　‘Yes. But leave two of the trunks downstairs when they’re empty,’ said her mother. ‘We’regoing off on a holiday tomorrow, all of us together!’
　　This was news to the children. They clustered round Mrs Cunningham at once. ‘You never saida word in your letters! Where are we going? Why didn’t you tell us before?’
　　‘Well, it was really Bill’s idea, not mine,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘He just thought it wouldmake a nice change. I was surprised myself when he arranged it.’
　　‘Arranged it! And never said a word to us!’ said Philip. ‘I say - is anything up? It seems funnythat Bill did it all of a sudden. Last time I saw him, when he came down to school to see us, hewas talking about what we’d all do at home in the four weeks’ Easter hols.’
　　‘I don’t really think there’s anything peculiar about it,’ said his mother. ‘Bill gets these suddenideas, you know.’
　　‘Well - where are we all going to, then?’ asked Jack, pushing Kiki off the sideboard, where shewas trying to take the lid off the biscuit jar.
　　‘It’s a place called Little Brockleton,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Very quiet. In the middle of thecountry. Just the kind of place you all like. You can mess about in old things all day long.’
　　‘Little Brockleton,’ said Philip. ‘Brock means badger. I wonder if there are badgers there. I’vealways wanted to study badgers. Lovely little bear-like beasts.’
　　‘Well, you’ll be happy then,’ said Dinah. ‘I suppose that means you’ll be keeping a couple ofbadgers for pets before we know where we are! Ugh!’
　　‘Badgers are very nice animals,’ began Philip. ‘Clean and most particular in their habits, and…’
　　Lucy-Ann gave a little squeal of laughter. ‘Oh dear - they don’t sound a bit like you then,Philip!’
　　‘Don’t interrupt like that and don’t make silly remarks,’ said Philip. ‘I was saying, aboutbadgers …’
　　But nobody wanted to listen. Jack had a question he wanted to ask. ‘Are there any decent birdsround about Little Brockleton?’ he said. ‘Where is it? By the sea?’
　　Jack was as mad as ever about birds. So long as he could do birdwatching of some kind he washappy. Mrs Cunningham laughed at him.
　　‘You and your birds, Jack, and Philip and his badgers! I can’t tell you anything about the birdsthere - the same ones as usual, I suppose. Now - what about these trunks? We’ll unpack the lot;take the boys’ trunks upstairs, and leave the girls’ to take with us to Little Brockleton - they arenot quite so hard-used as yours!’
　　‘Can we have something to eat after we’ve unpacked?’ asked Philip. ‘I’m famished. The schoolfood, you know, is so …’
　　‘Yes - I’ve heard all that before, Philip,’ said his mother. You’ll have a fine lunch in half anhour - yes, your favourite - cold meat, salad, baked beans in tomato sauce, potatoes in theirjackets, heaps of tomatoes …’
　　‘Oh, good!’ said everyone at once, and Kiki hopped solemnly from one leg to another.
　　‘Good!’ she said. ‘Good! Good morning, good night, good!’
　　The unpacking began. ‘Kiki was dreadful in the train home,’ said Jack, struggling with anarmful of clothes, and dropping half of them. ‘She got under the carriage seat to pick over someold toffee papers there, and such a nice old man got in. Kiki stuffed the toffee papers into the turn-ups of his trousers - you should just have seen his face when he bent down and saw them!’
　　‘And then she began to bark like a dog,’ said Lucy-Ann with a giggle, ‘and the poor old manleapt off his seat as if he’d been shot.’
　　‘Bang-bang,’ put in Kiki. ‘Pop-pop. Pop goes the weasel. Wipe your feet and shut the door.’
　　‘Oh, Kiki! It’s nice to have you again with your silly talk,’ said Mrs Cunningham, laughing.
　　Kiki put up her crest and sidled over to her. She rubbed her head against Mrs Cunningham’s handlike a cat.
　　‘I always expect you to purr, Kiki, when you do that,’ said Mrs Cunningham, scratching theparrot’s head.
　　The unpacking was soon done. It was very simple really. Dirty clothes were pitched into theenormous linen-basket, the rest were pitched into drawers.
　　‘Can’t think why people ever make a fuss about packing or unpacking,’ said Jack. ‘Kiki, takeyour head out of my pocket. What’s this sudden craze for toffees? Do you want to get your beakstuck so that you can’t talk?’
　　Kiki took her head out of Jack’s pocket, and screeched triumphantly. She had found a toffee.
　　Now she would have a perfectly lovely time unwrapping the paper, talking to herself all the while.
　　‘Well, that’ll keep her quiet for a bit,’ said Dinah thankfully. ‘Kiki’s always so noisy whenshe’s excited.’
　　‘So are you,’ said Philip at once. Dinah glared at him.
　　‘Shut up, you two,’ said Jack. ‘No sparring on the first day of hols. Gosh, look at Lucy-Anngoing up the stairs dropping a pair of socks on every step!’
　　The telephone bell rang. Mrs Cunningham ran to answer it. ‘That will be Bill!’ she said.
　　It was. There was a short conversation which consisted mostly of ‘Yes. No. I see. I suppose so.
　　No, of course not. Yes. Yes. No, Bill. Right. Yes, I’ll explain. See you tonight then. Goodbye.’
　　‘What’s he say?’ asked Lucy-Ann. ‘Is he coming soon? I do want to see him.’
　　‘Yes, he’s coming this evening, about half past five,’ said Mrs Cunningham. The four childrendidn’t think she looked very pleased. She opened her mouth to say something, hesitated, and thenclosed it again.
　　‘Mother, what was it you said you’d explain?’ said Philip at once. ‘We heard you say, “Yes, I’llexplain”. Was it something you had to tell us? What is it?’
　　‘Don’t say it’s anything horrid,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Bill is coming away with us, isn’t he?’
　　‘Oh yes,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Well - I hope you won’t mind, my dears - but he badly wantsus to take someone else with us.’
　　‘Who?’ asked everyone at once, and they all looked so fierce that Mrs Cunningham was quitesurprised.
　　‘Not his old aunt?’ said Dinah. ‘Oh, Mother, don’t say it’s someone we’ve got to be on our bestbehaviour with all the time.’
　　‘No, of course not,’ said her mother. ‘It’s a small boy - the nephew of a friend of Bill’s.’
　　‘Do we know him? What’s his name?’ asked Jack.
　　‘Bill didn’t tell me his name,’ said Mrs Cunningham.
　　‘Why can’t he go to his own home for the holidays?’ asked Dinah in disgust. ‘I don’t like smallboys. Why should we have to have him? He’ll probably spoil everything for us!’
　　‘Oh no he won’t,’ said Philip, at once. ‘Small boys have to toe the line with us, don’t they,Jack? We get enough of them and their fatheadedness at school - we know how to deal with themall right.’
　　‘Yes, but why has he got to come to us?’ persisted Dinah. ‘Hasn’t he got a home?’
　　‘Oh yes - but he’s a foreigner,’ said her mother. ‘He’s been sent to school in England to have agood English education. I should imagine his family want him to have a few weeks in a Britishfamily now, and experience a little of our homelife. Also, I gather there is some difficulty at hishome at the moment - illness, I should think.’
　　‘Oh well - we’ll have to make the best of it,’ said Lucy-Ann, picturing a very little, homesickboy, and thinking that she would comfort him and make a fuss of him.
　　‘We’ll park him with you then, Lucy-Ann,’ said Dinah, who didn’t like small boys at all, orsmall girls either. ‘You can wheel him about in a pram and put him to bed at night!’
　　‘Don’t be silly, Dinah. He won’t be as small as that!’ said her mother. ‘Now - have youfinished? It’s almost lunchtime, so go and wash your hands and brush your hair.’
　　‘Wash your hands, brush your hair, wipe your feet, blow your nose,’ shouted Kiki. ‘Brush yourhands, blow your feet, wipe your - your - your …’
　　‘Yes - you’ve got a bit muddled, old thing,’ said Jack with a laugh. Kiki flew to his shoulder,and began to pull at Jack’s ear lovingly. Then, as she heard the sound of the gong suddenlybooming out, she gave a loud screech and flew into the dining room. She knew what that soundmeant!
　　‘Jack! Kiki will peck all the tomatoes if you don’t keep an eye on her,’ called Mrs Cunningham.
　　‘Go after her, quickly!’
　　But there was no need to say that - everyone had rushed to the dining room at the first sound ofthe gong!
第1章 放假回家了
　　第1章 放假回家了
　　安静的房子又热闹起来了！四个孩子从寄宿学校回来了，他们一边费劲地把行李拖进门，一边相互嚷嚷着。鹦鹉琪琪也在一旁兴奋地大声尖叫着，让屋子里变得更吵了。
　　“艾莉阿姨！我们回来了！”杰克高声喊道，“闭嘴，琪琪！我都听不到自己说话了！”
　　“妈妈！你在哪儿？”黛娜叫着，“我们到家啦！”
　　她的妈妈几乎像冲刺般跑了出来，脸上挂着大大的笑容。“黛娜！菲利普！我没想到你们回来得这么快。哎呀，露西安，你长高了！菲利普，你看起来精神真棒！”
　　“我也不知道为什么。”菲利普咧嘴一笑，给了坎宁安夫人一个热情的拥抱，“明明学校的伙食那么糟，我根本就没吃什么！”
　　“又来这套。”坎宁安夫人说着笑了起来，“嗨，琪琪！说你好！”
　　“你好。”鹦鹉一脸严肃地说，同时伸出了左爪，似乎准备来一次握手。
　　“新把戏，”杰克说，“但是老毛病，伸错脚了。你难道还是左右不分吗？”
　　“左、右、左、右、左、右，”琪琪立刻数了起来，同时开始踩着点，原地踏步起来，“左、右、左……”
　　“行了。”杰克说。他转过身问坎宁安夫人：“比尔呢？他也在家吗？”
　　“他本来打算留在这儿迎接你们的。”坎宁安夫人回道，“但是早上突然来了一个电话，然后他就匆匆地开车去伦敦了。”
　　四个孩子发出了抱怨的呻吟声。“不会跟复活节那时一样吧，我们在家的时候突然冒出来的工作？”露西安说，“比尔总是在错误的时间去做他的秘密工作！”
　　“嗯，但愿不是。”坎宁安夫人说，“我希望他有空的时候能打个电话回来，确认一下今晚是否回家。”
　　“妈妈！我们是不是应该就在这儿把行李拆开，然后直接把自己的东西拿上去？”黛娜大声问道，“这四个行李箱把厅里挤得一点地方都没有了！”
　　“是的。不过要在楼下留两个空箱子，”她妈妈说，“我们明天就要去度假，所有的人一起！”
　　这对孩子们来说，可是个大新闻，他们立刻挤到坎宁安夫人身边：“你在信里一个字都没提！我们要去哪里？你怎么不提前告诉我们？”
　　“呃，实际上这是比尔的主意，不是我的。”坎宁安夫人说，“他只是觉得这大概会是一次不错的变化。听到他的安排时，我也挺惊讶的。”
　　“他的安排！然后一个字儿也不告诉我们！”菲利普咕哝道，“我说——有什么事儿发生了吗？似乎比尔突然就定好了一切，这可挺有趣的。上次他去学校看我们时，一直唠叨的可是我们四周的复活节假都在家里干了什么。”
　　“我并不觉得有哪里特别奇怪，”他妈妈说，“你们知道的，比尔总是突发奇想。”
　　“所以说——我们究竟要去哪里？”杰克问道，同时把琪琪从餐柜上赶走，因为她正试图打开曲奇罐的盖子。
　　“一个叫作小布洛克莱顿的地方。”坎宁安夫人说，“很安静，在英格兰中部。就是那种你们都会喜欢的地方。你们可以整天泡在那些旧玩意里。”
　　“小布洛克莱顿。”菲利普念叨着，“布洛克的意思是獾。我想知道那儿是否有獾。我一直想研究獾。那些古怪的像熊一样的小家伙。”
　　“好吧，那你一定会很开心。”黛娜说，“我猜，那意味着，甚至在我们搞清楚我们在哪儿之前，你就会搞来几只獾当宠物养着了！”
　　“獾是一种很不错的动物。”菲利普忍不住说道，“干净，特别是它们的习性，还有……”
　　露西安短促地尖声笑了一下，“喔哦——那它们听起来可一点也不像你，菲利普！”
　　“别这样插话，也别发表蠢乎乎的评论。”菲利普说，“我是说，关于獾……”
　　但是没人想听。杰克关心的是另一个问题。“小布洛克莱顿那里有没有一些像样的鸟？”他说，“那地方在哪儿？海边吗？”
　　杰克对鸟一直都是这么痴迷。只要有类似观鸟的事情可以做，他就会非常开心。坎宁安夫人忍不住嘲笑他。
　　“你和你的鸟，杰克，还有菲利普和他的獾！我没法告诉你那里都有什么鸟——我猜和平时的那些差不多。好了，现在——来解决这些行李吧？让我们把它们全部拆包，男孩们的箱子都拿到楼上去，女孩们的留下带去小布洛克莱顿——它们可不像你们的那么难用！”
　　“我们收拾好之后可以吃点东西吗？”菲利普问，“我饿了。学校里的吃的，你知道，是那么的……”
　　“是的——我以前就听你说过了，菲利普。”他妈妈说，“你们半小时后就会有一顿丰盛的午饭——没错，都是你们喜欢的——冷肉、沙拉、番茄酱焗豆、带皮的烘土豆，还有一大堆西红柿……”
　　“哇哦，好极了！”所有的人都立刻欢呼道。琪琪严肃地换了另一条腿站着。
　　“好呀！”她说，“好！早上好，晚上好，好！”
　　大家马上开始开箱。“琪琪在回家的火车上可烦人了。”杰克说着，同时奋力抱起一大摞衣服，结果却掉了一半。“她在车座下找到了一些旧的太妃糖纸。那时，一位很好的老先生进了车厢。结果琪琪就把那些糖纸全塞进了他挽起的裤脚里——你真应该看看他弯腰发现糖纸时的脸色！”
　　“然后她开始像狗一样吠，”露西安咯咯地笑着说，“那位可怜的老先生直接就从座位上跳起来了，好像被子弹打中了一样。”
　　“ —— ，”琪琪插嘴道，“砰——砰。砰，去追黄鼠狼！擦干脚关好门。”
　　“噢，琪琪！真高兴又能听到你在这儿说这些傻话了。”坎宁安夫人笑着说。琪琪竖起冠毛，偷偷地向她靠了靠，然后用脑袋蹭着她的手，就像一只猫一样。
　　“琪琪，每次你这么做的时候，我都觉得你马上就会发出咕噜声了。”坎宁安夫人一边说着，一边轻搔着鹦鹉的脑袋。
　　行李很快拆完了。实际上这真不是什么难事。脏衣服都被丢进了巨大的亚麻布脏衣篮里，其余的则被放进抽屉。
　　“真想不通为什么有人会因为打包或拆包而紧张兮兮的。”杰克说，“琪琪，把头从我的口袋里拿出来。哦，天哪！你从哪儿掏出的太妃糖？你想把自己的嘴粘死然后没法说话吗？”
　　琪琪把头从杰克的衣袋里抬起来，开始得意扬扬地高声大叫。她找到了一颗太妃糖。
　　现在，她一直自言自语着，准备好好地享受一番剥开糖纸的完美时光。
　　“好吧，那至少能让她安静一点儿。”黛娜露出谢天谢地的表情，“琪琪兴奋起来总是这么吵。”
　　“你也一样。”菲利普立刻回道。黛娜瞪向他。
　　“闭嘴吧，你们俩。”杰克说，“别在放假的第一天就吵架。天哪，看看，露西安在楼梯的每个台阶上都掉了一双袜子！”
　　电话铃响了。坎宁安夫人跑去接。“一定是比尔！”她说。
　　确实是他。这是一个简短的通话，杰克他们能听到的大部分内容就是“是的。不，我明白了。我猜就是这样。不，当然不。好的。好的。不，比尔。好。是的，我会解释。那么今晚见。再见。”
　　“他说什么？”露西安问道，“他很快就会回来吗？我真的好想见到他。”
　　“是的。他今晚会回来，大概在五点半左右。”坎宁安夫人说。但是四个孩子觉得她看起来并不是很高兴。她张嘴似乎想说什么，犹豫了一下，又闭上了。
　　“妈妈，你刚才说什么你会解释？”菲利普立刻说道，“我们听到了。‘是的，我会解释。’有什么事是你不得不跟我们讲的吗？是什么事？”
　　“别告诉我们是什么糟糕的事情。”露西安说，“比尔会跟我们一起去的，对吧？”
　　“哦，当然。”坎宁安夫人说，“好吧——亲爱的孩子们，我希望你们不要介意——但是他十分希望能带另一个人和我们一起去度假。”
　　“谁呀？”所有的人立即问道。他们急切激烈的态度简直吓了坎宁安夫人一跳。
　　“不是他的老阿姨吧？”黛娜说，“喔，妈妈，千万别说是某个我们‘必须全程保持良好仪态相处’的人。”
　　“不，当然不是。”她妈妈说，“是个小男孩——比尔朋友的侄子。”
　　“我们认识吗？他叫什么名字？”杰克问。
　　“比尔没告诉我他的名字。”坎宁安夫人说。
　　“为什么他不能回自己的家去度假呢？”黛娜厌恶地问，“我不喜欢小男孩。我们为什么要带着他？他可能会搞砸一切！”
　　“哦，不，他不会。”菲利普马上说，“小男孩们得听我们的，对吧，杰克？我们在学校里可应付过不少蠢乎乎的小男生——我们完全知道怎么搞定他们。”
　　“好吧，但为什么他要跟着我们？”黛娜固执地说，“他难道没有家吗？”
　　“哦，他当然有——但他是个外国人。”她妈妈说，“他被送到英国的学校来接受良好的英语教育。我想他的家人现在是希望能让他在一个英国家庭里待上几个星期，体验一下我们这样的家庭生活。而且，据我所知，目前他家里还有些棘手的事情——我猜是有病人。”
　　“喔，好吧——我们会处理好这事儿。”露西安说，在她的脑海里已经浮现了一个瘦小的、患着思乡病的男孩形象，她满怀热情地想着自己会如何安抚他、无微不至地照顾他。
　　“那就把他放到你身边好了，露西安。”黛娜说。她完全不喜欢小男孩，当然也不喜欢小女孩。“你可以用婴儿推车摇着他，然后晚上再哄他上床睡觉！”
　　“别说傻话了，黛娜。他没那么小！”她妈妈说，“好了，现在——你们都收拾好了吗？
　　已经到午饭时间了，去洗干净你们的手，梳梳你们的头。”
　　“洗好你的手，梳梳你的头，擦干你的脚，擤擤你的鼻子，”琪琪喊道，“洗好你的手，梳梳你的头，擦干你的脚，擤擤你的——你的——你的……”
　　“好吧——你有点混乱了，老伙计。”杰克笑着说。琪琪飞到他的肩膀上，亲昵地啄扯起他的耳朵。突然，传来了锣的响声，她立刻响亮地叫了一声，向餐厅飞去。她知道那意味着什么！
　　“杰克！如果你再不看着点儿，琪琪就会把所有的西红柿都吃掉。”坎宁安夫人喊道，“去看住她，快点！”
　　但实际上并不需要提醒——在锣声响起的那一瞬间，所有的人都已经冲向了餐厅！
2 Arrival of Gustavus
　　2
　　Arrival of Gustavus
　　The afternoon was spent in looking all over the house to see if any changes had been made, and inexploring the garden from end to end to see what flowers were out, what edible things there were(only lettuces, alas!) and to introduce Kiki to six new hens.
　　‘There’s a new carpet in the guest room,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘But that’s all the changes there are.
　　I’m glad. I don’t like to come home and find anything changed. I suppose this small boy will sleepin the guest room, Aunt Allie?’
　　‘Yes,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘I’m getting it ready in a minute or two. Go and join the others inthe garden. You can pick a few daffodils, if you like - we want some in the hall.’
　　Lucy-Ann wandered off happily. The very first day of the holidays was always heavenly. All thefirst few days went slowly, and the thought of days and days of holiday ahead was one to dwell oncontentedly almost every minute.
　　‘Lucy-Ann! Come here! Kiki’s having the time of her life!’ called Jack. ‘Look at her showingoff in front of the new hens!’
　　Kiki was sitting on a post in the hen run. The six hens were gathered admiringly around her.
　　‘Cluck-cluck-cluck,’ they said to one another, and one stretched herself on tiptoe and flappedher wings as if trying to fly. Kiki put her head on one side, stretched herself on tiptoe too, spreadher wings wide and took off. She sailed down to the surprised hens.
　　‘Cluck-luck-luck, urrrrrrk!’ she said, earnestly. ‘Cluck-luck-luck, urrrrrrk!’
　　‘Cluck-uck-uck, cluck!’ said the hens, in admiration, and went nearer. One hen daringly peckedat one of the parrot’s tail feathers.
　　This was insolence! Kiki danced round the alarmed hens, making a noise like an aeroplane introuble. The hens took to their heels and fled into the hen house, almost tumbling over one anotheras they tried to squeeze in at the narrow doorway two at a time.
　　Kiki waddled after them, clucking again. Mrs Cunningham called from a window.
　　‘Children! The hens will never lay us eggs if you let Kiki scare them.’
　　‘Kiki’s gone into the hen house - she’ll probably sit in a nesting box and try to lay an egg likethe hens!’ called Jack. ‘Come out, Kiki.’
　　Kiki came back and looked inquiringly out of the little doorway. ‘Polly put the kettle on,’ shesaid, peaceably, ‘cluck-luck-luck, urrrrrrk!’
　　She flew to Jack’s shoulder, and the hens looked at one another in relief. Was it safe to go outand wander round yet?
　　‘There’s the next-door cat,’ said Dinah. ‘Come to see what all the fuss is about, I expect! Hangon to Kiki, Jack.’
　　‘Oh, she’ll bark like a dog if the cat comes any nearer,’ said Jack. ‘Come on - let’s see what thegardener has got in the greenhouse.’
　　It was a pleasant sunny afternoon, and the four really enjoyed themselves ‘mooching about’ asJack called it. They all longed for Bill to arrive. Then the family would be complete - except, ofcourse, that it would have one too many, if he really brought the unexpected boy with him!
　　‘I’m going to watch at the gate for Bill,’ announced Lucy-Ann after tea.
　　‘We all will,’ said Philip. ‘Good old Bill! What luck for us that he’s not on one of his hush-hushjobs just now, and can come away with us!’
　　They went to hang over the front gate together. Kiki kept putting her crest up and downexcitedly. She knew quite well that Bill was coming.
　　‘Bill! Pay the bill!’ she kept saying. ‘Where’s Bill? Pop goes Bill!’
　　‘You’re a silly-billy,’ said Lucy-Ann, stroking the parrot’s soft neck. ‘That’s what you are!’
　　‘That’s an idiotic thing to call her,’ said Dinah. ‘Just as we’re expecting Bill! She’ll screech out“Silly-Billy” to him now, I bet you she will!’
　　‘Silly-Billy, Billy-Silly!’ shouted Kiki. She always loved words that sounded the same. Jacktapped her on the head.
　　‘No, Kiki, stop it. Look, here’s a car coming. Perhaps it’s Bill’s.’
　　But it wasn’t. As it went by, Kiki hooted loudly - parp-parp-parp - exactly like a car.
　　The driver was astonished. He could see no car in sight. He sounded his horn, thinking theremust be a hidden corner somewhere.
　　And then Lucy-Ann gave a squeal. ‘Here’s Bill!’ she said. ‘A big black car, very sleek andshiny! Bill, Bill!’
　　She was right. It was Bill’s car. It drew up at the front gate, and Bill’s jolly face grinned at themas he looked out of the window. Somebody sat beside him. Was it the boy?
　　Bill opened the door and leapt out. The four children pounced on him. ‘Bill! Good old Bill!
　　How are you, Bill?’
　　‘Silly-Billy!’ screeched a voice.
　　‘Ah - good evening, Kiki,’ said Bill, as the parrot landed full on his shoulder. ‘Still the samerude old bird. Aha! You want me at home to teach you a few manners!’
　　Kiki cackled like an excited hen. ‘Now then - don’t you lay eggs down my neck!’ said Bill.
　　‘What are you cackling about? Where’s your mother, Dinah?’
　　‘There she is,’ said Dinah, as Mrs Cunningham came running to the gate. Bill was about to callto her when an extremely loud cough came from the car - a cough that was meant to be noticed.
　　‘Oh - I completely forgot for the moment,’ said Bill. ‘I’ve brought a visitor. Did you tell them,Allie?’
　　‘Yes, I did,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Where is he? Oh, in the car. Bring him out, Bill.’
　　‘Come on out,’ said Bill, and in the midst of a dead silence the owner of the loud cough slid outof the car in as dignified a manner as he could.
　　Everyone stared at him. He was about eleven, and certainly very foreign-looking. His blue-black hair was curly and rather longer than usual. His eyes were as black as his hair, and he hadthicker lashes than either of the girls. And he certainly had magnificent manners.
　　He went to Mrs Cunningham, and took the hand she held out to him. But instead of shaking ithe bowed over it and touched it with his lips. Mrs Cunningham couldn’t help smiling. The fourchildren stared in amusement.
　　‘My thanks to you, dear lady,’ he said, in a very foreign accent.
　　‘That’s all right,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Have you had any tea?’
　　But before the boy chose to answer this question he had to make a further display of manners.
　　He went to Dinah, and before she knew what he meant to do, he took her hand and bent over it.
　　She gave a squeal and snatched it away.
　　‘Don’t!’ she said. Lucy-Ann put her hands firmly behind her back. She didn’t want them kissedeither. What an extraordinary boy!
　　‘Gus, old fellow - we just shake hands, you know,’ said Bill, trying to hide his amusement atthe sight of the two girls’ indignant faces. ‘Er - this is Gustavus Barmilevo, Allie. He will be withus for the next few weeks, as his uncle has asked me to keep an eye on him.’
　　Gustavus Barmilevo bowed very low, but did not attempt any more hand- kissing. Billintroduced the rest.
　　‘Dinah - Lucy-Ann - Jack - and Philip. I - er - hope you’ll soon all be good friends.’
　　The two boys shook hands with Gus, eyeing him with much disfavour. Goodness! Were they toput up with this little foreigner all the holidays?
　　Gus did a funny little bow each time he shook hands. ‘Plizzed to mit you,’ he said. ‘What is zisbird? How you call it?’
　　‘It’s a Kiki-bird,’ said Jack, solemnly. ‘Gus, meet Kiki. Kiki, meet Gus!’
　　Kiki held out her left foot as usual, to shake hands. Gus looked extremely surprised, but hismanners remained perfect. He held out his hand to Kiki’s foot. Unfortunately Kiki dug her talonsinto his fingers, and he gave a loud yell.
　　‘What a noise, what a noise!’ said Kiki, severely. ‘Wipe your feet and blow your nose. Fetch thedoctor!’
　　‘My finger’s blidding,’ said the boy with tears in his voice. ‘It blids, look.’
　　‘Fetch the doctor, Polly’s got a cold, fetch the doctor,’ chanted Kiki, enjoying herself. The boysuddenly realized that it was the parrot who was talking. He forgot his ‘blidding’ and stared atKiki in amazement.
　　‘It spiks!’ he announced in awe. ‘It spiks. It spiks words. It sees my blidding finger, and spiks tofetch the doctor. I never haf seen a Kiki-bird before.’
　　‘Come along in, and I’ll put a bit of bandage on your finger,’ said Mrs Cunningham, gettingtired of all this.
　　‘Yes. It blids,’ said Gus, mournfully, watching a minute drop of blood fall to the ground. Helooked as if he was going to cry. Then he said a most extraordinary thing.
　　‘This bird,’ he said, looking at Kiki suddenly, ‘the bird - it must be in a cage. I order it.’
　　‘Don’t be a fathead,’ said Jack, after a moment’s silence of astonishment. ‘Come on, Aunt Allie- let’s go indoors. Gus might “blid” to death!’
　　This was a most alarming thought, and Gus rushed into the house at once. The others followedslowly. What an extraordinary boy!
　　‘Bit dippy,’ said Dinah in a low voice, and they all nodded. Bill’s voice hailed them.
　　‘Hey! What about a spot of help with the luggage?’
　　‘Oh, Bill. Sorry, we weren’t thinking,’ said Jack, and ran back at once. ‘Gus rather took ourbreath away. What nationality is he?’
　　‘Oh, he’s a bit of a mixture, I think,’ said Bill. ‘Don’t bother him about his family or his home,or he’ll probably burst into tears. Sorry to inflict him on you like this. He’ll be better when he’sshaken down a bit. I believe he got on quite all right at the English school he was at. Anyway - I’lltake him off your hands as much as I can, I promise you, as it’s my friend who asked me to keepan eye on him!’
　　‘We’ll help, Bill,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I expect he’s shy. Oh dear - I was so afraid he’d kiss myhand! What would the girls at school say?’
　　‘Well, I should hardly think they’d know anything about it,’ said Bill. ‘You take that bag, Jack -and you that box, Philip. Well - it’s nice to see you all home again! And Kiki, too, you old rascal.
　　How dare you call me Silly-Billy?’
　　‘Pop goes Billy, pop goes Billy!’ screeched Kiki in delight, and flew down to his shoulder tonibble his ear. ‘Pop-pop-pop!’
第2章 古斯塔夫斯的到来
　　第2章 古斯塔夫斯的到来
　　这个下午完全被孩子消磨在对房子和花园的巡视中了：看看房子有没有什么新变化；从花园这头探索到那头，看看都有什么花开了，以及有没有什么已经可以吃的东西（只有生菜，唉！），还有介绍琪琪和六只新来的母鸡相互认识。
　　“客厅里有一张新地毯，”露西安说，“但这就是所有的变化了。这样挺好的。我不喜欢回家后发现什么天翻地覆的变动。我猜那个小男孩会睡在客房里，对吧，艾莉阿姨？”
　　“是的，”坎宁安夫人说，“过一会儿我就去收拾那里。你去花园和其他人一起玩儿吧。
　　另外，如果你想的话，还可以挑一些水仙花——我们要在客厅里布置一些。”
　　露西安开心地去了。假期的第一天总是美好得像在天堂一样。开头几天永远过得很慢，假期还有无数天的想法每时每刻都盘踞在脑海里，让人觉得无比满足。
　　“露西安，来这儿！琪琪正在享受她‘鸟生’的巅峰！”杰克喊道，“快来看她在新母鸡面前是怎么炫耀的！”
　　琪琪蹲在一排母鸡面前，六只母鸡正敬畏不已地围绕着她。
　　“咕咕——咯咯——咕，”它们交头接耳地窃窃私语着，然后其中一只挺直身体，振起翅膀，仿佛要尝试起飞一样。琪琪偏了偏头，也挺直身体、张开翅膀，并轻易地飞了起来。她打了个回旋，然后重新滑翔到母鸡们面前。
　　“咕咕——咯咯——咯咯，哟——咯！”她热切地说着，“咕咕——咯咯——咯咯，哟——咯！”
　　“咕咕——咯咯——咯，咕咕！”母鸡们满怀敬仰地回应道，向琪琪靠过去。其中一只甚至大胆地啄了一下鹦鹉的尾羽。
　　这简直太无礼了！琪琪立刻炸了起来，在母鸡周围扑棱着，发出了那种飞机发生故障时才会发出的噪音。母鸡们惊慌地四散奔逃，争先恐后地往鸡舍蹿去。它们叽里咕噜地同时挤向鸡舍狭窄的小门，几乎差点被卡住。
　　琪琪在它们身后穷追不舍，并继续咕咕咯咯地叫着。这时，坎宁安夫人从一扇窗里探出头来，喊道：
　　“孩子们！如果你们继续让琪琪吓唬母鸡，我们可就没有鸡蛋吃了！”
　　“琪琪跑到鸡舍里去了——她或许会找个窝蹲着然后试着像母鸡一样生蛋！”杰克大声呼唤，“出来，琪琪！”
　　琪琪被叫出来了，她好奇地从鸡舍的小门向外张望，“波莉烧上了水。”她息事宁人地说，“咕咕——咯咯——咯咯，哟——咯！”
　　她飞到杰克的肩膀上。母鸡们松了口气，看着彼此。现在安全了吗？可以出去四处走走了吗？
　　“隔壁的猫来了。”黛娜说，“我猜是来看看这边到底为什么这么热闹！杰克，管好琪琪。”
　　“喔，如果有猫靠近，她就会像狗一样叫起来。”杰克说，“来吧——让我们看看园丁有没有在花房里添置什么东西。”
　　这是一个令人愉快的阳光灿烂的下午。四个孩子十分享受被杰克称之为“闲逛”的时光。他们都期待着能见到比尔，这样这个家就团聚了——当然，除了比尔要带回来的那个不被期待的男孩。如果他真的带回来，家里就显得人太多了！
　　“我要去门口等比尔了。”下午茶之后，露西安宣布道。
　　“我们都去。”菲利普说，“棒棒的老比尔！我们运气还算不错，他可以回来跟我们度假，而不是被那些秘密工作绊住！”
　　他们一起去了前门，挤在那里张望着。琪琪一直兴奋地上下摇晃着自己的头冠。她很清楚比尔就要回来了。
　　“比尔！买单！ [1] ”她一直聒噪着，“比尔在哪里？砰，快去追比尔！”
　　“你这个吵闹的小傻棒儿 [2] ，”露西安说着，轻抚着鹦鹉柔软的脖颈，“你就是个小傻棒儿。”
　　“那么叫她很蠢。”黛娜说，“她只是和我们一样想见到比尔！现在她会对着比尔高声尖叫‘傻棒儿’了，我打赌她一定会！”
　　“傻——棒，棒——傻！”琪琪嚷嚷着。她总是喜欢那些听起来一样的单词。杰克敲了敲她的头。
　　“不，琪琪，停下来。看，有车来了。也许就是比尔的车。”
　　可惜不是。当它路过的时候，琪琪起哄般地大声学起了汽车鸣笛，嘀——嘀——嘀——
　　司机吃了一惊，因为在他的视野里没有看到任何车。他只能按了按喇叭，猜测也许哪里藏着一个隐蔽的转角。
　　然后露西安尖叫起来。“是比尔！”她说，“好大一辆黑车啊，真光亮！比尔，比尔！”
　　她是对的。这确实是比尔坐的车。它开进了前门，比尔看向他们，露出了快活的笑脸。有什么人坐在他身旁，是那个男孩吗？
　　比尔打开车门跳下来。四个孩子扑向他。“比尔！好比尔！你怎么样，比尔？”
　　“傻——棒儿！”高亢的鸟叫声也插了进来。
　　“啊——晚上好，琪琪。”比尔对着飞到他肩头上的鹦鹉说，“啊哈！你这只老鸟还是一样粗鲁。是不是想让我在家教教你怎么讲礼貌！”
　　琪琪就像一只兴奋的母鸡一样咯咯地叫着。“好了——你可别在我的脖窝这儿下蛋！”比尔说，“你在咕咕什么？黛娜，你妈妈呢？”
　　“她在那儿。”黛娜说，与此同时坎宁安夫人已经跑了出来。正当比尔准备开口叫她的时候，一声非常、非常大的咳嗽从车里传了出来——很明显，是提醒的意味。
　　“噢——我差点忘了。”比尔说，“我带来了一位客人。你告诉他们了吗，艾莉？”
　　“嗯，我说了。”坎宁安夫人说，“他在哪儿？喔，在车里啊。比尔，快把他带出来。”
　　“出来吧。”比尔说。在一片死寂中，咳嗽声的主人以一种尽可能端庄优雅的姿态从车里滑了出来。
　　每个人都在盯着他看。这个男孩十一岁左右，有着一副明显是外国人的长相。他有着长长的、卷曲的黑色头发，眼睛也是一样的黑色，睫毛甚至比女孩们的还要长。他的礼节习惯显然与众不同。
　　他向坎宁安夫人走去，握住了她伸过来的手。但是他并没有像普通人之间的握手那样只是摇晃一下，而是优雅地弯下身，用唇轻吻了她的手背。坎宁安夫人被逗笑了，四个孩子也饶有兴趣地看着这一幕。
　　“非常感激您，亲爱的女士。”他开口道，带着浓浓的外国口音。
　　“没什么。”坎宁安夫人说，“你吃过下午茶了吗？”
　　但是在回答这个问题之前，男孩选择了进一步展现他的礼节。他走向黛娜，在她意识到他打算做什么之前就握住了她的手，然后弯下腰。黛娜尖叫起来，把手用力抽走了。
　　“别！”她说。露西安干脆直接把双手藏到自己背后，她也不想被亲吻手背。这男孩太奇怪了！
　　但是他并没有像普通人之间的握手那样只是摇晃一下，而是优雅地弯下身，用唇轻吻了她的手背。
　　“古斯，伙计——我们只握手，你知道的。”比尔说道，试图绷住自己的脸，不露出被两个女孩愤慨的表情逗出的笑意。“呃——艾莉，这是古斯塔夫斯•巴米莱沃。他叔叔拜托我照顾他一下，接下来的几个星期他会和我们待在一起。”
　　古斯塔夫斯•巴米莱沃深深地鞠了一躬，总算没有继续试图亲吻谁的手背了。比尔接着介绍了其他人。
　　“黛娜——露西安——杰克——还有菲利普。我，呃，希望你们很快能成为好朋友。”
　　两个男孩和古斯握了手，但是眼睛里带着明显的抗拒。老天！他们必须整个假期都忍受这个小外国佬吗？
　　每次握手的时候，古斯都微微鞠躬，这显得有些滑稽。“很锅（高）兴见倒（到）你。”他说，“这几（只）鸟是什么？你们叫它什么？”
　　“她是一只吉吉鸟。”杰克严肃地回答道，“古斯，这是琪琪。琪琪，来见古斯！”
　　琪琪像往常一样伸出左爪，准备握手。古斯看起来非常惊讶，但是仍维持了良好的礼仪。他伸出手，去握琪琪的爪子。不幸的是，琪琪的爪尖却钩进了他的肉里，疼得他大叫了一声。
　　“真吵啊，真吵！”琪琪严厉地说，“擦干你的脚，擤擤你的鼻子。去请医生来！”
　　“我的手指出洗（血）了，”男孩说，声音里带着哭腔，“它出洗（血）了，看。”
　　“去请医生来，波莉感冒了，去请医生来。”琪琪一遍一遍地唱着，自我陶醉着。男孩突然意识到是这只鹦鹉在讲话，这让他忘了自己的“出洗（血）”，惊愕地盯着琪琪。
　　“它在索（说）话！”他惊惧地确认着，“它在索（说）话。它索（说）话了。它看到了我出洗（血）的手指，就说请医生来。我以前从没见锅（过）吉吉鸟。”
　　“进屋吧，我给你的手指包扎一下。”这一切让坎宁安夫人感到了无奈和疲乏。
　　“是的，它出洗（血）了。”古斯有些伤心地说。他注视了片刻自己的手指，看血一点点地滴落到地上，仿佛要哭出来了似的。然后他忽然说出了一句非常古怪的话。
　　“这只鸟，”他突然看向琪琪，说，“这只鸟——必须被关到笼子里。听我的命令。”
　　众人在惊愕中陷入了一片寂静。过了一会儿，杰克开口道：“……别犯蠢了。来吧，艾莉阿姨——让我们进去。再待下去，古斯也许会因为‘出洗（血）’死掉！”
　　这想法可太吓人了，古斯立即冲向房子。其他人也跟在后边陆续地向房子走去。真是个奇怪的男孩！
　　“脑子有点不正常。”黛娜低声说道，其他孩子纷纷点头。这时候比尔的声音从后边止住了他们的脚步。
　　“嗨！谁能来帮搬一下行李？”
　　“噢，比尔。对不起，我们忘了。”杰克说着，立即跑了回去。“古斯简直让我们窒息。
　　他是从哪个国家来的？”
　　“哦，我想他有一点混血血统，”比尔说，“别和他提他的亲人或者他家乡，不然他的眼泪很可能会决堤。抱歉，就这样把他塞给你们。等安顿下来以后，他会好点儿的。我相信他会在英语学校适应得很好。无论如何——我保证，我会尽量不让他给你们造成困扰，毕竟是我的朋友拜托我照顾他的。”
　　“我们会帮忙的，比尔。”露西安说，“我猜他很害羞。哦，天——我刚才真怕他亲我的手！学校里的女生们会怎么说？”
　　“喔，我估计她们完全不会知道这事儿的。”比尔说道，“杰克，你拿那个包——菲利普，你拿那个盒子。好了——真高兴见到你们又全都回来了！还有你，琪琪，你这个老无赖。你竟敢叫我傻棒儿？”
　　“砰，快去追比利！砰，快去追比利！”琪琪兴高采烈地叫着，飞到他的肩头上开始轻啄他的耳朵，“砰——砰——砰砰！”
　　[1]“比尔”在英文里也有账单的意思。
　　[2]这里的“傻棒儿”在英语里的谐音是“傻比利”，所以黛娜说鹦鹉之后会这么叫比尔。
3 Gussy and Kiki
　　3
　　Gussy and Kiki
　　There really wasn’t very much time that evening to get to know Gustavus Barmilevo. As theywere all going off again the next day there was packing to do, and all kinds of arguments arose asto what was or was not to be taken.
　　Gustavus was bewildered by the noise of so many people talking at once. He sat staring at themall, nursing his bandaged finger. Kiki absolutely fascinated him. He watched her continually, butwould not allow her near him.
　　As soon as she came near, he flapped his hands at her as if she was a hen. ‘Go off!’ he cried.
　　‘Clear away!’
　　‘He’s as muddled as Kiki sometimes gets,’ said Jack, with a grin. ‘Kiki can’t make him out.
　　Now, where did I put that book? Aunt Allie, did I pack that big book?’
　　‘You did,’ said Aunt Allie. ‘And I have unpacked it. For the third time, Jack, you are NOT goingto take a score of books about birds. Two is more than enough, so make your choice.’
　　‘You’re so hardhearted,’ groaned Jack. ‘Well, I suppose you will allow me to take my fieldglasses? In fact, if they don’t go, I shan’t go either.’
　　‘You can carry those round your neck,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Do try and remember that therewill be seven of us in the car and all the luggage, too. We really must take the least luggagepossible. Kiki, bring that string back. KIKI! Jack, if you don’t stop Kiki running off withabsolutely everything I put down for a moment, I shall go mad.’
　　‘Where is the cage?’ suddenly demanded Gustavus, in a commanding voice. ‘Put him in thecage.’
　　‘She’s a her, not a him,’ said Jack, ‘and stop talking about cages. No ordering about, please!’
　　Gustavus apparently did not follow this, but he resented Jack’s firm voice. He sat up stiffly.
　　‘This bird iss - iss - wicket!’ he said. ‘Not good. Wicket. I will not haf him wizzout a cage.’
　　‘Now, Jack, now!’ said Mrs Cunningham warningly, as she saw Jack’s furious face. ‘He’s notused to Kiki yet. Or to our ways. Give him a chance to settle down. Don’t take any notice of him.
　　Gustavus, the bird is not wicked. She is good. Sit still and be quiet.’
　　‘Where is the cage?’ repeated Gustavus, in a most maddening manner. ‘A beeg, BEEG cage. For awicket bird.’
　　Jack went over to him and spoke slowly and loudly with his face close to the surprised boy’s.
　　‘I have a beeg, BEEG cage,’ he said, most dramatically. ‘But I keep it for small, annoying boys. Iwill bring it for you, Gus. If you want a beeg, beeg cage you shall have it for yourself. You shallsit in it and be safe from that wicket, wicket bird.’
　　To Jack’s enormous surprise Gustavus burst into tears! All four children looked at him aghast.
　　How could a boy of eleven be so incredibly upset? Even Lucy- Ann was shocked. MrsCunningham hurried over to him.
　　‘He’s tired out,’ she said to the others. ‘It’s all strange to him here, and he’s never seen a parrotlike Kiki before. Nor have any of us, come to that! Cheer up, Gustavus. Jack didn’t mean what hesaid, of course.’
　　‘I jolly well did,’ began Jack. ‘Kiki’s old cage is enormous and …’
　　Mrs Cunningham firmly led the weeping Gus from the room. The others stared at one another incomplete disgust.
　　‘Well! To think we’ve got to put up with that these hols!’ began Jack. ‘All I can say is that I’mgoing to take him firmly in hand - and he won’t enjoy it one bit!’
　　‘I’ll take him in hand, too,’ said Dinah, quite fiercely. ‘Who does he think he is - laying downthe law about Kiki and a cage! Oh, Jack - I do wish you’d got that old cage and brought it in. I’dhave loved to see Gustavus’s face.’
　　‘Poor old Gussy!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Wouldn’t he have howled! Poor Gussy!’
　　‘Gussy!’ said Kiki, at once. ‘Fussy-Gussy! Fussy-Gussy!’
　　Everyone laughed. ‘You’ve hit it off again,’ said Philip to Kiki. ‘Fussy - that’s exactly whatwe’ll have to put up with - fuss and grumbles and silliness all the time. Why didn’t his parentsbring up their kid properly? Fussy-Gussy! We shall get jolly tired of him.’
　　‘Fussy-Gussy!’ screamed Kiki, dancing to and fro, to and fro on her big feet. ‘Wipe your feet,Gussy!’
　　‘Dry your eye, you mean,’ said Philip. ‘I hope Gussy’s not going to burst into tears too often. Ithink I’ll borrow one of Mother’s afternoon teacloths and take it with me to offer him every timehe looks like bursting into tears.’
　　Mrs Cunningham came back, and overheard this. ‘I think you’re being a bit unkind,’ she said.
　　‘He may seem a bit of a nuisance, I admit - but it must be rather nerve-racking for him to beplunged into the midst of a company like this when he doesn’t speak the language properly, andeveryone laughs at him. I think you should play fair and give him a chance.’
　　‘All right, Mother,’ said Philip. ‘All the same - it isn’t like Bill to thrust someone like Gussy onus at a moment’s notice, just at the beginning of the hols.’
　　‘Well, you see,’ said his mother, ‘it’s like this. Bill was saddled with this youngster - and heknew you wouldn’t like having him. So he suggested to me that he should go off with him alonesomewhere. I couldn’t bear that, because a holiday without Bill would be horrid - and so wethought it would be best if Gustavus came with us all, and we tried to put up with him. It’s eitherthat or going without both Gussy and Bill.’
　　‘I see,’ said Philip. ‘Well, I’d rather put up with Gussy than have no Bill.’
　　‘That’s what I thought,’ said his mother. ‘So don’t make Bill feel too bad about it, will you?
　　He’s quite likely to vanish with Gussy for the rest of the holidays if you make too much fuss. Allthe same - I think you can quite safely help young Gustavus to join in. That won’t do him anyharm at all. He seems frightened and shy to me.’
　　‘We’ll soon show him exactly where he stands,’ said Jack. ‘But I really can’t think how Billwas soft enough to take him on. Where’s Gustavus now?’
　　‘I’ve popped him into bed with a book,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘There’s such a lot of things todo this evening and I really felt I couldn’t cope with upsets and bickerings the very first day youwere home - so I thought everyone would be happier if he was in bed.’
　　‘How right you were!’ said Jack. ‘Well, now dear Gussy is safely out of the way, let’s get onwith things. I suppose you don’t want any help with the supper, Aunt Allie?’
　　‘I imagine that’s a roundabout way of saying you are hungry again?’ said Aunt Allie. ‘All right- the girls can see to supper. You boys come and help me finish packing the greatest number ofthings into the smallest possible bags! I’m leaving behind practically everything belonging toGustavus - he’s got the most ridiculous things - pyjamas made of real silk, for instance! Andmonograms on everything.’
　　‘He must have gone through an awful lot of teasing at school then,’ said Philip. ‘I’m surprisedthey didn’t have his hair cut. Most girls would envy him all that long curly hair. Couldn’t we gethis hair cut, Mother?’
　　‘Possibly,’ said his mother. ‘Let’s not talk about him any more.’
　　The packing was finished by supper time. Mrs Cunningham was determined not to take morethan a change of clothes for everyone: shirts, jerseys, blazers and macs. Once more she had to takeJack’s enormous book on birds from where he had hidden it yet again under some shirts in asuitcase. She looked at him in exasperation.
　　He grinned back amiably. ‘Oh, sorry, Aunt Allie! You don’t mean to say it’s got itself packedagain!’
　　‘I’m locking the cases now,’ said Aunt Allie, with determination. ‘Really, Jack, I sometimesfeel you want a good spanking!’
　　Supper was a hilarious meal. Gustavus, having a tray of food in bed, listened rather enviously.
　　He was tired, and glad to be in bed - but it did sound very jolly down-stairs. He didn’t somehowfeel that he had made a very good impression, though. That bird - it was that ‘wicket bird who hadmade things go wrong. When he got Kiki alone he would slap her hard - biff!
　　Gustavus brought his hand down smartly as he pictured himself slapping Kiki. The tray jerkedand his lemonade spilt over the traycloth. There - that was thinking of Kiki again. He was soengrossed in trying to mop up the mess he had made that he didn’t notice someone rather smallsidling in at the door.
　　It was the parrot, come to find out where Gustavus was. Kiki’s sharp eyes had missed him atsupper time. Then where was he? Upstairs?
　　Kiki went under the bed and explored the slippers and boxes there. She pecked at one of theboxes, trying to get off the lid. She loved taking off lids.
　　Gustavus heard the noise. What was it? He looked round the room.
　　Peck-peck-peck! The lid wouldn’t come off. ‘Who’s there? Who iss it?’ said Gustavus, in ananxious voice.
　　Kiki debated what noise to make. She had a grand store of noises of all kinds. There was thescreech of a railway train going through a tunnel. No - that would bring Mrs Cunninghamupstairs, and she would be angry. There was the lawn mower - a most successful noise, but alsonot very popular indoors.
　　And there was quite a variety of coughs - little short hacking coughs - deep hollow ones - andsneezes. What about a sneeze?
　　Kiki gave one of her most realistic sneezes. ‘A - WOOOOOSH-OO!’ It sounded very peculiarindeed, coming from under the bed.
　　Gussy was petrified. A sneeze - and such an enormous one - and under the bed! WHO wasunder the bed? Someone lying in wait for him? He began to tremble, and the lemonade spilt again.
　　Kiki began to cough - a deep, hollow cough, mournful and slow. Gustavus moaned. Who was itcoughing under his bed now? He didn’t dare to get out and see. He was sure that whoever wasthere would catch hold of his ankles as soon as his feet appeared on the floor.
　　Kiki next did a very fine growl, and poor Gussy shivered so much in fright that his tray nearlyslid off the bed altogether. He just clutched it in time. But a plate fell off, hit one of his shoesstanding nearby and rolled slowly under the bed.
　　Now it was Kiki’s turn to be surprised. She hopped out of the way and glared at the plate, whichflattened itself and lay still.
　　‘Help! Help!’ suddenly yelled Gussy, finding his voice at last. ‘Someone’s under my bed. Help!
　　Help!’
　　Bill was up in a trice, striding over to Gustavus. ‘What is it? Quick, tell me.’
　　‘Under the bed,’ said Gussy, weakly, and Bill bent down to look. There was nobody there. Kikihad decided that the joke was over, and was now safely inside the nearby wardrobe, her head onone side, listening.
　　‘You mustn’t imagine things, old chap,’ Bill was saying kindly. ‘There’s nobody under the bed- and never was. Nobody at all! I’ll take your tray and you can settle down to sleep!’
第3章 古斯和琪琪
　　第3章 古斯和琪琪
　　那天晚上真的没有太多时间去了解古斯塔夫斯•巴米莱沃。因为第二天就要出发了，所以他们一直在忙着收拾行李，并不断地争论着什么该带，什么不该带。
　　这么多人同时说话显得是如此嘈杂，以至于古斯塔夫斯茫然又困惑。他坐在那里望着他们，抚摸着被包扎起来的手指。琪琪对他表现出了极大的兴趣。古斯不断地看向她，但却不让她靠近自己。
　　一旦她靠近一点，男孩就会挥手驱赶，仿佛把她当作一只母鸡。“离远点！”他喊道，“别过来！”
　　“他简直像某些时候的琪琪一样令人疑惑。”杰克笑嘻嘻地说，“琪琪搞不懂他。好吧，我把那本书放哪里了？艾莉阿姨，我把那本大书装起来了吗？”
　　“你是装起来了。”坎宁安夫人回道，“然后我又把它拿出来了。我第三次说了，杰克，你不能带着一堆关于鸟的书去。最多两本，去好好选一下。”
　　“您真是太狠心了。”杰克呻吟道，“好吧，我假设你会允许我带上双筒望远镜？事实上，如果不能带着它，那我也不要去了。”
　　“你可以把它挂在脖子上。”坎宁安夫人说，“务必记住，我们有七个人，要和所有的行李挤在一辆车里。我们必须精简所有的行李。琪琪，把绳子拿回来。琪琪！杰克，如果你再不阻止琪琪捣乱，我会疯掉的。所有的东西我只要放下一会儿，她就会抓走！”
　　“笼子在哪里？”古斯塔夫斯突然以一种威严的声调问道，“把他关进笼子里。”
　　“她是雌鸟，不是雄的。”杰克说，“也别再继续提笼子了。停止命令吧，拜托！”
　　古斯塔夫斯显然没听进去，而且被杰克强硬的语调惹恼了。他坐直了起来。
　　“这只鸟系（是）——系（是）——顽厉（劣）的。”他说，“不好。顽厉（劣）。如果是我，我不会撒（散）养他，不用笼子。”
　　“现在，杰克，听我说！”坎宁安夫人看到杰克被激怒的脸色，提醒着他，“古斯还没习惯琪琪。不像我们。给他点时间让他适应一下。别在意。古斯塔夫斯，这只鸟并不顽劣。
　　她很好。你坐在那儿就好了，保持安静。”
　　“笼子在哪里？”古斯塔夫斯又问了一遍，以一种令人冒火的语气，“一个很弟（大）、很弟（大）的笼子。给顽厉（劣）的鸟。”
　　杰克走向他，把脸贴近吃惊的男孩，以戏剧般的腔调，一字一顿地大声说道，“我有一个很弟（大）、很弟（大）的笼子。但是我只用它来装蠢透了的小男孩们。我会为你把它拿过来，古斯。如果你想要一个很弟（大）、很弟（大）的笼子，那你就应该为自己准备这个。你应该坐在里边，这样你就安全了，远离顽厉（劣）的、顽厉（劣）的鸟。”
　　接着，就轮到杰克被震惊了，古斯塔夫斯突然大哭了起来。四个孩子呆呆地看着他。
　　一个十一岁的男孩怎么会如此地可笑？简直难以置信。甚至连露西安也露出了厌烦的表情。坎宁安夫人急忙跑向他。
　　“他累了。”她对其他人说道，“这里的一切对他来说都是陌生的，他以前也从没见过琪琪这样的鹦鹉，也没见过我们，说真的！振作一下，古斯塔夫斯。杰克当然不是他说的那个意思。”
　　“我是认真的，”但杰克又开始了，“我很乐意，琪琪的旧笼子足够大，并且……”
　　坎宁安夫人坚定地从屋子里带走了抽泣的古斯。其他人交换着充满厌恶的眼神。
　　“天哪！想想看我们整个假期都得忍受这个！”杰克开口道，“我只能说到时候我会好好地照看他——让他一点都不会喜欢的那种照顾！”
　　“我也会照顾他，”菲利普狠狠地说，“他以为他是谁——居然给琪琪和笼子立下了规矩！哦，杰克——我真希望你刚刚把那个老笼子找出来。我会很乐意看到古斯塔夫斯精彩的表情。”
　　“可怜的老古斯！”露西安说，“那样的话他还不得叫起来，可怜的古斯！”
　　“古斯！”琪琪立刻说，“费事——古斯！费事——古斯！”
　　每个人都笑了起来。“你又一针见血了，”菲利普对琪琪说，“费事——那确实是接下来我们将不得不忍受的——没完没了的小题大做、喋喋不休的抱怨和每时每刻的犯傻。为什么外国佬就不能好好地管教他们的小孩呢？费事——古斯！我们一定会被他累垮的！”
　　“费事——古斯！”琪琪叫着，用她的大爪子来回蹦跶着，“擦干你的脚，古斯！”
　　“你是想说，擦干你的眼睛。”菲利普说，“我希望古斯不要泪崩太多次。我大概会跟妈妈借条茶巾带着，在他每次看起来要哭出来的时候赶紧借给他。”
　　坎宁安夫人回来了，听到了他说的话。“我想你有点刻薄了。”她说，“他确实像是个会犯糊涂的小孩，我承认——但是每次当他使用不适当的措辞的时候所有人都会嘲笑他，突然陷入这样的环境他一定也很焦虑不适应。我想你们应该公平一点，给他一个机会。”
　　“好吧，妈妈。”菲利普说，“尽管如此——比尔也不应该在刚刚放假的时候就这么把古斯这样的人一下子推给我们。”
　　“你看，”他妈妈说，“是这样。比尔需要照顾这个年轻人——但他知道你们不会喜欢他。所以他曾经和我提议说他也许应该带着这孩子单独去其他的什么地方。我可没法接受这个，假期如果缺了比尔简直太糟了——最后我们觉得最好还是让古斯跟我们一起去，我们会尽力接纳他。只能这样，要么就是他们俩都不跟我们去度假。”
　　“我明白了。”菲利普说，“好吧，我宁可忍受古斯，也不愿意比尔不跟我们一起去。”
　　“我也是这么想的。”他妈妈说，“既然这样，就别让比尔太为难，好吧？如果你们太过烦恼，他可能宁愿在接下来的假期里带着古斯一起消失。就是这样——我相信你们会有办法搞定古斯，以不让他受到伤害的方式。实际上对我来说，他就跟一个被宠坏了的哭闹的小婴儿一样。”
　　“我们会尽快让他明白该怎么做。”杰克说，“但我实在搞不懂为什么比尔会这么好心地收留他。这个哭泣的小婴儿现在在哪儿？”
　　“我让他上床了，并给了他一本书。”坎宁安夫人说，“今晚有这么多的事要做，我觉得我真的没法再应付不断的哭诉、眼泪和争吵，特别是这是你们回家的第一天——所以我想让他上床待着，或许每个人都会高兴一点。”
　　“你真好！”杰克说，“好吧，现在亲爱的古斯已经平安无事了，让我们继续搞定这堆东西吧。我猜你并不需要谁给你帮厨、准备晚餐，艾莉阿姨？”
　　“我想这是一个‘你又饿了’的委婉表达方式？”坎宁安夫人说，“那么——女孩们去帮忙准备晚饭。至于你们这两个小伙子，来帮我把这一大堆东西分装成尽可能小的包裹！我几乎把古斯塔夫斯的所有东西都取出来了——他带了一堆荒唐东西——比如真丝睡衣！所有的物品上都绣着他名字首字母的标记。”
　　“那他在学校里一定被戏弄过很多次。”菲利普说，“可惜他们没把他的头发剪掉。他那头长长的黑色鬈发让他看起来就像一个可爱的小姑娘。我们不能帮他把头发剪一剪吗，妈妈？”
　　“或许。”他妈妈说，“我们别再谈他了。”
　　行李的打包终于赶在晚饭前完成了。坎宁安夫人坚持每个人只能带一套换洗衣服，包括衬衫、运动衫、外套和雨衣。她再一次把那本关于鸟的大书搜了出来——它被杰克藏在了行李箱里的一叠衬衫下面，然后恼火地看向男孩。
　　杰克露出了一个可爱的笑容：“哦，对不起，艾莉阿姨！您看，是它自己又跑到行李箱里去的！”
　　“我现在就把箱子都锁起来。”坎宁安夫人坚决地宣布道，“说真的，杰克，有时候我觉得你很希望被好好揍一顿屁股！”
　　晚餐十分热闹。古斯塔夫斯在卧室里拿着属于自己的那盘食物，多少有些嫉妒地听着。他有些累了，很高兴能在床上用餐——但楼下听起来非常开心热闹。尽管不知道为什么他觉得自己并没给这家人留下什么太好的印象。那只鸟——都怪那只“顽厉（劣）”的鸟把事情搞砸了。如果他有机会和琪琪独处，他一定会敲它的脑袋——狠狠地！
　　当他想象这幅画面的时候，他的手不自觉地用力挥了起来。结果餐盘被颠了一下，柠檬水洒在了茶巾上。这让他又想起了琪琪。他急忙清理起眼前的混乱。他是如此全神贯注，以至于完全没注意到有个小家伙悄悄地溜进了房门。
　　是鹦鹉，她正是来找古斯塔夫斯的。琪琪敏锐地发现他在晚餐餐桌上缺席了。那么他在哪里？楼上吗？
　　琪琪走到床底下，开始翻箱倒柜。她被一个盒子吸引了注意力，随即试图啄掉它的盖子。她喜欢一切可以掀开盖子的机会。
　　古斯塔夫斯听到了声响。这是从哪里传出来的？他不禁环顾起房间。
　　啪嚓——啪嚓——啪嚓！盖子打不开。“谁在那里？系（是）谁？”古斯用焦急的声音问道。
　　琪琪思考了一下应该制造哪种声响。她有一个非常丰富的关于各种声响的记忆库。其中一种是火车穿过隧道时发出刺耳的鸣笛声。但是，不——那会把坎宁安夫人引到楼上来的，并且她会发火。割草机或许行——最有效果的噪音之一，但是在室内也不常见。
　　当然，她也会各种各样的咳嗽——短促激烈的咳嗽、低沉用力的咳嗽，她还会花式百出的打喷嚏。来个喷嚏怎么样？
　　琪琪打了她模仿得最像的一次喷嚏，“阿——阿嚏！！”这听起来确实非常惊悚，尤其它是从床底下传出来的。
　　古斯整个人都僵硬了。一个喷嚏——如此巨大——从床底下传了出来！谁在床底下？
　　有人躺在那里等他？他颤抖起来，柠檬水再次洒了出去。
　　琪琪开始咳嗽——声音低沉、缓慢、空洞而令人心碎。古斯塔夫斯呻吟了起来。现在是谁在他床底下咳嗽？他不敢下去看。他确信只要自己的脚一沾到地面，那里的某个人就会立刻抓住他的脚踝。
　　琪琪接着又制造出了一声非常逼真的咆哮。可怜的古斯抖得更加厉害了，以至于整个餐盘都差点滑落到床外。他勉强抓住了它，但仍旧有一个盘子掉了下去，撞到他的一只鞋，然后慢慢地滚进了床底下。
　　现在轮到琪琪被吓了一跳了。她跳着避开了盘子，瞪着它，直到它旋转着躺平在地上。
　　“救命！救命！”古斯似乎终于找回了自己的声音，突然大喊起来，“有人在我床底下。
　　帮帮我！救命！”
　　比尔立即冲了进来，他大步迈向古斯塔夫斯：“怎么了？快点，告诉我。”
　　“在床底下。”古斯虚弱地说。比尔蹲下察看，但那里什么人都没有。在他察看之前，琪琪已经决定结束这个玩笑，现在她正安全地藏在最近的衣橱里。她把头歪向一边，倾听着外边的动静。
　　“你不该胡思乱想，老伙计。”比尔亲切地说，“床底下没有人——那里从来都没有什么人。完全没有！好了，我会帮你把餐盘拿走，然后你收拾一下就可以睡觉了。”
4 Off to Little Brockleton
　　4
　　Off to Little Brockleton
　　Next day was bright and sunny, with big piled up clouds racing over the April sky.
　　‘Like puffs of cotton wool,’ said Dinah. ‘I hope it’s going to be like this all the hols.’
　　‘I’m going to get the car,’ said Bill. ‘When I hoot I shall expect you all to be ready. Allie, youcan sit in front with me, and Lucy-Ann must squeeze there too, somehow. The other four can go atthe back. Luggage in the boot. And if anyone wants to be dumped on the road and left to walk, heor she has only got to behave badly, and I’ll dump them with pleasure.’
　　‘I really believe you would too, Bill,’ said Lucy-Ann.
　　‘Oh, not a doubt of it,’ said Bill, putting on such a grim face that poor Gussy was reallyalarmed. He made up his mind that he would behave superlatively well, and he immediately put onhis finest manners. He opened doors for everyone. He bowed. He tried to take whatever MrsCunningham was carrying, and carry it for her. When he got into anyone’s way, which he didalmost every minute, he sprang aside, bowed, and said:
　　‘Excuse, plizz. I pollygize.’
　　‘Polly put the kettle on,’ said Kiki, at once. ‘Polly, Polly-Polly-gize.’ Then she went off into analarming cackle of laughter.
　　‘How’s your finger, Gus?’ asked Jack, politely.
　　‘It has stopped blidding,’ said Gus.
　　‘Well, I warn you - don’t try and play tricks with old Kiki,’ said Jack, ‘or she’ll go for you -make you blid again - much, much blid!’
　　‘Ah, wicket,’ said Gus. ‘I think that bird is not nice.’
　　‘I bet Kiki thinks the same of you!’ said Jack. ‘You’re standing in my way. You’d better moveunless you want this suitcase biffing you in the middle.’
　　‘Excuse, plizz. I pollygize,’ said Gussy, hurriedly, and skipped out of the way.
　　At last everything was ready. Mrs Cunningham’s cleaner came to see them off, promising tolock up after them, and come in every day to clean and dust. Bill was hooting loudly. Gussy wasso terribly afraid of being left behind that he shot down the front path at top speed.
　　Bill, Mrs Cunningham and Lucy-Ann squeezed themselves into the long front seat. The otherfour got into the back. Gussy shrank back when he saw that Kiki was going with them, apparentlyon Jack’s shoulder, next to him.
　　Kiki made a noise like a cork being pulled out of a bottle - POP ! Gussy jumped.
　　Kiki cackled, and then popped another cork. ‘ POP ! Pop goes the weasel. Gussy. Fussy-GussyGussy-Fussy POP !
　　‘What do you think you’re doing, Gussy?’ said Jack, seeing the boy slipping from the seat downto the floor.
　　‘Excuse, plizz. I pollygize. The Kiki-bird, he spits in my ear - he goes POP !’ explained Gussy,from his seat on the floor.
　　Everyone roared. ‘Don’t be an ass, Gussy,’ said Jack. ‘Come on up to the seat. Squeeze in at theother end if you like, next to Dinah. But I warn you - Kiki will wander all over the car when she’stired of sitting on my shoulder.’
　　‘Blow your nose,’ said Kiki sternly, looking down at the surprised Gussy.
　　‘All ready, behind?’ called Bill, putting in the clutch. He pressed down the accelerator, theengine roared a little and the car moved off down the road.
　　‘Heavy load we’ve got,’ said Bill. ‘What a family! This car is going to grunt and groan up everyhill!’
　　It did, though it was a powerful car, and one that Bill used in his work. It swallowed up themiles easily, and Mrs Cunningham was pleased to think they would arrive at their destinationbefore dark.
　　‘What is the name of the place we are going to, Aunt Allie?’ asked Lucy-Ann. ‘Oh yes, Iremember - Little Brockleton. Are we having a cottage, or what?’
　　‘Yes,’ said Aunt Allie. ‘It’s called Quarry Cottage, because an old quarry is nearby. It’s about amile from the village, and I believe only a farmhouse is near. We can get eggs and butter and milkand bread from there, which is lucky.’
　　‘I shall ask about badgers as soon as I get there,’ said Philip, from the back. ‘I wish I could get ayoung badger. I’ve heard they make wonderful pets.’
　　‘There! I knew you’d start hunting out pets of some kind,’ said Dinah. ‘We never can have aholiday without your bringing in mice or birds or insects or even worse creatures.’
　　‘I’ve been thinking of studying spiders these hols,’ said Philip, seriously. ‘Amazing creatures,spiders. Those great big ones, with hairy legs, are …’
　　Dinah shivered at once. ‘Let’s change the subject,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why, but wheneveranyone even mentions spiders I seem to feel one crawling down my back.’
　　‘Oh, gosh - don’t say my spider’s escaped!’ said Philip at once, and pretended to look throughhis pockets. Gussy watched him in alarm. He didn’t like spiders either.
　　Dinah gave a small shriek. ‘Don’t be mean, Philip - please, please. You haven’t really got a bigspider, have you?’
　　‘Philip!’ called his mother warningly. ‘You’ll be dumped in the road. Remember what Billsaid.’
　　‘All right. I haven’t got a spider,’ said Philip, regretfully. ‘You can sit in safety, Di. I say, Gus,aren’t you uncomfortable down there, on the floor, among our feet? I keep forgetting you’re there.
　　I hope I haven’t wiped my feet on you yet.’
　　‘That is not a nice thing to spik,’ said Gussy, with dignity. ‘I will be angry to have your feetswiped on me.’
　　‘Let’s play a game,’ said Jack, seeing an argument developing. ‘We’ll look out for black dogs -white cats - piebald horses - red bicycles - and ice cream vans. The one who is last to reach ahundred must stop at the next ice cream van and buy ices for us all!’
　　This sounded exciting to Gussy. He scrambled up from the floor at once, and squeezed himselfbeside Dinah. Bill and Mrs Cunningham heaved a sigh of relief. Now there would be quite a bit ofpeace - everyone would be looking out and counting hard.
　　Gussy was not at all good at this game. He missed any amount of black dogs and white cats, andkept counting ordinary horses instead of piebald ones. He looked very miserable when he was toldthat he couldn’t put all the brown and white horses he had seen into his score.
　　‘He’s going to cry!’ said Philip. ‘Wait, Gus, wait. Take my hanky.’
　　And he pulled out one of the kitchen tablecloths, which he had neatly purloined just beforecoming away, in spite of his mother’s threats.
　　Gussy found the tablecloth pushed into his hands. He looked at in astonishment - and then hebegan to laugh!
　　‘Ha ha! Ho ho! This is cloth, not hanky! I will not weep in this. I will laugh!’
　　‘Good for you, Gussy!’ said Jack, giving him a pat on the back. ‘Laugh away. We like that!’
　　It was quite a surprise to everyone to find that Gussy could actually laugh at a joke againsthimself. They began to think he might not be so bad after all. He stopped playing the countinggame after that, but displayed even more surprising behaviour at the end of the game.
　　Lucy-Ann was last to reach a hundred. She felt in her little purse for her money, knowing thatshe must buy ice creams for everyone, because she had lost the game.
　　‘Please, Bill, will you stop at the next ice cream van?’ she said. So Bill obligingly stopped.
　　But before Lucy-Ann could get out, Gussy had opened the door at the back, shot out and racedto the ice cream van. ‘Seven, plizz,’ he said.
　　‘Wait! I lost, not you!’ shouted Lucy-Ann, half indignant. Then she stared. Gussy had taken awallet out of his pocket - a wallet, not a purse! And from it he took a wad of notes - goodgracious, however many had he got? He peeled off the top one and gave it to the ice cream man,who was as surprised as anyone else.
　　‘You come into a fortune, mate?’ asked the ice cream man. ‘Or is your dad a millionaire?’
　　Gussy didn’t understand. He took his change and put it into his pocket. Then he carried the icecreams back to the car, and handed round one each, beaming all over his face.
　　‘Thanks, Gus,’ said Bill, accepting his. ‘But look here, old chap - you can’t carry all that moneyabout with you, you know.’
　　‘I can,’ said Gussy ‘All the term I had it here in my pocket. It is my pocket money, I think. Theysaid I could have pocket money.’
　　‘Hm, yes. But a hundred pounds or so in notes is hardly pocket money,’ began Bill. ‘Yes, yes -I know you kept it in your pocket, but real pocket money is - is - oh, you explain, boys.’
　　It proved to be very difficult to explain that all those pound notes were not pocket money merelybecause Gussy kept them in his pocket. ‘You ought to have handed them in at your school,’ saidPhilip.
　　‘They said I could have pocket money,’ said Gussy, obstinately. ‘My uncle gave it to me. It ismine.’
　　Your people must be jolly rich,’ said Jack. ‘I bet even Bill doesn’t wander round with as manynotes as that. Is Gus a millionaire or something, Bill?’
　　‘Well - his people are well off,’ said Bill. He slipped in the clutch again and the car slid off.
　　‘All the same, he’ll have to hand over those notes to me. He’ll be robbed sooner or later.’
　　‘He’s going to cry,’ reported Dinah. ‘Philip, quick - where’s that tablecloth?’
　　‘I am not going to weep,’ said Gussy, with dignity. ‘I am going to be sick. Always I am sick in acar. I was yesterday. Plizz, Mr Cunningham, may I be sick?’
　　‘Good gracious!’ said Bill, stopping very suddenly indeed. ‘Get out of the car, then, quick! Pushhim out, Dinah. Why, oh, why did I let him have that ice cream? He told me yesterday he wasalways carsick.’
　　Mrs Cunningham got out to comfort poor Gussy, who was now green in the face. ‘He would becarsick!’ said Dinah. ‘Just the kind of thing he’d have - carsickness.’
　　‘He can’t help it,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Anyway, it’s all over now. He looks fine.’
　　‘Plizz, I am better,’ announced Gussy, climbing back in the car.
　　‘Keep the cloth,’ said Philip, pushing it at him. ‘It might come in useful if you feel ill again.’
　　‘Everyone ready?’ called Bill. ‘Well, off we go again. We’ll stop for lunch at one o’clock, andthen we’ll be at Little Brockleton by tea time, I hope. Gussy, yell if you feel queer again.’
　　‘I am only sick once,’ said Gussy. ‘Plizz, I have lost my ice cream. Will you stop for another?’
　　‘I will not,’ said Bill, firmly. ‘You’re not having any more ice creams in the car. Doesn’t anyonewant a nap? It would be so nice for me to drive in peace and quietness! Well, next stop, lunch!’
第4章 前往小布洛克莱顿
　　第4章 前往小布洛克莱顿
　　第二天天气非常晴朗，阳光明媚，大朵的云团不断飘过四月的天空。
　　“它们看起来就像是棉絮。”黛娜说，“我希望整个假期都会是这种好天气。”
　　“我去把车开出来，”比尔说，“希望当我鸣笛的时候，你们所有的人都准备好了。艾莉，你可以跟我坐在前排，露西安也必须想个办法跟我们挤一挤。其他四个可以坐到后边去。行李都放到后备厢。如果半路上有谁不想坐车而想走路了，那么只要他或者她表现得糟糕一些就可以了，我会很乐意把他们放下去。”
　　“比尔，我相信你真会那么做的。”露西安说。
　　“噢，请务必不要怀疑。”比尔一本正经地说道。可怜的古斯被他的表情吓唬住了，害怕地下定决心，自己一定要展现出最佳的仪态、做出最好的表现。他为每一个人开门。他不停地鞠躬。只要看到坎宁安夫人拿着什么东西，他就立即过去试图替她拿。只要他挡住了任何人的路——这几乎每时每刻都在发生——他都会马上跳到一旁，鞠躬并说道：
　　“第（对）不起，请原谅。我很波（抱）谦（歉）。”
　　“波莉烧上了水。”琪琪马上说，“波莉，波莉——波（抱）——谦（歉）。”然后她咯咯地大笑起来，差点吓了人一跳。
　　“你的手指怎么样了，古斯？”杰克客气地问道。
　　“它已经不出洗（血）了。”古斯说。
　　“好吧，我必须告诉你——不要试图和老琪琪玩花招。”杰克说，“不然她就会都还给你——让你再次出洗（血）——很多、很多洗（血）！”
　　“啊，顽厉（劣）。”古斯说，“我觉得那只鸟不是很好。”
　　“我打赌琪琪也是这么想你的！”杰克说，“你挡住我的路了。你最好让让，除非你想被这个行李箱夹在中间。”
　　“第（对）不起，请原谅。我很波（抱）谦（歉）。”古斯急忙说，跳到路的一边。
　　终于，每一样事都弄好了。坎宁安夫人的女佣过来送别，保证在他们离开之后会把门锁好，并且每天都会过来打扫卫生。比尔按下了喇叭，车发出了巨大的鸣笛声。古斯生怕自己被丢下，以最快的速度跑了过来。
　　比尔、坎宁安夫人和露西安挤进前排，其余四个人则钻进了后座。古斯发现琪琪也要跟着他们一起去，而且她就蹲在杰克的肩膀上，挨着他。这让他瑟缩了一下。
　　琪琪模仿起了软木塞被拔出瓶子的声音——砰！古斯被吓了一跳。
　　鹦鹉咯咯地笑了起来，又拔出了另一个软木塞。“砰！砰，去追黄鼠狼！古斯。费事——古斯。费事——古斯。砰！”
　　看到男孩双腿发软地从座椅上滑向车厢的地板，杰克开口道：“古斯，你这是要干什么？”
　　“第（对）不起，请原谅。我很波（抱）谦（歉）。这个吉吉鸟，她吐到我耳朵里了——她要炸了！”男孩解释道，同时坐到了地上。
　　所有的人都大笑起来。“别犯傻了，古斯。”杰克说，“回位子上待着。或者你愿意的话可以挤到那头去坐，挨着黛娜。但是我得告诉你——琪琪在我肩头蹲累了的时候，她会在整个车厢里飞一飞的。”
　　“擤擤你的鼻子。”琪琪严厉地说，居高临下地看着吃惊的古斯。
　　“后边的，都坐好了吗？”比尔喊道，他踩着离合器，挂上挡，然后踩下了油门，发动机咆哮了一声，汽车驶上了路。
　　“我们的车装得可真沉，”比尔说，“好一个大家庭！等到之后翻山的时候，这车一定会呼哧带喘地表示抗议的。”
　　事实确实也是这样，尽管它是一辆性能强大的汽车——比尔工作的时候都开着它。它轻易地开过了几英里路，坎宁安夫人乐观地认为他们会在天黑前抵达目的地。
　　“我们要去的地方叫什么名字，艾莉阿姨？”露西安问道，“哦，对了，我想起来了——小布洛克莱顿。我们会住进农舍吗，还是别的什么？”
　　“是的。”坎宁安夫人说，“那里叫石场农舍，因为附近有一个旧的采石场，离村子大概一英里远。我相信我们住的地方周边有一座农家院，幸运的话，我们可以从那里搞到鸡蛋、黄油、牛奶和面包。”
　　“到了那里，我就立刻开始打听獾的事情。”菲利普在后座上说，“我希望能搞到一只幼獾。听说它们会成为不错的宠物。”
　　“我就知道！我就知道你一定会开始找一些什么玩意儿当宠物，”黛娜说，“我们就没有哪个假期缺了你弄来的耗子、鸟、虫子，或者其他更糟糕的东西。”
　　“我之前考虑过这个假期研究一下蜘蛛，”菲利普以严肃的口吻说道，“神奇的生物，蜘蛛。特别是那些大的，有着毛茸茸的长腿，非常地……”
　　黛娜立即颤抖起来。“让我们换个话题，”她说，“不知道为什么，每次只要有人提到蜘蛛，我就会觉得背上爬着一只。”
　　“喔，天哪——不要说我的蜘蛛逃跑了！”菲利普立刻说道，假装往口袋里看。古斯惊恐地看着他。他也不喜欢蜘蛛。
　　黛娜发出一声尖叫：“别这么坏，菲利普——拜托，拜托。你没真的带了一只大蜘蛛出来，对吧？”
　　“菲利普！”他母亲警告地喊道，“你要被丢到半路上了。记住比尔说过的话。”
　　“好吧，我没带蜘蛛，”菲利普遗憾地说，“你可以安心坐下了，黛娜。我说，古斯，你这么坐在地上，挤在我们的脚中间，不会不舒服吗？我都忘了你在那儿了。希望我的脚没踩到你。”
　　“那么索（说）可不是一件好事，”古斯正经地说道，“如果你的鞋擦（踩）到我身上，我会生气的。”
　　“我们来玩个游戏吧。”眼看一场争执又要出现，杰克打岔道，“让我们找出所有的黑狗、白猫、花斑马、红自行车，还有冰激凌车。谁是最晚凑够一百个的人，谁就必须在我们遇到下一辆冰激凌车的时候去给所有人买冰激凌！”
　　古斯觉得这听起来非常让人兴奋。他立刻从地板上爬起来，挤到黛娜身旁。比尔和坎宁安夫人松了一口气。现在至少会有一小段安宁了——每个孩子都开始专心致志地努力地数了起来。
　　古斯压根儿不擅长这个游戏。他错过了所有的黑狗和白猫，并且总是将普通的马误计成花斑马。当得知他对所有棕马和白马的计数都不能算进个人总分的时候，他显得非常沮丧。
　　“他要哭了！”菲利普说，“等等，古斯，等一下。拿着我的手帕。”
　　他拿出了一块厨房的台布。在离家之前，尽管笼罩在他妈妈的怒吼声中，菲利普还是利索地扒走了一条。
　　古斯发现自己的手里被塞进了一块台布。他显得十分惊讶——然后开始大笑起来！
　　“哈哈！呵呵！这是布，不是手帕！我不会用它哭的，我会笑的！”
　　“这可不错，古斯！”杰克说，拍了一下他的背，“笑一笑很好。我们喜欢这个！”
　　每个人都或多或少有些惊讶，古斯居然真的会因为一个对他开的玩笑而笑起来。他们开始想着他或许并不是那么糟糕。在那之后，古斯就不再继续参与计数游戏，但是当游戏结束时，他却展现出了更多令人惊讶的行为。
　　露西安是最后一个数到一百的。她开始翻起自己的小零钱包凑钱，因为输了游戏就必须给每个人买冰激凌。
　　“比尔，可以麻烦你在下一辆冰激凌车前停一下吗？”她问。比尔很乐意地停下了车。
　　然而还没等露西安钻出车，古斯就抢先打开后边的车门，冲了出去，跑向冰激凌车。“轻（请）来七个。”他说。
　　“等下！是我输了，不是你！”露西安有些恼火地喊道。接着她睁大了眼。古斯从衣兜里掏出了一个钱夹——那是个皮夹，而不是小孩子的零钱包！然后他从中取出了一沓支票——天哪，他到底带了多少钱？古斯把最上边的一张支票撕了下来，递给了冰激凌车小贩——他比任何人都要惊讶。
　　“你中大奖了，兄弟？”小贩问，“还是你爸是个百万富翁？”
　　古斯并没听懂他在讲什么。他只是把找的零钱收回口袋，然后举着一堆冰激凌回到了车上，分给每一个人。他兴奋得脸上发光。
　　“谢谢，古斯。”比尔说，接过了他的那份，“但是，你瞧，老伙计——你不能随身带着所有那些钱。”
　　“我能。”古斯说，“整个学期我都是这样放在衣兜里来着。这就是我的零用钱 [1] ，我想。他们说我可以有零用钱。”
　　“是的。但是一百英镑左右的支票不能叫作零用钱，”比尔回道，“没错，是的——我知道你一直把它揣在口袋里来着，但是真正的零用钱是——是——算了，男孩们，你们来解释。”
　　事实证明，很难跟他解释清楚这些英镑支票不仅仅是零用钱，因为古斯把它们一直都放在他的衣兜里。“你应该在学校里的时候就把它们上交保管。”菲利普说。
　　“但是他们说我可以有零用钱。”古斯固执地说，“我叔叔把它给了我。它就是我的。”
　　“你们国家的人一定超级有钱，”杰克说，“我敢打赌，就算是比尔也没有这么多支票。
　　古斯是个百万富翁之类的吗，比尔？”
　　“呃——他国家的人确实比较富裕。”比尔说着，再次轻轻地踩下离合器，车子开了出去，“不过，他还是得把那些支票交给我保管，不然迟早要被抢劫。”
　　“他要哭了，”黛娜报告说，“菲利普，快——那块台布呢？”
　　“我没要哭。”古斯高傲地说，“我是要吐了。我在车里总是会恶心。昨天我就是。第（对）不起，坎宁安先生，我可以吐吗？”
　　“哦，天哪！”比尔非常突然地刹了车，“下车去，快！黛娜，把他推出去。我怎么——喔——我怎么会让他吃那个冰激凌？他昨天告诉过我他总会晕车。”
　　坎宁安夫人也下了车，去安抚脸色开始发绿的、可怜的古斯。“他会晕车！”黛娜说，“晕车病——听起来就像是某种他会有的毛病。”
　　“这事不是他能控制的，”露西安说，“无论如何，已经完事了。他看起来好些了。”
　　“第（对）不起，我好多了。”古斯宣布道，同时爬进车里。
　　“拿着这块布，”菲利普说着，把台布塞给了他，“如果你又觉得不舒服了，可能会用上它。”
　　“所有的人都坐好了吗？”比尔喊道，“来吧，让我们继续出发。一点钟的时候我们会停车去吃个午饭，然后大概能在下午茶的时候到达小布洛克莱顿，希望如此。古斯，如果你又觉得不舒服了，就叫我们。”
　　“每次坐车，我只吐一次，”古斯说，“第（对）不起，我刚刚丢了我的冰激凌。你能再停一下车，让我再买一个吗？”
　　“不行，”比尔坚决地说，“你不会在车里吃到更多的冰激凌了。有没有人想睡一小会儿？如果能让我安静地开会儿车那可就太好了！好了——下一站，午饭！”
　　[1]“零用钱”的英文pocket money，如果直译是“衣兜里的钱”。这里是一个双关语，不够了解英语的古斯按照字面意思理解了这个词，认为放在“衣兜”里的就是零用钱。
5 Quarry Cottage
　　5
　　Quarry Cottage
　　Little Brockleton was a dear little village. The car ran through it, scattering hens and a line ofquacking ducks. Bill stopped at a little post office.
　　‘Must just send off a message,’ he said. ‘Won’t be a minute. Then we’ll go and call at thefarmhouse to ask the way to Quarry Cottage, and to pick up eggs and things, and order milk.’
　　He reappeared again after a moment. The children knew that Bill had to report where he waseach day, because urgent jobs might come his way at any moment - secret tasks that only he coulddo.
　　They went off to the farmhouse. The farmer’s wife was delighted to see them. ‘Now, you comeaway in,’ she said. ‘I’ve been expecting you this last half-hour, and I’ve got tea for you. Youwon’t find anything ready at the cottage, I know, and a good tea will help you along.’
　　‘That’s very kind of you,’ said Mrs Cunningham, gratefully. ‘My goodness - what a spread!’
　　It certainly was. It wasn’t an ordinary afternoon tea, it was a high tea. A fresh ham, glisteningpink. A veal and ham pie smothered in green parsley, like the ham. Yellow butter in glass dishes.
　　A blue jug of thick yellow cream. Honey. Home- made strawberry jam. Hot scones. A largefruitcake as black as a plum pudding inside. Egg sandwiches. Tea, cocoa and creamy milk.
　　‘I’m absolutely determined to live on a farm when I’m grown up,’ said Jack, lookingapprovingly at all the food on the big round table. ‘I never saw such food as farm houses have. Isay, isn’t this smashing?’
　　Gussy felt glad that Mrs Cunningham had insisted that he should eat very little at lunch time. Hefelt sure he had an appetite three times bigger than anyone else’s.
　　‘What will you have?’ asked the farmer’s wife, kindly, seeing his hungry look.
　　‘I will have some - some pig meat,’ said Gussy. ‘And some pie meat with it. And I will havesome cream with it, and …’
　　‘He’s a little comedian isn’t he?’ said the farmer’s wife, with a laugh. ‘Pig meat! Does he meanham? And surely he’ll be sick if I pour cream over it all?’
　　‘Cut him a little ham, if you will,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘No pie. He can’t possibly eat both.
　　And of course not the cream!’
　　‘I have ordered my meal,’ said Gustavus, in a very haughty voice, staring at the surprisedfarmer’s wife. ‘I will have what I say. Plizz,’ he added as an afterthought.
　　‘Shut up, Gus,’ said Bill. ‘You’ll do as you’re told. You’re forgetting yourself.’
　　‘I have not forgot myself,’ said Gus, puzzled. ‘I have remembered myself, and I want…’
　　‘Shut up,’ said Bill, and Gus shut up.
　　The others grinned. It was nice to see Bill squashing Gussy Gussy was very angry. He glared atBill, and seemed about to say something. But Bill looked across at him, and he didn’t say it. Billwinked at the others, and they winked back.
　　‘Fussy-Gussy,’ remarked Kiki, from Jack’s left shoulder. ‘Ding-dong-bell, Gussy’s in the well.’
　　‘Pussy’s in the well, not Gussy,’ corrected Jack. ‘Oh, you pest - you’ve nabbed a strawberry outof the jam!’
　　The farmer’s wife took Kiki in her stride, and was not unduly surprised at her, nor annoyed.
　　‘My old aunt had a parrot once,’ she said. ‘One like yours here. She didn’t talk as well as yoursthough.’
　　‘Is she alive?’ asked Jack, thinking that it would be fun to put the two parrots together and seethem eyeing one another. What kind of conversation would they have?
　　‘Is who alive? My aunt or her parrot?’ asked the famer’s wife, pouring out cups of creamy milk.
　　‘The parrot’s dead. It was supposed to be over a hundred years old when it died. My old aunt isstill alive, though. There she is, sitting by the fire over in the corner. She’s my great-aunt really,and she’ll be more than a hundred if she lives another ten years.’
　　The five children stared in awe at the old woman in the corner. She looked rather like a witch tothem, but her eyes were faded blue, instead of green. She smiled a dim smile at them, and thenbent her white head to her knitting again.
　　‘She’s a real worry sometimes,’ said the farmer’s wife. ‘She wanders round and falls about, youknow. And the doctor’s off on a week’s holiday soon, and what I shall do if old Aunt Naomi fallsand hurts herself then, I don’t know! There’s no neighbours near but you - and you’re a good bitaway!’
　　‘You send a message to us if you want us at any time,’ said Mrs Cunningham at once. ‘I’llcertainly come. I am quite good at first-aid and nursing. So don’t worry about the doctor going.
　　Send a message if you want us.’
　　‘Ah, yes - I could do that,’ said the farmer’s wife. ‘Thank you kindly. Now - who wants a bit ofthat fruitcake? It’s good, though I shouldn’t say it, seeing that I made it myself‘If I eat any more I shan’t be able to move a step,’ said Bill, at last. ‘Will you kindly make upyour minds to finish, you kids? We’ll get along to Quarry Cottage, and settle in. Did you manageto send someone in to clean up the place for us, Mrs Ellis?’
　　‘Oh yes,’ said the farmer’s wife. ‘And she took eggs, milk, a pie, some home-made cheese, hamand butter and new bread for you. Oh yes, and a side of bacon. You won’t do too badly downthere! Come along to me when you want anything. I hope you have a good, restful holiday.’
　　They left the cosy farmhouse reluctantly. Jack eyed Gussy suspiciously as the got into the car.
　　‘You look a bit green,’ he said. ‘Sure you’ll be all right in the car?’
　　‘He’ll be all right,’ said Mrs Cunningham, hurriedly. ‘It’s not very far - he’ll be quite all right.’
　　‘Wishful thinking, Aunt Allie!’ said Jack. ‘Kiki’s very quiet. Kiki, you’ve made a pig ofyourself too - a little pig, eating such a big tea!’
　　Kiki gave a big hiccup. Nobody ever knew if her hiccups were real or put on. Mrs Cunninghamalways felt quite certain that they were put on.
　　‘Kiki!’ said Jack, severely. ‘Manners, manners!’
　　‘Pardon,’ said Kiki. Gussy stared at her in amazement. It was surprising enough for a parrot tohiccup, but even more surprising that she should apologize! He quite forgot to feel sick because ofhis astonishment at Kiki.
　　Down a winding lane - up a little hill - down another lane whose hedges were so high that thechildren felt they were in a green tunnel. Round a sharp bend, and then there was Quarry Cottage,standing a little way back from the lane.
　　It was a pretty place, its garden full of primroses, wallflowers and daffodils. The people whoowned it had gone to the South of France for a holiday, and had been pleased to let it to Bill.
　　The windows were rather small, as they always are in old cottages. The door was stout, made ofoak darkened by the years, and was protected by a small porch, thatched with straw like thesloping roof of the cottage.
　　‘A thatched cottage - how lovely!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I don’t know why, but thatched housesalways look as if they belong to fairy-tales, not to real life. It’s a dear little place.’
　　They went up the path. Bill had the key and unlocked the door. In they all went, exclaimingover everything.
　　‘I need hardly remind you that this house, and everything in it, belongs to someone else,’ saidMrs Cunningham. ‘So that we’ll have to be extra careful - but as you will probably be out ofdoors most of the day you won’t have time to do much damage!’
　　‘We shouldn’t anyway,’ said Jack. ‘Not with Bill here ready to jump on us!’
　　The cottage was just as pretty inside as out, and very cosy and comfortable. The three boys hada big attic, the two girls had a small bedroom over the sitting room, and Bill and his wife had alarger one next to it.
　　The larder was full of food! Mrs Ellis, the farmer’s wife, had certainly remembered themgenerously. Mrs Cunningham heaved a sigh of relief as she looked at the ham and bacon, eggs andmilk. Housekeeping was not going to be the nightmare she had expected!
　　‘You two girls unpack everything,’ she said. ‘We’ve not brought much with us, so it won’t takeyou long. Arrange the boys’ things in the big chest in their room - there’s enough room for theclothes of all three there.’
　　‘I cannot slip with others,’ announced Gustavus, coming down the stairs into the hall, where thegirls and Mrs Cunningham were undoing the suitcases. ‘Never have I slipt with others.’
　　‘What are you talking about?’ said Dinah. ‘Nobody wants you to slip. Why should you?’
　　‘He means sleep,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Don’t you, Gussy?’
　　‘It is what I said,’ said Gussy. ‘I may not slip with others. At school I slipt by myself. Here Iwill slip by myself also. It iss the rule of my family.’
　　‘Well, it isn’t the rule here,’ said Dinah. ‘Get off those shirts, Gus. And don’t be an ass. Thereare only three bedrooms, anyway.’
　　‘What’s the argument?’ said Bill, coming in after putting the car into a shed, and seeing Gussy’sfrowning face.
　　‘It’s Gus,’ said Dinah, piling her arms full of clothes. ‘He’s just announced he wants to sleep byhimself. Says it’s the rule of his family. Who does he think he is? A prince?’
　　Gussy opened his mouth to reply, and Bill hurriedly interrupted what he was going to say. ‘Gus,you’ll sleep with the two boys here. Understand?’
　　‘I slip alone,’ said Gus, obstinately. ‘Never have I …’
　　‘There’s a tiny little box-room he could have,’ said Dinah, suddenly, a gleam in her eye. ‘I sawit just now, when I was upstairs. He could “slip” there. I’m sure he won’t mind the dozens ofcolossal spiders there - ugh, they’ve all got hairy legs. And I heard a mouse - or it might havebeen a rat - scuttling behind the cistern - and …’
　　Gus looked horrified. ‘No. I do not slip with spiders and mouses,’ he said. ‘But still it is notright that I should slip with Philip and Jack. And I will not slip with that wicket bird.’
　　‘Come in here a minute, Gus,’ said Bill, and he took the boy firmly by the shoulder, led him intothe sitting room and shut the door. The two girls heard a murmur of voices, and looked at oneanother in surprise.
　　‘Mother, what’s all the fuss about?’ said Dinah, puzzled. ‘Why doesn’t Bill put that silly youngGus in his place? If he’s going to be high and mighty all the time, and give his orders, and act insuch an idiotic way, we’re all going to hate him.’
　　‘Leave it to Bill,’ said her mother, and then changed the subject. ‘Take those things up, Dinah -and Lucy-Ann, put these things in my room, will you? Now, did I pack Bill’s set of pipes, ordidn’t I?’
　　The girls went upstairs. ‘Mother’s as mysterious about Gus as Bill is,’ said Dinah, crossly. ‘Isthere some mystery about him? Can he be a Prince in disguise, or something?’
　　‘What! A funny little boy like him!’ said Lucy-Ann, in disgust. ‘Of COURSE not!’
第5章 石场农舍
　　第5章 石场农舍
　　小布洛克莱顿真的是一个非常迷你的村庄。车子穿过村子，将一群母鸡和一队嘎嘎叫的鸭子惊得四散逃开。比尔最终把车停到了一家小小的邮局门前。
　　“我必须发个消息。”他说，“用不了一分钟。然后我们会在农家院停一下，打听打听石场农舍怎么走，顺道取一下鸡蛋和其他东西，再把牛奶订了。”
　　过了一会儿他就出来了。孩子们知道比尔必须报告他每一天都在哪里，因为紧急工作随时会来——那些只有他能执行的秘密任务。
　　他们抵达了农家院。农夫的妻子很高兴见到他们。“你们终于来了。”她说，“我已经等了半个小时了，还给你们准备了茶。农舍的所有东西都需要你们自己收拾安排，我特别清楚，一杯茶会让你们的精神振作一些。”
　　“您真的是太好了。”坎宁安夫人感激地说，“哦，天哪——多么丰盛！”
　　那确实是一顿丰盛的大餐。它不是那种普通的下午茶，而是一桌正式的茶点：有着油润的粉红光泽的新鲜火腿，覆着绿欧芹烘烤的小牛肉火腿馅饼，用玻璃盘盛着的黄油，用蓝色水罐装着的黄色浓奶油，蜂蜜，自制草莓酱，热乎乎的烤饼，颜色浓郁、仿佛有李子布丁在里边的大水果蛋糕，鸡蛋三明治，茶，可可，还有香浓的牛奶。
　　“我决定长大后一定要住到一座农场里。”杰克一边说着，一边看着大圆桌上所有的食物，双眼放光，“我从没见过这样的农家食物。要我说，这简直是太棒了。”
　　古斯很高兴之前在午饭的时候，坎宁安夫人坚持要他只吃一点东西。他确信自己现在有着其他人三倍的胃口。
　　“你想要点什么？”农夫的妻子看到他饥肠辘辘的表情，和蔼地问道。
　　“我要一些——一些猪的肉，”古斯说，“还要一些馅饼的肉和它一起吃。我还要加一些奶油，还有……”
　　“他果然是个小外国佬，不是吗？”农夫的妻子笑着说，“猪的肉！他是不是想说火腿？
　　如果我把奶油倒在上边，你确定他不会反胃？”
　　“给他切点火腿，如果您方便的话，”坎宁安夫人说，“馅饼就算了。他不可能同时吃这两个。当然也别抹奶油！”
　　“我点了我的餐，”古斯以一种非常倨傲的声音开口，看向吃惊的农夫妻子，“我就要我点的。请。”他后知后觉地加了个敬词。
　　“闭嘴，古斯，”比尔说，“别人怎么说，你就怎么做。别忘了你是谁。”
　　“我没忘，”古斯困惑地说，“我知道自己是谁。我想要……”
　　“闭嘴。”比尔说。古斯只好闭上了嘴。
　　其他人都窃笑起来。看到古斯被比尔教训的感觉不坏。但古斯十分生气。他瞪着比尔，好像打算说些什么。然而比尔用眼神瞥了一下他，他就什么也没有说出来。比尔对其他人眨了眨眼，其他人则也眨了眨眼。
　　“费事——古斯，”蹲在杰克左肩上的琪琪开口，“叮咚——铃儿响，古斯掉井里。”
　　“是猫咪掉井里，不是古斯。”杰克纠正道，“哦，你这个坏东西——你竟然从果酱里扒走了一颗草莓！”
　　农夫的妻子对琪琪的表现泰然自若，并没有过分惊讶，也没有因此生气。“我的老阿姨曾经有一只鹦鹉，”她说，“就跟你的这只一样。虽然她不像你这只这么会讲话。”
　　“她还活着吗？”杰克问道，想象了一下把两只鹦鹉放到一起的情景，看它们如何相处，那肯定非常有趣。它们会聊些什么呢？
　　“你问谁还活着？我阿姨还是她的鹦鹉？”农夫的妻子问道，倒了几杯浓牛奶，“鹦鹉已经不在了。它死的时候估计已经超过了一百岁。不过我的老阿姨还活着。她就在那边，坐在转角的火炉旁边。实际上她是我的太姨，只要再活十年，她也会超过一百岁了。”
　　五个孩子敬畏地望向转角处的那位老太太。对他们来说，她看起来更像一个女巫，只不过她的眼睛是已经褪去光彩的蓝色，而不是绿色。老太太对他们虚弱地笑了笑，便重新低下花白的头，继续专注在手里的织针上。
　　“她有时候真让人担心，”农夫的妻子说，“她四处转悠就会摔倒，你们知道的。医生很快就要去度假一星期了，如果老娜奥米阿姨又摔倒弄伤了自己要怎么办，我可真不知道！
　　这附近除了你们并没有别的邻居——而且就算是你们也还是离得有点远！”
　　“如果任何时候您需要帮忙，就发个消息给我们，”坎宁安夫人马上说，“我肯定会过来的。我很擅长急救和看护。所以就算医生离开了也不用担忧。如果需要就给我们发消息。”
　　“啊，好的——这个我倒是能做，”农夫的妻子说，“真是太感激您了。现在——谁想来点水果蛋糕？它很不错，虽然作为做出它来的人，我不应该自卖自夸。”
　　“再多吃一点，我就迈不动步了，”比尔终于说道，“孩子们，你们是不是也该差不多结束战斗了？我们还要去石场农舍安顿下来。伊莉斯太太，之前您有安排人帮我们打扫那里的卫生吗？”
　　“噢，是的，”农夫的妻子说，“她还给你们拿了一些东西放在那里，鸡蛋、牛奶、馅饼，一些我们自制的奶酪、火腿、黄油和面包。哦，对了，还有一扇熏猪肉。这样你们到了以后不至于太辛苦！如果你们还需要什么东西，就过来找我。祝你们有一个愉快安宁的假期。”
　　他们不情愿地离开了舒适的农家院。上了车之后，杰克怀疑地看向古斯，“你的脸看起来有点发绿，”他说，“坐车没问题吗？”
　　“他没事的。”坎宁安夫人立刻说，“那里不是很远——他应该完全没有问题。”
　　“真是乐观的想法，艾莉阿姨！”杰克说，“另外琪琪也太安静了。琪琪，你已经把自己变成了一头猪——一头吃了太多茶点的小猪！”
　　琪琪打了一个大大的嗝。没人知道她到底是真的打嗝还是在故作姿态。有些时候坎宁安夫人总觉得他们确确实实在被这只鹦鹉捉弄。
　　“琪琪！”杰克严厉地说，“要有礼貌，礼貌！”
　　“抱歉。”琪琪说。古斯惊奇地盯着她。鹦鹉打嗝已经够让人惊讶的了，但是她居然还会道歉！因为对鹦鹉的行为过于惊愕，他甚至忘了胃里的不适。
　　车子开过了一条蜿蜒的小巷——爬过了一座小山——又穿过了另一条巷子。巷子两旁的树篱很高，让孩子们感觉他们像穿行在一条绿色的隧道里。之后再绕过一个急转弯，他们终于到了石场农舍，它就在巷子旁一条短短的小路尽头矗立着。
　　这是个非常漂亮的地方。花园里种满了报春花、桂竹香和水仙花。房子的主人已经去了法国南部度假，他很高兴把它租给比尔。
　　就像其他的老农舍一样，房子的窗户很小。橡木做的门粗糙而结实，因为年头久远已经开始发黑。有一条小门廊保护着它，门廊上方则是稻草铺的斜顶，和农舍的茅草屋顶连为一体。
　　“茅草屋顶的农舍——太可爱了！”露西安说，“不知道为什么，我总觉得这种茅草屋顶的农舍看起来不像真的，而是像童话故事里的东西一样。这真是个让人舒服的小地方。”
　　他们走上小路。比尔拿出钥匙打开门。所有的人都进了房子，开始对里边的一切大呼小叫。
　　“应该不用我提醒你们，这栋房子和房子里每样东西都是别人家的，”坎宁安夫人说，“所以我们必须格外小心——不过，鉴于你们大概会成天都泡在外边，应该没有多少时间在房子里搞太多的破坏！”
　　“无论如何，我们都不会的，”杰克说，“特别是当比尔在这儿，随时准备训斥我们的时候！”
　　农舍的里面就和它的外观一样漂亮，非常温暖舒适。三个男孩将住在大大的阁楼上，而两个女孩会住在起居室隔壁的一个小卧室里。比尔和他的妻子则会睡在挨着它的一间大卧室里。
　　食橱里装满了食物！那位农夫的妻子，伊莉斯太太对他们十分慷慨。坎宁安夫人看着火腿、熏猪肉、鸡蛋和牛奶，松了一口气。至少这些家用不会像她曾经担心的那样，变成她的噩梦了！
　　“你们两个姑娘负责把所有的东西拆包整理，”她说，“我们没带太多东西，所以这不会花太多时间。把男孩们的东西都放到阁楼上的大壁橱里去——那里的地方足够放他们三个的衣服。”
　　“我不能和别人一起滑倒 [1] ，”古斯塔夫斯一边沿着楼梯走下来进入客厅，一边宣称道，坎宁安夫人和女孩们正在那里拆包行李，“我从没有和别人一起滑倒过。”
　　“你在说什么？”黛娜问，“没人希望你滑倒。你为什么要滑倒？”
　　“他是说‘睡觉’，”露西安说，“对吧，古斯？”
　　“我就是这个意思，”古斯说，“我不可能和其他人一起碎（睡）。在学校里，我自己碎（睡）。在这里，我也要自己碎（睡）。这是我家的规矩。”
　　“哦，但它不是这里的规矩。”黛娜说，“放下那些衬衫，古斯。别傻了。无论如何这儿只有三间卧室。”
　　“说什么呢？”比尔问道。他把车子停进车库后终于进了屋子，结果就看到古斯皱着眉头的脸。
　　“是古斯，”黛娜说，手里抱满了衣服，“他刚刚宣布他要独自一个人睡。说这是他家的规矩。他以为他是谁，王子吗？”
　　古斯刚要张嘴回答什么，就被比尔连忙打断了：“古斯，在这里，你会和其他两个男孩一起睡，明白了吗？”
　　“我自己碎（睡），”古斯顽固地说，“我从没……”
　　“有一个小小的储物间，他可以去里边住，”黛娜突然说，眼睛里闪过一丝光芒，“我刚刚上楼时看到了。他可以在那里‘滑倒’。我敢肯定他不会介意那里的几十只巨大的蜘蛛——它们都有着毛茸茸的腿。我还听到一只小老鼠——或许它是一只大耗子——从储水箱后边跑了过去——而且……”
　　古斯看起来惊恐万分。“不。我绝对不和蜘蛛老鼠一起碎，”他说，“但是，和杰克，和菲利普一起碎（睡）也不对。我也不会跟那只顽厉（劣）的鸟一起碎（睡）。”
　　“进来一下，古斯。”比尔说道，同时搂住男孩的肩，坚决地将他推进起居室并关上了门。两个女孩听到了一阵低低的交谈声，惊讶地彼此交换了一个眼神。
　　“妈妈，这到底有什么值得小题大做的？”黛娜迷惑地问，“为什么比尔不让那个愚蠢的小子搞清楚自己的位置？如果他总是这么高高在上地下达命令，以这么白痴的方式做事，我们都会讨厌他的。”
　　“这事交给比尔就好，”她的母亲说，然后改变了话题，“黛娜和露西安，拿上这些东西。把它们放进我的房间去，好吗？我把比尔的那套烟斗装起来了，还是没装？”
　　女孩们上楼去了。“妈妈跟比尔一样神秘兮兮的，”黛娜恼火地说，“他到底有什么好神秘的？难不成他是一位乔装打扮的王子，还是什么别的？”
　　“什么！像他这样的傻小子！”露西安厌恶地说，“当然不可能！”
　　[1]古斯这里想说“一起睡”，但是发音不标准，听起来就像英语里的“滑倒”一词。
6 Mostly about Gussy
　　6
　　Mostly about Gussy
　　It was fun settling in at Quarry Cottage. Mrs Cunningham was pleased and happy. She hadn’t beenlooking forward to a holiday for seven people, five of them children, knowing that she would haveto do everything for them, and that perhaps the shopping would be difficult.
　　But it was easy. The village was not too far away, even for walking purposes. The farmhousewas willing to supply a wonderful selection of good food. Mrs Gump, the tiny little charwoman,came every day, and was cheerful and hardworking. She also liked children, which was a greatblessing.
　　She didn’t like Gussy, though. ‘He orders me about, that one,’ she complained. ‘He evenwanted me to go upstairs and fetch his handkerchief for him, Mam. He’s staying with you, isn’the? Well, I’m not going to be ordered about by anyone, specially not little nippers like that.’
　　Gussy was very difficult those first days. He didn’t like this and he didn’t like that. Hecomplained if he was given a cracked plate. He absolutely refused to make his bed, though it was arule in the house that everyone should make their own.
　　‘I do not make beds,’ he announced, in his haughtiest manner. ‘Mrs Gump shall make my bed.’
　　‘Mrs Gump shall not,’ said Dinah, firmly. ‘You go and make your own - and for goodness’
　　sake don’t make such a fuss, Gussy.’
　　‘Fussy-Gussy, Fussy-Gussy!’ chanted Kiki, in delight. ‘Fussy-Gussy, Fussy …’
　　Gus caught up a book and flung it at Kiki. The bird dodged easily, sat on the back of a chair andcackled with laughter. Gus was just about to pick up another book when he found himself on hisback on the floor.
　　Dinah had put up with enough from Gussy. She had now lost her temper, and was showing himhow well she could do it! She banged his head on the floor, and he yelled the place down.
　　Mrs Cunningham came in at once. ‘Dinah! What are you thinking of? Get up at once. Goupstairs and stay there till I come to you.’
　　‘He flung a book at Kiki,’ panted Dinah, rising up red and angry. Gussy still lay on the floor,and the tears ran down his cheeks.
　　‘Get up, Gussy,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘I’m just as cross with you as I am with Dinah. Go upto your room too, and stay there.’
　　‘You cannot order me,’ said Gussy, with as much dignity as he could manage through his tears.
　　‘Send this girl back home. And that wicket bird.’
　　‘ GO TO YOUR ROOM !’ said Mrs Cunningham in such a furious voice that Gussy leapt to his feet,tore up the stairs, went into his room, slammed the door and turned the key!
　　Bill came in. ‘It’s Gussy again,’ said his wife. ‘He’s such a little fathead. I hope this is going towork out all right, Bill. I think we should have thought of some other idea. The others don’tunderstand, you see. Can’t we tell them?’
　　‘I’ll have a word with Gussy again,’ said Bill. ‘If he doesn’t come to heel I’ll take him away bymyself - but I thought it would be so much safer if he was here with all of us.’
　　He went upstairs. Mrs Cunningham also went up to Dinah. Lucy-Ann was with her, arrangingthe clothes in the drawers. Dinah was very mutinous.
　　‘It’s all very well,’ she said, when her mother scolded her, ‘but why should Gussy spoileverything for us? He’s always interfering, always ordering us about, always wanting the best ofeverything for himself - and fancy DARING to try and hurt Kiki!’
　　‘I understand how you all feel,’ said her mother. ‘So does Bill. But he’s promised to keep aneye on Gussy for the next few weeks, and he must. I think perhaps it would be best if he tookGussy off somewhere, and left us here by ourselves.’
　　‘Oh, no,’ said Lucy-Ann at once. ‘No, Aunt Allie! You’ve married him, and he belongs to usnow. Please don’t let him do that! Dinah, say something!’
　　‘Well - I thought, I could put up with Gussy, rather than have Bill leave us,’ said Dinah. ‘But -but - oh dear, I can’t promise not to go for Gussy. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself! And Ican’t possibly let Bill go away either.’
　　‘Well, stay here by yourself for an hour and make up your mind,’ said her mother, losingpatience. ‘Lucy-Ann, come downstairs with me.’
　　Nobody told Jack or Philip about Gussy flinging a book at Kiki. Kiki didn’t forget though! Sheplagued the life out of poor Gussy! He never knew when she was under the table ready to tweakhis toes at the end of his sandals. He never knew when she would hide in his bedroom and wait forhim to come up. Then she would produce one of her extraordinary noises and send him downstairsin a panic at top speed!
　　‘Well, if Bill didn’t punish him - and I don’t think he did - Kiki’s doing it all right!’ said Dinahto Lucy-Ann. ‘Anyway, Gussy is certainly better. I wish he wasn’t coming on the picnic with ustoday, though.’
　　A picnic had been arranged for everyone on Sugar-Loaf Hill. It was really the name that hadattracted the children - Sugar-Loaf Hill! What a lovely name!
　　They set off together, Bill and the boys carrying the food in satchels on their backs. Gus hadmade a fuss, of course. He seemed to think that it was a great indignity to carry something on hisback.
　　‘Never haf I done this before,’ he protested. ‘In my country it is the - how do you call it? -donkeys who carry for us. Why do you not haf donkeys? I will not be a donkey.’
　　He was puzzled at the shouts of laughter that greeted this speech. ‘Oh, Gus - you’ll be the deathof me,’ said Jack. ‘Do you mean to say you didn’t know you were a donkey?’
　　‘It is bad to call me that,’ said Gussy, frowning. ‘In my country you would …’
　　‘Oh, gee-up, donkey, and stop fussing,’ said Philip, giving Gussy a shove. ‘Leave your satchelbehind, if you like. No one will mind. It’s got your lunch in, but nobody else’s! We’re carrying thegirls’ lunch, and Bill’s got Mother’s. You’ve only got your own.’
　　‘So chuck it into the bushes, then you won’t have to carry it like a donkey,’ said Dinah, with asqueal of laughter. ‘Go on, Gus!’
　　But Gus didn’t. He thought better of it, and took the satchel of food on his back, though helooked extremely annoyed about it.
　　Sugar-Loaf Hill was just like its name - it was very like a sugar-loaf, cone shaped but flat at thetop, and was covered with primroses, cowslips and dog-violets.
　　‘We ought to be able to see quite a good way from the top,’ said Jack, as they toiled up. It was astiff pull up but at last they were at the top. A strong breeze blew round them, but the sun was hot,so it was very pleasant to feel the wind blowing by.
　　‘I say! Gussy carried his lunch after all!’ said Jack, pretending to be surprised. ‘My word, I’mhungry.’
　　They all were. They ate every single thing they had brought, and Kiki had a good share, too,especially of the bananas. She loved holding a banana in one foot and biting big pieces off it.
　　Gussy sneezed. Kiki immediately sneezed too, a much bigger sneeze than Gussy’s. Then Gussysniffed, a little habit he had which annoyed Mrs Cunningham very much.
　　Kiki sniffed too. ‘Stop it, Kiki,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘One sniffer is quite enough.’
　　‘Polly’s got a cold,’ said Kiki, and sniffed again, exactly like Gussy. Gussy took no notice butafter a minute he suddenly sniffed again.
　　‘Blow your nose!’ shouted Kiki. ‘Where’s your hanky! Gussy’s got a cold, send for …’
　　‘Be quiet, Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘Gussy, don’t keep sniffing. If you do, you’ll set Kiki off and she’lldo nothing but sniff too.’
　　‘I do not sniff,’ said Gussy. ‘That bird is wicket and too clever. It should have a cage.’
　　‘Shut up, Gus,’ said Bill, who was now leaning back, enjoying a pipe. ‘Remember what I saidto you.’
　　Gus apparently remembered. He subsided and lay back and closed his eyes. The others sat andlooked at the view. It was marvellous, for they could see a great way off.
　　‘That’s the village over there,’ said Philip, pointing. ‘And there’s the farmhouse. And you canjust see the tops of the chimneys and a bit of one end of the thatched roof belonging to QuarryCottage. In those trees, look.’
　　‘And there’s the road we came by - the main road,’ said Jack. ‘Where are my field glasses?
　　Would you pass them, Di. Gosh, I can see miles with these. I can see the way the main road twistsand turns; I can see the traffic on it - looking just as small as the toy cars we used to have, Philip.
　　Have a look.’
　　Philip put the glasses to his eyes. They really were magnificent ones. He could see for miles,just as Jack had said. ‘Yes - it’s queer to see the cars and the lorries looking like toys, going alongthose ribbony roads,’ said Philip. ‘Now - there’s a black car - rather like Bill’s. I’m going towatch it and see how far I can follow it.’
　　The others lay back, half asleep, listening to Philip’s voice. The sun was hot now, and theydidn’t feel inclined to go walking after such a big picnuc,‘Yes - it’s on the main road still,’ said Philip, staring through the glasses. ‘There it goes - agood speed too. Jolly good speed. May be a police car, perhaps.’
　　‘You can’t tell a police car so far away,’ said Jack. Bill looked up from his newspaper. He knewa lot about police cars!
　　‘Tell me its number and I’ll tell you if it’s a police car,’ he said. The boys laughed.
　　‘That’s clever of you, Bill,’ said Jack, ‘but you know jolly well you’re safe - you can’t possiblyread the number at this distance. Still got the car, Philip?’
　　‘Lost it for a bit,’ said Philip. ‘It’s gone behind some buildings - no, there it is again. It’s cometo crossroads - it’s gone across. Now it’s stopped.’
　　Gussy gave a little snore which Kiki immediately copied. Philip went on with his car story.
　　‘A man got out - I think he must have gone back to look at the sign post. He’s got into the caragain. Yes, they missed their way, they’re backing. Ah, I thought so - they’ve turned down theother road - the road that leads to our village.’
　　‘You’ll tell us it’s at Quarry Cottage next,’ said Jack, sleepily. You’re making all this up now, Ibet!’
　　‘I’ve lost it again. No, here it comes,’ said Philip, pleased. Yes, it’s going through the village -down into the lane. It’s stopped again. I think they’re asking the way from someone - a labourerprobably. Can’t see from here. On they go again - and they’ve turned up the farm road! They’regoing to the farmhouse. Probably rich relations of Mrs Ellis.’
　　Bill put down his paper abruptly and reached out for the glasses. He focused them on thefarmhouse and saw the car immediately - a big one, obviously expensive. He studied it intently fora minute and then handed back the glasses without a word.
　　‘Do you know the car, Bill?’ asked Jack, curiously, seeing Bill’s expression.
　　‘No,’ said Bill. ‘I don’t. But - it just makes me think a bit, that’s all. Sorry I can’t tell you anymore. I’ll wander up to the farmhouse tonight and ask a few questions - then I’ll know a bitmore!’
第6章 大多数事情是关于古斯的
　　第6章 大多数事情是关于古斯的
　　入住石场农舍是件愉快的事。坎宁安夫人感到满意又开心。她之前并没有很期待一个带着五个孩子的七人假期，那意味着她不得不为他们打理所有的事，甚至连购物或许都会变成一件不容易的事情。
　　但实际上它是轻松的。村庄不是很远，走路就能到。农家院乐意给他们提供种类尽可能多的上好食物。甘普太太，就是那个小个子的女佣，每天都会来，干活勤快又热情洋溢。而且谢天谢地的是，她也喜欢孩子们。
　　虽然她不喜欢古斯。“他吩咐我说，那个，”她抱怨道，“他甚至想要我上楼去给他取手帕，夫人。他是个小外国佬，对吧？嗯，我不会听从外国人的命令的，特别是那么小的男孩的指令。”
　　最初的一些日子里，古斯非常难以相处。他不喜欢这个，不喜欢那个。如果他被分到一个有瑕疵的盘子，就会开始抱怨。他固执地拒绝亲手铺自己的床，哪怕每个人都应该自己铺床是这栋房子里明确的规矩。
　　“我不铺床。”他以最为傲慢的态度宣称道，“甘普太太应该为我铺床。”
　　“甘普太太不应该。”黛娜坚决地说，“你去搞定你自己的床——看在上帝的分上，别这么没事找事，古斯。”
　　“费事——古斯，费事——古斯！”琪琪兴高采烈地吟叫着，“费事——古斯，费事……”
　　古斯抓过一本书向琪琪扔了过去。鹦鹉轻易地闪开了，她蹲到椅背后藏了起来并发出咯咯的嗤笑声。古斯正要抓起另一本书，下一秒却发现自己躺在了地上。
　　黛娜已经受够他了。她现在彻底失去了耐心，并对着男孩完全爆发了出来！她拽着男孩的头就要往地板上猛砸，而男孩则用力号叫起来。
　　坎宁安夫人立刻走了进来：“黛娜！你这是在干什么？立刻给我起来。上楼待着，等我去找你。”
　　“他对琪琪扔书。”黛娜喘着气，怒目而视。而古斯仍躺在地上，满脸都是泪水。
　　“起来，古斯。”坎宁安夫人说，“跟黛娜一样，我也得和你谈谈。上楼去你的卧室待着，在那里等我。”
　　“你不能命令我，”古斯说，努力控制住自己的泪水并表现出尽可能多的高傲，“送这个女孩回家。还有那只坏鸟。”
　　“去你的房间！”坎宁安夫人愤怒地大声吼道。古斯猛地弹了起来，冲上楼去，用力把门甩上了，并且转动钥匙把自己反锁在里面！
　　比尔走了进来。“还是古斯，”他的妻子说，“他真是个小傻瓜。比尔，我希望能把这事儿解决了。我觉得应该想点别的办法。其他人并不明白，你看。我们就不能告诉他们吗？”
　　“我会再跟古斯聊聊，”比尔说，“如果他还是不能搞清楚，我会单独把他带走——但我想如果他能在这里跟我们所有人待在一起，会安全得多。”
　　他上楼去了。坎宁安夫人也上去找黛娜。露西安跟着她一起上楼，把衣服收到抽屉里去。而黛娜杵在那里，整个人都散发着强烈抵触的情绪。
　　“一切本来都好好的，”当她母亲责备她时，她反驳道，“为什么古斯要来毁掉我们的每件事？他总是在干涉别人，总是命令我们这个那个，总是想要最好的东西——而且该死的古斯竟敢去伤害琪琪！”
　　“我理解你所有的感受，”她妈妈说，“比尔也是。但他答应了，接下来的几周会多留意古斯。他一定会做到的。不过我在想，或许如果让他带着古斯离开去别的什么地方，而我们待在这儿，是不是更好？”
　　“哦，不，”露西安立即说，“不要，艾莉阿姨！你已经嫁给他了，他现在就是我们的人。请别让他那么做！黛娜，说点什么！”
　　“呃——我想我可以忍受古斯，好过让比尔离开我们，”黛娜说，“但是——但是——哦，天哪，我没法保证不对古斯发火。我不觉得我能克制住！但我也不能让比尔离开。”
　　“行吧，你自己在这待上一个小时，做个决定，”她妈妈不耐烦地说，“露西安，跟我下楼。”
　　没人告诉杰克和菲利普古斯对琪琪扔书的事情。但琪琪可没忘！她让可怜的古斯接下来的日子变成了灾难！古斯从不知道她什么时候会躲在桌子底下啄他露出凉鞋的脚指头；他也从不知道她什么时候会藏在卧室里等他上来，然后发出任何一种怪声，把他吓得屁滚尿流地以最快速度从楼上逃下去！
　　“呃，如果比尔没有罚他——我不信他会那么做——我得说琪琪做得很好！”黛娜对露西安说，“无论如何，古斯确实老实多了。虽然我还是希望今天的野餐他不会跟着我们。”
　　这次包括了所有人的前往糖面包山的野餐是早就计划好的。就是这个名字吸引了孩子们——糖面包山！多可爱的名字！
　　他们一同出发了。比尔和男孩们负责背装满食物的背包。当然，古斯又引起了一场风波。看起来他觉得如果自己的背上被放上什么东西的话，将是极其冒犯他的事情。
　　“以前我从米（没）做过这个。”他抗议道，“在我的国家，这是——你们怎么叫它？
　　——驴子会给我们背东西。为什么你们米（没）有驴子？我不会当一头驴子。”
　　这场小演说引发的哄堂大笑让他很有些困惑。“哦，古斯——你会让我笑断气的，”杰克说，“你是在说你从不知道你是一头驴子吗？”
　　“这么叫我很坏。”古斯皱着眉说，“在我的国家，你会——”
　　“噢，得了，驴子，别再乱叫了，”菲利普说，推了古斯一把，“如果你想，那就丢下你的背包。没人在乎。虽然里边有你的午餐，但可没有别人的！我们会负责带女孩们的午饭，比尔负责带妈妈的。只有你是带你自己的。”
　　菲利普取过望远镜举到眼前。景色真是壮丽。就如杰克所说的，他能看到几英里外的地方。
　　“所以说把它扔进灌木丛吧，这样你就不用像一头驴子一样背着它了，”黛娜在尖刻的笑声中附和道，“快干吧，古斯！”
　　但是古斯没有。他重新考虑了一下，还是抓起背包背到了背上，虽然看起来一脸愠怒。
　　糖面包山就像它的名字一样——它的外形神似一块糖面包，有着圆锥形的山头，但顶部却是平坦的，上面覆盖着樱草花、九轮草和紫罗兰。
　　“我们应该能从山顶上看到不错的景色。”当他们费力地向上攀爬的时候，杰克说道。
　　这是一段艰苦的行程，但无论如何，最终他们都成功抵达了山顶。虽然天气炎热，但一阵强风拂面，让他们感觉到了畅快。
　　“看啊！古斯居然还是把午饭带上来了！”杰克假装感到惊愕地说，“我得说，我可是饿了。”
　　他们都饿了。他们吃掉了带上来的每一样东西。琪琪也分到了不错的一份，特别是里面有香蕉。她欢喜地用一只爪子抓着其中一根，然后咬掉了一大口。
　　古斯打了一个喷嚏，琪琪立刻打了一个更大声的喷嚏。接着，古斯吸了吸鼻子——一个让坎宁安夫人很是恼火的小习惯。
　　琪琪也吸了吸鼻子。“琪琪，停下，”坎宁安夫人说，“有一个吸鼻子的就已经够了。”
　　“波莉感冒了。”琪琪说，又吸了一次，跟古斯的一模一样。古斯没有注意，但过了片刻，他突然再次抽了抽鼻子。
　　“擤你的鼻子！”琪琪喊道，“你的手帕在哪！古斯感冒了，去追……”
　　“安静，琪琪，”杰克说，“古斯，别总吸鼻子。你做了琪琪就会跟着学。然后她就会什么都不干，一直在那里吸鼻子。”
　　“我没有吸，”古斯说，“那只鸟顽厉（劣），又太聪明。她应该有个笼子。”
　　“闭嘴，古斯。”比尔开口道。他正靠坐在树下，享受着一根烟斗：“别忘了我对你说的话。”
　　古斯显然记得。他安静了下来，让自己躺平，闭上了眼睛。其他人则坐着，看着风景。真是不可思议，他们可以从这里看到非常远的地方。
　　“那边是村子，”菲利普指着说，“那是农家院。你们看，那些烟囱的顶部，还有石场农舍的茅草顶也能看到一点。就在那些树中间，看。”
　　“我们就是从那条主路走上来的。”杰克说，“我的双筒望远镜呢？帮我递过来，黛娜。
　　哦，天，我用这个可以看到几英里远。我能看到主路的那些转弯，看到上边的车流——菲利普，它们看起来就像我们以前玩的那些玩具车。来看。”
　　菲利普取过望远镜举到眼前。景色真是壮丽。就如杰克所说的，他能看到几英里外的地方。“没错，那些汽车和卡车就像玩具一样，看着它们行驶在那些缎带一样的路上感觉有点奇怪。”菲利普说，“现在——那儿有辆黑车——非常像比尔的。我打算看着它，看能跟它到多远。”
　　其他人都已经躺下了，听着菲利普的声音，迷迷糊糊地进入了半睡半醒的状态。太阳现在很热了，而在那么饱的一顿野餐之后，每个人都对继续向前提不起兴趣。
　　“是的——它还在主路上，”菲利普继续盯着望远镜，说，“它在移动——速度不错。速度真的非常快。也许、大概是辆警车。”
　　“离得这么远，你不能确定它是不是警车。”杰克说。比尔从报纸里抬起了头，他可是对警车很了解的！
　　“告诉我它的号码，然后我告诉你它是不是警车。”他说。男孩们笑了起来。
　　“你真聪明，比尔。”杰克说，“但你清楚得很，这个问题对你没有难度——我们不可能从这个距离读到它的号码。还在跟着它吗，菲利普？”
　　“有点跟丢了，”菲利普回答道，“它开到一些建筑物后边去了——哦，又出来了。它到路口了——通过了。现在它停下了。”
　　古斯发出了轻轻的鼾声，琪琪立刻模仿了一次。菲利普继续讲着他的汽车故事。
　　“一个男人出来了——我想他一定是回头看了看指示路牌。他又进到车里去了。是的，他们迷路了，在倒车。啊，我猜就是——他们退到另一条路上去了——是通往咱们村子的那条路。”
　　“你是不是还要告诉我们它接下来准备去石场农舍，”杰克带着困意地说，“你现在开始胡扯了，我打赌！”
　　“我又跟丢它了。哦，不，它过来了，”菲利普开心地说，“没错，它正在穿过村子——驶到小路上去了。它又停了。我想他们是在跟什么人问路——或许是个工人。从这里看不到。他们又上路了——他们转上了去农场的路！他们要去农家院。或许是伊莉斯太太的什么熟人。”
　　比尔突然放下报纸，伸手拿走了望远镜。他用它对准了农场，立刻找到了那辆车——很大的一辆，显然非常昂贵。他专心地研究了它一会儿，然后一言不发地把望远镜还了回去。
　　“你知道那辆车吗，比尔？”看到他的神情，杰克有些奇怪地问道。
　　“不，”比尔说，“我不认识。但是——它只是让我想到了一些东西，就是这样。对不起，我不能告诉你们更多的了。今晚我会到农家院去问一问，然后就会知道得更清楚一些！”
7 A surprising announcement
　　7
　　A surprising announcement
　　Philip and Jack were more interested in the car, after Bill’s remarks. They took it in turns to keepan eye on it, but it simply stayed where it was for twenty minutes, and then went away, taking thesame route as it came.
　　‘It’s gone, Bill,’ said Philip. ‘I expect it was only some visitor. I say, look at Gussy! His mouthis wide open. Let’s put something into it.’
　　‘Let sleeping donkeys lie!’ said Jack. ‘And don’t put ideas into Kiki’s head! She’ll hunt aroundfor something now to pop into Gussy’s mouth.’
　　Philip looked round at everyone. Only Bill and Jack were awake besides himself. He put hishand into his pocket and brought out something - something small and brown and pretty. It sat upon his hand.
　　‘I say! You’ve got a dormouse! What a pet! said Jack. ‘Don’t let Dinah see it - she’ll have a fit.’
　　‘I got it on the way here,’ said Philip. ‘I saw it sitting on a branch and it let me pick it up.’
　　‘It would!’ said Jack, enviously. ‘You’ve got some magic about you, Philip. I’ve never seen ananimal yet that didn’t come under your spell. Isn’t he a pretty little fellow?’
　　‘I’ve called him Snoozy,’ said Philip, stroking the tiny creature, whose large black eyes shonelike mirrors in his head. ‘Dormice are very dozy, snoozy things. I must remember to buy somenuts from the grocer’s next time we go to the village. Snoozy will like those. We won’t tell Dinah.
　　He’ll live comfortably in my pocket. I’ve had dormice before - they’re very tame.’
　　‘How nice to keep putting your hand in your pocket and feeling a furry dormouse there!’ saidJack. ‘Hallo - do I hear voices?’
　　The boys looked in the direction of the voices. They saw two men, obviously farm labourers,taking a path near the foot of the hill, talking together.
　　‘I think I’ll just scoot down and ask them if they know anything about badgers here,’ saidPhilip. ‘Coming, Jack?’
　　The two boys ran down the hill. The men heard them coming and looked round. ‘Goodafternoon,’ panted Philip. ‘Do you mind if I ask you a question or two? It’s about badgers.’
　　‘Badgers - what may they be?’ said the younger man.
　　‘Eee, man - you know badgers,’ said the older man. ‘Brocks, they be.’
　　‘Oh, the brocks,’ said the younger fellow. ‘No, I don’t know nothing about them. Never seedone in my life.’
　　‘That’s a-cause you sleeps in your bed every night!’ said the other man, with a laugh. ‘Brock,he comes out at night. I sees him many a time.’
　　‘You’re an old poacher, you are, Jeb,’ said the younger man. ‘Out at nights when honest folkare asleep. That’s how you see the brocks!’
　　‘Maybe, maybe,’ said the older man, with a twinkle in his bright eyes. He turned to the boys.
　　‘What are you wanting to know about the brocks?’ he said.
　　‘Well - I’d like to watch them,’ said Philip at once. ‘I’m keen on wild creatures - all kinds. I’venot had much chance of seeing badgers, though. Where can I see them around here? We’re atQuarry Cottage.’
　　‘Ah, so that’s where you be,’ said the old man. ‘Then you’ll find old Brock not far away fromyou, little master. You may see him in the woods on the east side of the cottage - that’s the mostlikely place - or you may see him down in the old quarry. I saw a badger’s sett there - his den,you know - last year. I knew he had his hole down there by the big pile of earth he’d taken out ofit.’
　　‘Yes - that’s right. He always does that,’ said Philip, wishing he could get to know this oldfellow. He felt sure that he would be able to tell him many tales. ‘Well, thanks very much. We’llwatch in both places.’
　　‘There’s owls in the quarry too,’ said the old man. ‘Little owls, and barn owls and tawnies.
　　They go there for the rats and mice. I’ve heard them - the barn owls - screeching their heads off.
　　Frighten the life out of you, they do!’
　　‘I know,’ said Jack, making up his mind at once that he would go and watch in the quarry. Heliked owls very much. Perhaps he could get a young one and tame it. But he’d have to be carefulnot to let it see Snoozy the dormouse. That would be the end of Snoozy!
　　The boys walked off together, exploring the cone-shaped hill. A shout from above attracted theirattention.
　　‘Jack! Philip! We’re going back in a minute. Are you coming with us, or do you want to followsometime later?’
　　‘We’ll come now,’ shouted Jack, and he and Philip began to climb up towards the others. Theyfound Gussy awake but scowling. He spat something out of his mouth as they came up.
　　‘Manners, manners!’ said Jack, reprovingly.
　　‘He says somebody popped bits of grass into his mouth,’ said Dinah, with a giggle. ‘So hekeeps on spitting them out. Did you put them in, Jack?’
　　‘No,’ said Jack. ‘And Philip didn’t either.’
　　‘There you are!’ said Dinah, triumphantly, turning to the angry Gussy. ‘Nobody put anything inyour mouth when you were asleep. You’re just making it all up. I bet you chewed a bit of grassyourself.’
　　‘I did not,’ said Gussy. ‘It was a wicket thing to do. It nearly chocked me. I was chocked.’
　　‘Choked, you mean,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Well, it’s a mystery. Nobody did it - and yet you werenearly “chocked” with grass. Don’t spit any more. You can’t have any left in your mouth now.’
　　Jack and Philip threw a quick look at one another. They knew quite well who had played thistrick on poor Gussy. Gussy saw the look and rounded on them. ‘You know who did it! I saw youlook!’
　　‘All right. We know who did it,’ said Jack. ‘A jolly good trick too. We thought of doing itourselves, you looked so silly with your mouth wide open, snoring.’
　　‘I do not snore,’ said Gussy. ‘And tell me who did it.’
　　‘Come on,’ said Bill. ‘I expect it was old Kiki. She’s done it before - to me! Can’t you see ajoke, Gus?’
　　Gus suddenly exploded into his own language. He stood there, shaking his long hair back, hisface scarlet, and a string of incomprehensible words coming from his mouth. Nobody understooda thing.
　　Kiki was intensely interested with this string of words she didn’t understand. She sat herself onJack’s shoulder, near to the angry Gus, and listened intently. When he stopped for breath, shecontinued on her own.
　　‘Gibberollydockeryblowykettlefussy-gussy,’ she began, and poured out strings of nonsense intowhich she wove many of the words she knew, mixed up with ones she didn’t! Everyone roared. Itsounded exactly as if Kiki was talking to Gus in his own language.
　　Gus was silenced. He stared at Kiki, amazed. ‘Does she spik English now?’ he demanded.
　　‘What does she spik?’
　　‘She’s spikking a lot of nonsense, bad bird!’ said Jack. ‘Be quiet, Kiki. Don’t show off!’
　　Bill and Mrs Cunningham had already set off down the hill. The girls followed, giggling. Guswas annoying but he really did provide them with a lot of amusement.
　　Gus followed them at last, shaking back his long hair defiantly. He spat now and again as if hestill had grass in his mouth, and Kiki copied him with joy, going off into cackles of laughter everynow and again.
　　It was about half-past five when they got back to Quarry Cottage. ‘If any of you want tea afterthat enormous lunch, will you please get yourself a glass of milk, and some biscuits?’ said MrsCunningham. ‘Or a bit of fruit cake if you feel real pangs of hunger?’
　　All the five children apparently felt real pangs, for they raided the larder and reduced thefruitcake to a mere fragment of itself. They also drank all the milk, much to Mrs Cunningham’sdismay.
　　‘Now we’ve none for your cocoa tonight or for breakfast tomorrow!’ she said.
　　‘I’ll get some at the farm when I slip up this evening,’ said Bill. ‘It will be a good excuse to goup and ask a few questions.’
　　‘Any mystery on?’ enquired Dinah. ‘I’m never sure about you, Bill! Even in the middle of aholiday I always wonder if you’ve got a hush-hush job on as well.’
　　‘Mystery or not, Bill always keeps his eyes open!’ said Philip. ‘It’s part of your job, isn’t it,Bill?’
　　‘Let’s play a game,’ said Dinah. ‘Where are the cards? Let’s play Racing Demon. Do you playit, Gus?’
　　‘I play it,’ said Gus. ‘I played it at school last term. I am good with this game. Very good. I goas fast as this.’
　　He pretended to be putting cards down, and was so vigorous that his hair fell over his eyes. Hepushed it back. He was always doing that, and it got on Dinah’s nerves.
　　‘Your long hair!’ she said. ‘It’s always in the way.’
　　‘Now don’t start anything,’ said Jack. ‘A spark is enough to set him off. Talk about beingtouchy! Don’t glare like that, Gus, you make me shake at the knees!’
　　‘Poof!’ said Gus, rudely.
　　‘Poof!’ said Kiki at once. ‘Poof, poof, poof!’
　　‘That’ll do,’ said Jack. ‘One poofer is quite enough in the family. Got the cards, Di? Oh, good!’
　　They were soon sitting in a ring on the floor, playing Racing Demon. Kiki couldn’t understandthe game at all and wandered off into a corner because Jack wouldn’t let her pick up any of thecards.
　　‘Poof!’ they heard her say to herself quietly. ‘Poof!’
　　Surprisingly enough Gussy was good at Racing Demon. He was very deft with his cards, andvery sharp to see which pile he could put them on. He got very excited, and panted loudly. Hishair fell over his eyes, and he pushed it back. Jack calmly put a card on a pile that Gus was justabout to put one on, and Gus exclaimed in annoyance.
　　‘I was going to put mine there - but my hair fell over me!’
　　‘Why do you have hair like that then?’ said Dinah. ‘It’s really very long. Why don’t you get itcut?’
　　‘Yes, that’s a good idea,’ said Philip, putting a card down. ‘We’ll go into the village tomorrowand see if there’s a barber. He’ll cut it shorter for you, Gus. You’ll get a crick in your neck, tossingyour hair about like that!’
　　‘Yes. Good idea! We’ll have it cut tomorrow,’ said Jack, grinning at Gus.
　　Gus surprised them. He flung down his cards, stood up, and went scarlet in the face. ‘Short hairis for boys like you,’ he said, scornfully. ‘It is not for me. Never must I have my hair short. In mycountry always it is the custom for such boys as me to wear their hair long!’
　　‘Such boys as you!’ echoed Jack. ‘What do you mean? You’ve got a very high opinion ofyourself, my lad. You may come from a rich family, but you act like royalty, and it won’t do.
　　You’re not a Prince, so don’t try and act like one. It only makes you ridiculous.’
　　Gus drew himself up to his last inch. He threw back his hair once more. ‘I am a Prince!’ he said,dramatically. ‘I am the Prince Aloysius Gramondie Racemolie Torquinel of Tauri-Hessia!’
第7章 令人惊讶的宣告
　　第7章 令人惊讶的宣告
　　在比尔说了那番话之后，菲利普和杰克对这辆车更感兴趣了。他们轮流关注着它，但是它只是停在那里，原地不动了二十分钟，然后就离开了，路线跟来的时候一样。
　　“它走了，比尔，”菲利普说，“我猜那只是游客。嗨，看看古斯！他的嘴张得可真大。
　　不如让我们往里边放点什么。”
　　“就让睡驴躺着吧！”杰克说，“别给琪琪灌输这种念头！否则她会四处去找东西丢进古斯的嘴里的。”
　　菲利普环顾四周，发现除了自己，就只有比尔和杰克醒着了。于是他把手伸进口袋，掏出了什么——一个棕色的、漂亮的小东西坐在了他的手上。
　　“哎呀！你搞到了一只榛睡鼠！好家伙！”杰克说，“别让黛娜看到它——她会昏过去的。”
　　“我在来这儿的路上得到它的。”菲利普说，“我看到它坐在一根树枝上，然后它就那么由着我把它拾起来了。”
　　“就是这样！”杰克满怀嫉妒地说，“你总是有一种魔力，菲利普。我还从没见过哪只动物不顺从你的咒语。它可真是个漂亮的小家伙。”
　　“我给它起了名字叫斯诺兹 [1] ，”菲利普说着，轻抚着那个小小的动物，它脑袋上那双黑色的大眼睛就好像镜子一样闪着光，“榛睡鼠是一种迟钝、贪睡的生物。下次去村里时，我必须记得从杂货店买些坚果了。斯诺兹会喜欢的。我们不告诉黛娜。它会在我的口袋里待得很舒服。我以前养过榛睡鼠的——它们都非常温顺。”
　　“只要你把手放在口袋里，就能感觉到毛茸茸的榛睡鼠，这可真棒！”杰克说，“嘿——我好像听到了什么声音？”
　　男孩们转头望向声音的来源。他们看到了两个人，显然都是农场工人，正从一条靠近山脚的路一边交谈着，一边走过来。
　　“我想我可以去问问他们是否知道獾的事情。”菲利普说，“杰克，一起？”
　　两个男孩跑下了山。男人们听到了他们的脚步声，抬头张望。“下午好，”杰克喘着粗气说，“你们介意我问一两个问题吗？关于獾。”
　　“獾——是指什么？”年轻一些的男人问道。
　　“呃，老弟——你知道的，山獾，”年纪大一些的男人说，“獾子，就是那些。”
　　“噢，獾子啊，”年轻的小伙子说，“不，俺对它们可啥也不知道。这辈子都没见过。”
　　“那是因为你每晚都睡在你的床上！”另一个男人大笑道，“獾子晚上出来。俺见过好多次。”
　　“你可是个偷猎老手，你是，杰布，”年轻的男人说，“在大半夜人们都好好睡觉的时候，偷偷地溜出去，这就是为什么你能看到獾子吧！”
　　“也许吧，大概。”年长的男人说，明亮的眼睛里闪烁着笑意。他转向男孩们，说：“你们为啥想知道獾子？”
　　“嗯——我希望能看看它们，”菲利普立即说，“我热爱所有的野生动物。虽然我还没有太多的机会看到獾。在这附近有什么地方我可以看到它们吗？我们就住在石场农舍。”
　　“啊，是那儿的话，”老人说，“那你会发现老獾子们离你不远，小少爷。你大概可以在农舍东边的林子里找到它们 [2] ——那是最有可能的地方——也许你也可以在旧采石场看到。俺就在那儿发现过一只安了家的——它的窝，你知道——就在去年。那儿有一大堆它挖出来的泥土，所以俺知道它的洞就在底下。”
　　“没错——那就对了。它总是那么做。”菲利普说，他真希望自己可以结识这个老伙计，因为一定可以从他那儿听到很多故事，“好的，非常感谢。两个地方我们都会去看看的。”
　　“石场里还有鸮，”老人说，“小鸮、仓鸮和灰林鸮。它们去那儿抓耗子吃。俺听到过它们——仓鸮——伸着头大叫。它们简直能把人的魂吓掉！”
　　“我知道。”杰克立刻决定了要去旧采石场看看。他非常喜欢鸮。也许他可以搞到一只年幼的，然后驯服它。但他必须小心，不能让它看到榛睡鼠，否则斯诺兹可就完了！
　　男孩们一起走开了，开始探索这座圆锥山的其他地方。这时，从山顶传来了召唤他们的喊声。
　　“杰克！菲利普！我们马上就要回去了。你们是想跟我们一起走，还是晚一些再走？”
　　“我们这就来。”杰克喊道，然后他和菲利普就爬上去与其他人会合了。他们发现古斯已经醒了，但皱着眉头。当他们走过去的时候，他正呸呸呸地从嘴里吐出一些东西。
　　“礼貌，注意举止！”杰克责备地说。
　　“他说有人把几根草放进了他的嘴里，”黛娜咯咯地笑着说，“所以他一直在把它们吐出来。杰克，是你放的吗？”
　　“不是，”杰克说，“也不是菲利普。”
　　“你听到了！”黛娜得意扬扬地转向愠怒的古斯，“没人在你睡觉的时候把任何东西放进你的嘴里。你在编瞎话。我打赌是你自己吃了什么草。”
　　“我没有。”古斯说，“这是个顽厉（劣）的事。它差点塞住我。我被塞住了。”
　　“你是说噎住。”露西安说，“好吧，这真神秘。没有人做这事——你却差点被草‘塞住’。别再吐了。你现在嘴里不可能还留下什么东西了。”
　　杰克和菲利普快速地交换了一个眼神。他们非常清楚是谁对可怜的古斯做了这个恶作剧。古斯注意到了他们的眼神，来回巡视着他们：“你们知道是谁做的！我看到了！”
　　“好吧。我们知道是谁做的，”杰克说，“太好玩了。我们本来打算自己做的，当时你大张着嘴打呼噜，看起来傻极了。”
　　“我不打呼噜，”古斯说，“告诉我谁做的。”
　　“行啦，”比尔说，“我猜是老琪琪干的。她以前就对我干过！古斯，你没发现这只是个玩笑吗？”
　　古斯突然用他自己的母语爆发了。他站在那里，长发被甩到背后，脸涨得通红，吐出一大串别人听不懂的话。没人能理解一个单词。
　　琪琪被这串听起来好像胡言乱语的字符挑起了极大的兴趣。她蹲在杰克的肩膀上，就在愤怒的古斯旁边，专心地听着。当他停下来喘气时，她接了上去。
　　“叽里咕噜滚码头工起风啦水壶费事古斯，”她倒出了一长串毫无意义的、由她熟知的和不熟悉的词语捏在一起编出的胡话。所有的人都大笑起来。这听起来简直就像琪琪用自己的语言和古斯对话。
　　古斯沉默下来。他惊愕地瞪着琪琪，“她是在索（说）英语？”他问道，“她在索（说）什么？”
　　“她在索（说）各种胡言乱语，就像你一样！”杰克说，“安静，琪琪！别嘚瑟了！”
　　比尔和坎宁安夫人已经下山了。女孩们跟在后边，咯咯地笑着。古斯虽然很烦人，但他的确给他们提供了很多快乐。
　　古斯走在最后，傲然地摇着头。他一次又一次地吐口水，就好像还有草在他嘴里似的，琪琪开心地跟着学，每次都能引发一片咯咯的笑声。
　　大约五点半的时候，他们回到了石场农舍。“如果有人在那顿丰盛的午餐之后还想吃下午茶，就去自己拿牛奶和曲奇。”坎宁安夫人说，“或者拿块水果蛋糕，如果你们真的非常饿了的话。”
　　五个孩子显然都真的非常饿了，他们风卷残云般地消灭了水果蛋糕和所有的牛奶，大大超出了坎宁安夫人的预料。
　　“现在我们可没法准备你们今晚的可可还有明天的早餐了！”她说。
　　“今晚去农场的时候我会带一些回来，”比尔说，“正好可以去那儿问些事情，这是个不错的借口。”
　　“又有什么机密吗？”黛娜问道，“比尔，你总是让我怀疑！就算正在度假，我也总怀疑你是不是还在做一些秘密工作。”
　　“不管有没有机密工作，比尔总是保持着警惕的！”菲利普说，“那是你工作的一部分，对吧，比尔？”
　　“咱们玩游戏吧，”黛娜说，“卡牌放哪里了？让我们来玩赛车恶魔。你玩吗，古斯？”
　　“我玩，”古斯说，“上学期我在学校玩过这个。这个游戏我玩得很好。非常好。我可以走得这么快。”
　　他模拟发出卡牌的动作，但是太过用力，以至于头发都甩到了眼睛上，然后不得不把它拢回去。他总是这样做，弄得黛娜有点神经兮兮。
　　“你这可怕的头发！”她说，“你真应该是个女孩。”
　　“别挑事儿，”杰克说，“一个火花就能点炸他了。小心措辞！别那么瞪着我，古斯，你吓得我膝盖发抖了！”
　　“呸！”古斯粗鲁地回道。
　　“呸！”琪琪立刻说，“呸，呸，呸！”
　　“够了，”杰克说，“家里有一个呸呸就够了。找到卡牌了，黛娜？哦，太好了！”
　　他们很快在地板上围成一圈坐了下来，开始玩赛车恶魔。琪琪完全无法理解这个游戏，于是晃到屋角去了，因为杰克不允许她叼起任何一张牌。
　　“呸！”他们听到她静静地对自己嘟囔，“呸！”
　　令人非常惊讶的是古斯确实擅长赛车恶魔。他用牌十分灵活，对于该把牌放到哪一堆上很是敏锐。他变得兴奋起来，大声喘着气。他的头发又落到眼睛上了，于是他把它推了回去。就在这时，杰克已经静静地把一张牌放到了原本古斯打算放的那摞牌堆上，这让古斯恼火地叫了起来。
　　“我正打算把牌放在那儿——但是我被头发挡住了！”
　　“那你为什么要把你的头发搞成那样？”黛娜说，“你这样看起来就像个女孩。你为什么不把它剪短？”
　　“没错，这是个好主意，”菲利普说着放下了一张牌，“我们明天就去村子里看看那里有没有理发师。他一定会帮你剪个适合你的漂亮短发。你如果一直这么把头发甩来甩去，脖子会得痉挛的。”
　　“对。好主意！我们明天就把它剪短。”杰克说着，对着古斯咧嘴一笑。
　　然而古斯接下来的举动却惊到了他们。男孩把手里的牌扔下，站了起来，脸变得通红。“短发只适合你们这样的男孩，”他轻蔑地说，“它不适合我。我的头发永远不可能剪短。我的国家的习俗从来都是像我这样的男孩会留长发！”
　　“像你这样的男孩！”杰克学舌道，“你什么意思？我的娃娃，你对自己评价过高了。你也许来自一个有钱的家庭，但你做事却像来自王室，这可不行。你不是王子，所以不要试着去装作一个王子，那只会让你看起来很可笑。”
　　古斯用力挺直身体，并再次把头发甩了回去。“我是王子！”他戏剧性地宣称道，“我就是特瑞赫西亚的阿洛伊修斯•格兰蒙迪•瑞思莫列•托奇尼尔王子！”
　　[1]斯诺兹，“贪睡鬼”的音译。
　　[2]原文为了体现农场工人的文化水平不高，特地用了比较混乱的单复数和称呼，还有一些用词错误。很难直译。按中文乡村的语言习惯做了适当调整。
8 Bill explains
　　8
　　Bill explains
　　There was a dead silence after this dramatic announcement. Nobody said a word, not even Kiki.
　　They all stared in astonishment at Gus, not knowing whether to believe a word of what he hadsaid.
　　Then his lips began to shake, and he tried to press them together firmly. Lucy-Ann was sure hewanted to cry again!
　　‘I have broke my word!’ suddenly wailed Gus. ‘I am a Prince and I have broke my word!’
　　A voice came from behind them. It was Bill’s.
　　‘Yes, you have broken your word, Aloysius Gramondie Racemolie Torquinel. And your uncletold me you would never do that. How am I to keep you safe if you break your word?’
　　Bill came forward, his face stern. Everyone stared at him in alarm. Whatever was up?
　　‘Bill - he’s not really a Prince, is he?’ said Jack.
　　‘Believe it or not, he is,’ said Bill. ‘His uncle is the King of Tauri-Hessia.’
　　‘Well! That explains his peculiar behaviour,’ said Dinah. ‘His ordering people about - and hishigh and mighty airs - and all his money and boasting.’
　　‘And his long hair too,’ said Bill. ‘The Princes in his country never have their hair cut short asours do. They wear it a certain length, as you see. It’s bad luck on him, really, because he getsteased. Still, the boys at his school knew who he was and knew he couldn’t help it, and he didn’thave too bad a time.’
　　There was a pause while the four took a look at Prince Aloysius. He shook back his hair andDinah groaned.
　　‘I wish you wouldn’t do that, Gussy. I can’t call you Ally - Ally-something or other. You’llhave to go on being Gussy.’
　　‘Oh, he must,’ said Bill, at once. ‘I gave him the name of Gustavus Barmilevo for a specialreason. Things - rather serious things - are happening in his country at the moment, and it’sessential that he should go under another name here.’
　　‘What serious things are happening?’ said Jack. ‘Revolts or something?’
　　‘Well, I’ll tell you,’ said Bill. ‘His uncle is King, and as he has no children, Gussy is the heir tothe throne. Now there are certain people in Tauri-Hessia who don’t like his uncle or the firm wayin which he governs the country. Incidentally he governs it very well, and our own Governmentthinks him a very sound ruler.’
　　‘I can guess what’s coming,’ said Jack. ‘Those who don’t like the strong uncle think it would bea good thing to get a weak youngster, who’ll have to do what they tell him, and put him on thethrone. Then they can do as they like!’
　　‘Exactly,’ said Bill. ‘And so they are on the look-out for Gussy here. If they can get hold of himand put him on the throne, he will have to do exactly what he’s told. His uncle will be imprisonedor killed.’
　　‘And Gussy knows all this, does he?’ asked Philip.
　　‘He knows all right!’ said Bill. ‘Everything was explained to him. He’s fond of his uncle; hedoesn’t want to be used as a kind of pawn by his uncle’s enemies - and so he was put in mykeeping, and told to be merely a foreign schoolboy called Gustavus. And here he is.’
　　‘I have broke my word to you,’ said Gussy, sounding very doleful. ‘Mr Bill, I ask you to pardonme.’
　　‘Well, don’t do it again, that’s all,’ said Bill. ‘Nobody here is likely to give you away,fortunately - we are all your friends - or would like to be if only you’d behave yourself a bitbetter.’
　　‘I behave better at once immediately,’ said Gussy, emphatically.
　　‘Hm. Well, we’ll see,’ said Bill, drily. ‘It would help considerably if you could try to behavelike the others so that if any stranger comes hanging round he’ll think you are an ordinaryschoolboy staying with friends. At present I think you’re behaving rather stupidly, not like aPrince at all. In fact, if I were a Tauri-Hessian citizen, I’d be sorry to think I’d have you as Kingwhen you grew up.’
　　‘Bill - is it the Tauri-Hessian Government or ours that has asked you to have charge of Gussy?’
　　said Dinah.
　　‘Both,’ said Bill. ‘It’s important to both Governments that there should be a sound, strong rulerin Tauri-Hessia. I can’t tell you why at present. I think it’s possible that all this will blow over in afew weeks, and then Gussy can go back to school in safety. In the meantime, we’ve got to makethe best of all this.’
　　‘Yes. I see everything now,’ said Dinah. ‘You should have told us at first. Bill. We’d haveunderstood better.’
　　‘I had orders not to say a word except to your mother,’ said Bill. ‘She had to be in on this, ofcourse. I took this cottage because it was well hidden and nobody would guess that Gussy wouldbe here. And I thought if you all came too, he would be even better hidden - hidden in the midst ofyou, one of many, so to speak.’
　　‘You’re clever, Bill,’ said Lucy-Ann, slipping her hand in his. ‘We’ll look after Gussy. Wewon’t let him out of our sight. Gussy, we’re your friends.’
　　‘I thank you,’ said Gussy, with a funny little bow. ‘It is an honour.’
　　‘That’s the way to talk,’ said Bill, and gave him a clap on the back. ‘Now then, everyone -you’ve got to forget all about Aloysius Gramondie and Tauri-Hessia. Got that?’
　　‘Yes, Bill,’ said everyone. They looked rather solemn. It was peculiar to have serious andunusual problems suddenly presented to them candidly in the middle of a game of Racing Demon.
　　The ordinary and the extraordinary didn’t really mix. They turned with relief to their game again,as Bill went out of the room to find his wife and tell her what had happened.
　　‘Look what Kiki’s been doing while we’ve been talking!’ said Jack, in exasperation. ‘Mixing upall the cards. Put down the ones you’re holding, Kiki!’
　　‘She’s been playing a quiet little game by herself,’ said Lucy-Ann, with a laugh. ‘And she’sholding two cards in her foot eactly as if she was waiting for her turn to go. Put them down, Kiki.’
　　‘One, two, three, six, eight, four, one,’ said Kiki, getting her numbers muddled up as usual.
　　‘Three, four, buckle my shoe.’
　　‘One, two, buckle my shoe,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Your memory’s going, Kiki!’
　　Kiki gave a hiccup, as she often did when she thought she had made a mistake.
　　‘Enough, Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘Anyone want another game?’
　　Nobody really felt like one after all the revelations Bill had made. They didn’t like to discussthem in front of Gussy, though they were longing to talk about them.
　　Mrs Cunningham put her head in at the door. ‘Bill’s going up to the farm for milk. Anyonewant to go with him? Not Gussy, he says.’
　　‘I’ll go,’ said Lucy-Ann, scrambling up. ‘I’d like a walk. You boys stay with Aunt Allie, andlook after her.’
　　‘Right,’ said Jack, thinking it was just as well to do so, with prospective kidnappers andrevolutionaries about, even although they might be as far away as Tauri-Hessia.
　　‘I’ll stay behind too,’ said Dinah. ‘I’ve got a blister on my foot.’
　　So Lucy-Ann went off happily with Bill. She liked getting him alone. He was always jolly andfull of fun when they were all together, but Lucy-Ann thought he was even nicer alone. Sheslipped her hand through his arm, and they walked off in the dusk together.
　　‘In case you want to say anything about Gussy, I’ll just warn you not to,’ said Bill, in a lowvoice. ‘I don’t want the slightest suspicions to get about that he’s not all he seems. It would be avery serious thing for him if he were forced to be King at his age.’
　　‘I won’t say anything,’ said Lucy-Ann in a whisper. ‘Let’s talk about Jack.’
　　‘You’re always ready to talk about Jack, aren’t you?’ said Bill, amused. ‘Well, I must say thatJack has got something I’d dearly like to have myself.’
　　‘What’s that? Kiki?’ asked Lucy-Ann.
　　‘No - a very nice little sister,’ said Bill. ‘It’s good to see a brother and sister so fond of oneanother.’
　　‘Well, our mother and father died when we were very young,’ said Lucy-Ann, ‘so we only hadeach other. But now we’ve got you and Aunt Allie, and we’ve got Philip and Dinah as well. We’relucky!’
　　‘I’m lucky too,’ said Bill. ‘A nice ready-made family for me! Hark at the owls hooting round.
　　What a collection of hoots!’
　　‘That was the little owl,’ said Lucy-Ann, who had been well trained in bird calls by Jack. ‘That“tvit-tvit-tvit” noise. And that lovely long quavering hoot is the tawny owl.’
　　‘And what in the world is that?’ said Bill, suddenly startled by a loud screech near his head.
　　Lucy-Ann laughed.
　　‘The screech owl - the old barn owl!’ she said. ‘He does that to frighten the mice and the rats.’
　　‘Well, he scared me too,’ said Bill. ‘Ah - is that the farmhouse looming up? It is. You come inwith me, Lucy-Ann, and don’t be surprised at my conversation with Mrs Ellis!’
　　They knocked at the door and went into the big, cosy kitchen. Although it was a warm nightthere was a fire in the chimney corner, and old Aunt Naomi sat there, knitting, huddled up in ashawl.
　　Mrs Ellis hurried to meet them. ‘Well, it’s good to see you! And how are you getting on?
　　Settled in nicely? That’s right. Now, what can I do for you? Sit you down, do!’
　　They sat down. Lucy-Ann found a rocking chair and began to rock to and fro. A big tabby cameand jumped into her lap, settled down and went to sleep. Lucy-Ann felt quite honoured.
　　Mrs Ellis brought her a piece of cake, and she nibbled at it and listened lazily to Bill. He gaveMrs Ellis all the news first. Then he went on to talk about Quarry Cottage.
　　‘It’s a lovely, peaceful spot,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t think strangers ever come along here, do they,Mrs Ellis? Except people like ourselves who want to stay for a bit.’
　　‘Now, it’s funny you should say that,’ said Mrs Ellis, ‘because two strangers came to ourfarmhouse this very afternoon - in a lovely black car. Rather like yours, Mr Cunningham.’
　　‘I suppose they lost their way,’ said Bill. Although he spoke in his ordinary voice Lucy-Annknew that he had pricked up his ears at once.
　　‘No, they hadn’t lost their way,’ said Mrs Ellis. ‘They’d been hunting round for a nicefarmhouse to stay in for a few days - the man’s wife has been ill, and simply longed to be in aquiet farmhouse, with good food. Somebody told him of our farm, and they came to enquire.’
　　‘I see,’ said Bill. ‘And - er - did you say you would take them, Mrs Ellis?’
　　‘I did,’ said Mrs Ellis, ‘though my husband scolded me for it. He says my kind heart runs awaywith me! They’re coming tomorrow. They said their name was Jones - but it’s my belief they’reforeigners!’
　　‘Foreigners,’ said Bill, slowly. ‘Yes - I had an idea you were going to say that!’
第8章 比尔的解释
　　第8章 比尔的解释
　　这个戏剧性的宣告换来了一片死一样的寂静。没有人说一句话，甚至连琪琪也沉默了。他们都瞠目结舌地盯着古斯，不知道是否该相信他说的任何一个字。
　　然后他的嘴唇开始颤抖，虽然他试图把它们紧紧地抿在一起。露西安很确信他又要哭了！
　　“我食言了！”古斯突然痛哭起来，“我是个王子，我食言了！”
　　一个声音从他们的后边传来。那是比尔的声音。
　　“是啊，你破约了。阿洛伊修斯•格兰蒙迪•瑞思莫列•托奇尼尔。你叔叔告诉过我你永远不会这么做的。现在让我怎么保证你的安全，在你违背了你的话之后？”
　　比尔走了过来，脸色严峻。每个人都惊恐地盯着他。到底发生了什么？
　　“比尔——他不可能真的是王子，对吧？”杰克说。
　　“不管你信不信，他就是，”比尔说，“他叔叔是特瑞赫西亚的国王。”
　　“好吧！这就解释了他那些古怪的行为，”黛娜说，“他对别人发号施令——他的高傲自负——以及其他所有的，他的钱和吹嘘。”
　　“也包括他的长发，”比尔说，“在他的国家，王子从不会像我们这样把头发剪短。他们把它保持在一个固定的长度，就像你们看到的一样。对他来说这事真的是厄运，因为他会因此被戏弄。好在他的同学知道他是谁，也知道他对此毫无办法。所以他的日子过得还不算太坏。”
　　空气沉默了片刻，四个孩子瞥了阿洛伊修斯一眼。他再次把头发向后甩去，黛娜发出了一声呻吟。
　　“我希望你没那么做，古斯。我没法叫你阿洛——阿洛什么鬼还是其他的什么。你不得不继续当古斯。”
　　“哦，他必须是古斯。”比尔马上说，“我给他古斯塔夫斯•巴米莱沃这个假名是有特殊原因的。他的国家正在发生一些事——一些非常严重的事情。所以他必须以另一个名字待在这里。”
　　“是什么严重的事情？”杰克问，“叛乱还是什么？”
　　“好吧，我来告诉你们，”比尔说，“他的叔叔是国王，并且没有孩子。所以古斯是第一顺位继承人。但现在有些特瑞赫西亚人不喜欢他的叔叔，特别是他治理国家的铁腕手段。
　　顺便说一句，他治理得很好，我们的政府认为他是一位非常明智的统治者。”
　　“我大概猜得到接下来发生了什么，”杰克说，“那些不喜欢强大的叔叔的人觉得，让一个纤弱的孩子坐上王位会是件好事，他会听从他们。这样他们就可以为所欲为了！”
　　“没错，”比尔说，“所以他们现在到这里来找古斯。如果他们能控制住他，把他推上王位，他就不得不按照他们的指示做每一件事。他的叔叔则会被囚禁或者被谋杀。”
　　“古斯清楚这一切，对吗？”菲利普问。
　　“他完全清楚！”比尔说，“每件事都向他解释过了。他喜欢他的叔叔，也不想成为他叔叔敌人手中的棋子——所以他才被放在我的保护下，对外宣称他只是个叫作古斯塔夫斯的外国学生，然后被带到这里。”
　　“我违背了答应你的话，”古斯说，他的语气听起来非常沮丧，“比尔先生，我请求您原谅我。”
　　“呃，下次别再做了，就这样。”比尔说，“幸运的是，这里没有人想把你送走——我们都是你的朋友——或者只要你表现得好一点，就会成为你的朋友。”
　　“我立刻，马上就表现得更好。”古斯断然地说。
　　“嗯。好吧，我们拭目以待，”比尔严肃地说，“如果你的行为举止能做到跟其他人一样，那将会对现状有很大的帮助。这样的话，一旦有任何陌生人找到附近，他也只会认为你是一个跟朋友们待在一起的普通学生。可在我看来，你现在的行为更像一个被惯坏了的婴儿，而不是一个王子。实际上，如果我是特瑞赫西亚的公民，我会很不愿去想将来你长大之后自己要奉你为王。”
　　“比尔——是特瑞赫西亚的政府还是我们的政府希望你照顾古斯的？”黛娜问。
　　“他们都是。”比尔说，“两国政府都认为，特瑞赫西亚应该保有一个明智而强大的统治者，这是非常重要的。我现在没法告诉你为什么。我相信几周后所有这些事就会有所变化，然后古斯就能安全地回学校了。但就目前来说，我们必须把一切都处理好。”
　　“好的。一切都清楚了，”黛娜说，“你应该一开始就告诉我们，比尔，那样的话我们会更理解。”
　　“我得到的指令是除了你妈妈之外，我不能说一个字，”比尔说，“当然，她没法不被卷进来。我订了这个农舍就是因为它很隐蔽，没人会猜到古斯在这儿。如果你们都来的话，我认为它会更不显眼——藏在你们中间，许多中的某一个，可以这么说。”
　　“你很机智，比尔，”露西安说，把自己的手放到他的手上，“我们会照顾古斯的。我们不会让他离开我们的视线。古斯，我们是你的朋友。”
　　“我对你们表示感激，”古斯说，并微微行了一个有些滑稽的躬身礼，“这是我的荣幸。”
　　“这样就对了。”比尔说，并拍了他一下，“那么现在，所有的人——你们都已经不记得阿洛伊修斯•格兰蒙迪和特瑞赫西亚相关的所有事了。明白了吗？”
　　“明白，比尔。”每个人都应道。他们看起来很庄重。这感觉有点奇怪，在恶魔赛车的游戏中途，突然在他们面前直白地展开如此严肃而不寻常的议题。平凡的和不平凡的部分并没有真正地混在一起。当他们重新回到游戏上时，都松了口气。比尔则离开了房间去找自己的妻子，准备告诉她刚刚发生的事情。
　　“看看我们谈话的时候琪琪都干了什么！”杰克有些恼火地说，“所有的牌都被混在一起了。放下你举着的牌，琪琪！”
　　“她一直都在独自玩一个安静的小游戏，”露西安笑着说，“她现在用爪子抓着两张牌的样子，就好像在等着轮到她出牌似的。把它们放下来，琪琪。”
　　“一，二，三，六，八，四，一，”琪琪说着，她数起数字跟往常一样混乱，“三，四，系（是）我的鞋子。”
　　“一，二，系（是）我的鞋子，”露西安说，“你又记错了，琪琪！”
　　琪琪打了个嗝，就像以往她以为自己犯了错误时常常会做的那样。
　　“够了，琪琪，”杰克说，“有谁还想重玩一局吗？”
　　在比尔带来那些震撼之后，其实他们都没什么真正继续玩的心情了。虽然他们很想讨论那些事，但并不想当着古斯的面。
　　这时，坎宁安夫人把头探进了门口：“比尔准备去农场弄些牛奶，他说，除了古斯，有人想跟他一起去吗？”
　　“我去，”露西安说着站了起来，“正好我想散散步。你们这些男孩留下来吧，照看艾莉阿姨。”
　　“好。”杰克说，他也觉得这样最好。毕竟还有潜在的绑匪和革命者呢，尽管他们也许离得跟特瑞赫西亚一样远。
　　“我也留下来，”黛娜说，“我脚上起了个水疱。”
　　于是露西安开心地和比尔离开了。她喜欢跟他独处。虽然当他们所有人在一起的时候，比尔总是充满快乐和风趣，但是露西安却觉得独处的时候他显得更好。她把手挎进比尔的臂弯，同他一起在暮色中走着。
　　“以防万一你想谈到关于古斯的任何事情，我只是再提醒你一次。”比尔低声说道，“我不想招来一点哪怕最轻微的对他的伪装的怀疑。如果在这个年龄就被迫当上国王，对他来说后果会是非常严重的。”
　　“我什么都不会说的，”露西安也悄声地回道，“我们来聊聊杰克吧。”
　　“你总是打算聊聊杰克，不是吗？”比尔好笑地说，“好吧，我不得不说，杰克有一些我非常希望自己也能拥有的东西。”
　　“是什么？琪琪吗？”露西安问道。
　　“不——一个非常棒的小妹妹，”比尔说，“我很高兴能看到一对兄妹是如此珍爱对方。”
　　“呃，我们的父母在我们很小的时候就死了，”露西安说，“所以我们只有彼此。但是现在我们已经有了你和艾莉阿姨，还有菲利普和黛娜。我们很幸运！”
　　“我也很幸运，”比尔说，“直接得到一个现成的、美好的家庭！啊，听听周围这些鸮的鸣叫。多么丰富的叫声！”
　　“那是小鸮，”露西安说，关于鸟鸣声，她曾经得到过杰克非常不错的培训，“那个‘特维——特维’的声音，那边的那个长长的可爱的颤音是灰林鸮发出来的。”
　　“天哪，那又是什么？”比尔的头附近有一只鸟突然爆出了非常大声的尖叫，把他吓了一跳。露西安大笑起来。
　　“那是鸣角鸮——一种很老的仓鸮！” [1] 她说，“它这样做是为了吓唬老鼠。”
　　“好吧，也吓到我了，”比尔说，“啊——好像可以看到农家院了？没错。你和我一起进去，露西安，但不要对我和伊莉斯太太的谈话感到惊讶！”
　　他们敲了门，走进了一个宽敞舒适的厨房。虽然这是个温暖的夜晚，壁炉里还生着火，但坐着织东西的老娜奥米婶婶整个人都蜷缩在一条披肩里。
　　伊莉斯太太急忙迎向他们：“啊，很高兴见到你们！你们安顿得怎么样了？一切都好？
　　那就好。现在，我能为你们做点什么？来先坐下吧，坐！”
　　他们坐了下来。露西安找了一把摇椅，前后晃着。一只大猫走过来跳到了她的腿上，趴下来开始打盹，露西安简直觉得受宠若惊。
　　伊莉斯太太给她拿来了一块蛋糕。她一边小口地吃着，一边懒洋洋地听着比尔说话。
　　他先把近况告诉了伊莉斯太太，然后开始谈论石场农舍。
　　“那真是个美丽安宁的地方。”他说，“我猜陌生人一般不会来这儿，是不是，伊莉斯太太？除了像我们这种打算待一段时间的人。”
　　“啊，说起这个还真有趣，”伊莉斯太太说，“因为就在今天下午，两个陌生人进了我们的院子——他们开着一辆非常不错的黑色汽车。跟你的差不多，坎宁安先生。”
　　“我猜他们是迷路了。”比尔说。尽管他平静的声音一如既往，露西安却知道他的耳朵已经立即竖了起来。
　　“不，他们没有迷路，”伊莉斯太太道，“他们想找一家好的农家院，待上几天——那个男人的妻子病了，只想找个安静的、有上好食物的农舍休养一段时间。有人告诉了他我们的农场，于是他们过来打听一下。”
　　“我明白了，”比尔说，“嗯——所以——你会让他们住下吗，伊莉斯太太？”
　　“是的，”伊莉斯太太说，“虽然我丈夫因为这个骂了我。他说我是滥好人！这两个人明天过来。他们说他们姓琼斯——但我觉得他们是外国人！”
　　“外国人，”比尔沉吟道，“没错——我猜大概就是这样！”
　　[1]此处原文有误。鸣角鸮与仓鸮虽然同属鸮形目，但前者属于鸱鸮科，后者属于草鸮科，并不是同一类。
9 An afternoon out
　　9
　　An afternoon out
　　Lucy-Ann stopped rocking the chair, and her heart sank into her shoes. Foreigners! Did that meanthey were from Tauri-Hessia, or whatever the country was - and had they tracked down Gussy?
　　Oh dear - surely, surely another adventure wasn’t beginning! This had seemed as if it would besuch a nice peaceful holiday.
　　‘Blow!’ whispered Lucy-Ann to the cat on her knee. ‘Blow Gussy! Blow his uncle!’
　　Bill asked a few more cautious questions, but Mrs Ellis had nothing else to tell him of anyinterest. He got up, took the milk she had brought him from the dairy, and paid her. He thankedher, said good night, and out he and Lucy-Ann went, into the starry night.
　　‘I fear - I very much fear - that somebody is on Gussy’s track,’ said Bill, in a half-whisper asthey went along together. ‘Now, how could they have guessed he was with us? It’s a pity he’s sostriking-looking, and so easily recognizable. I suppose someone must have spotted him with me,made enquiries about me - and as soon as they knew who I was, the rest would be easy. Hm! Idon’t like it very much.’
　　‘Will you and Gussy have to disappear from here?’ whispered Lucy-Ann, so softly that Billcould hardly hear. ‘Please don’t go away, Bill.’
　　‘I’ll have to discuss things with your aunt,’ said Bill. ‘Don’t say a word to Gussy. He’ll get thewind up properly, if I know anything about him. And on no account must any of you leave himalone anywhere - always keep him in your midst.’
　　‘Yes, Bill,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Oh dear - I do wish those people weren’t going to the farm. Bill,they might be ordinary people, mightn’t they? They haven’t got to be enemies, have they?’
　　Bill squeezed Lucy-Ann’s hand. ‘No. I may be wrong. But I get hunches about these things,Lucy-Ann. And I’ve got a hunch this very minute. You needn’t worry. I shan’t let anythinghappen.’
　　‘Well - so long as you’re with us,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘But please don’t go away, Bill.’
　　‘I won’t,’ said Bill. ‘Not unless I take Gussy with me, which would really be the safest thing todo.’
　　They reached Quarry Cottage, and went in. Gussy and Dinah had gone to bed. Aunt Allie andthe boys were still up, reading.
　　Bill put the milk in the larder and came back. He sat down and told the three of them what MrsEllis had said. Mrs Cunningham looked grave.
　　‘How did they know he was down here?’ she wondered. ‘Oh, Bill - what shall we do now?
　　Shall we leave here at once - all of us?’
　　‘No. That would tell the enemy too much,’ said Bill. ‘I don’t see that two people - a man and awoman - can do very much by themselves - I mean they can’t fall on us and wrest Gussy awayfrom our midst! As long as there are only the two of them we haven’t much to fear - and Mrs Elliswill soon tell us if any more arrive. One of the boys can go up each day for milk, and get the latestnews.’
　　‘Right. We’ll go on as we are then,’ said his wife, and Lucy-Ann heaved a sigh of relief. ‘You’lltell Gussy of course, Bill - put him on his guard? He’s got to be very sensible now - keep with usall, not wander away - and I’m afraid the boys must fasten their window at night.’
　　‘Blow!’ said Jack, who hated a shut window at night. ‘Kiki’s enough of a sentinel, Aunt Allie.
　　She would screech the place down if anyone came.’
　　‘I’d feel safer with your window shut,’ said his aunt. ‘I think Kiki would screech. Still - I don’twant to run any risks.’
　　Gussy was told the next morning, and so was Dinah. Philip was posted up by the farm to watchthe new people arrive. They came in the same black car that Philip had seen through his fieldglasses the day before. It was long and low and large - and very expensive-looking.
　　‘A Daimler,’ said Philip. ‘I bet that can get along! Now - can I spot what the visitors are like?’
　　There were two. One was a spruce, tall, lean man, wearing a very well cut suit, an eyeglass inone eye, and hair smoothly brushed back. The other was a woman - pretty, young and with a veryforeign voice. The man spoke English well, but he was obviously a foreigner too.
　　He handed the woman out very carefully indeed. Then she leaned on his arm as they walked upthe path to the farmhouse door. They went very slowly.
　　‘Either she’s been ill or she’s pretending to be,’ thought Philip. ‘I’d better go back and tell Bill -and Gussy too. He may recognize them from my description.’
　　But Gussy didn’t. He shook his head. ‘No, I don’t know them.’
　　‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they come along here sometime today,’ said Bill. ‘Just to have asnoop round. I feel sure they know I’m at this cottage - and that Gussy may be with you all onholiday!’
　　Bill was right. That afternoon, while Jack was bird-watching near the house, he heard the soundof voices. He peeped through the bushes. It must be the visitors from the farm! The man had aneyeglass in his eye, as Philip had described - and the woman was walking slowly, leaning on hisarm.
　　Jack sped indoors by the back way. ‘Bill! he called. ‘They’re coming. Where’s Gussy? Hecould peep at them as they go by and see if he knows them!’
　　Gussy ran to a front window and hid behind the curtain, waiting. But the couple from the farmdidn’t go by! They turned in at the front gate and came right up to the cottage door. A sharp soundcame on the afternoon air.
　　Rat-a-tatta- TAT !
　　Mrs Cunningham jumped. She was having a rest on her bed. Bill opened the door and went in.
　　‘Allie! It’s the couple from the farm. What nerve to come right to the house! They obviouslydon’t think that we suspect anything at all. Will you go down and open the door? I shan’t appear -and Gussy mustn’t either. The others can, of course.’
　　Bill went to tell Gussy to keep out of the way and Mrs Cunningham ran down the stairs to thefront door, patting her hair tidy. She opened it.
　　Two people stood on the step, a man and a woman. The man raised his hat politely.
　　‘Forgive this sudden visit,’ he said, ‘but my wife and I were taking a short walk, and she hasbegun to feel faint. A cup of water would help her, I think - if you would be so kind?’
　　‘Oh - do come in,’ said Mrs Cunningham, hoping that Gussy wouldn’t come running down thestairs. ‘I’ll get some water.’
　　She took them into the little sitting-room. The woman sank down into a chair and closed hereyes.
　　‘My wife has been ill,’ said the man. ‘I have brought her down to the farm for a few days -good air, and good food, you know - better than any hotel! But I should not have taken her so faron her first day.’
　　‘I’m so sorry,’ said Mrs Cunningham, playing her part as best she could. ‘Dinah! Where areyou? Get a jug of water and a glass, will you, dear?’
　　Dinah sped to the kitchen, and came back with a glass jug of ice-cold water, and a glass on alittle tray. She put them down on the table and looked curiously at the couple. They looked back ather.
　　‘And is this your daughter?’ said the woman. ‘What a nice child! Have you any other children?’
　　‘Oh yes,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Another of my own and two adopted ones. Fetch them,Dinah.’
　　Dinah went to fetch the others. They came in politely, Lucy-Ann, Philip and Jack. The womanscreamed when she saw Kiki on Jack’s shoulder.
　　‘A parrot! Don’t let it come near me, I beg of you!’
　　‘Wipe your feet,’ ordered Kiki. ‘Shut the door. Grrrrrrrrr!’
　　The woman gave an exclamation in a foreign language, and said something to the man. Helaughed.
　　‘My wife says that people who come to visit you should have good manners, or your parrot willsoon teach them,’ he said. ‘So these are your four children. But have you not a fifth?’
　　‘No,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Only these four belong to me.’
　　‘I thought Mrs Ellis said there was another little boy,’ said the woman, sipping the water.
　　Mrs Cunningham reached for the jug and refilled the woman’s glass, hoping that she would notpursue the subject of the ‘other little boy’. But the woman persisted.
　　‘Perhaps you have a little boy staying with you?’ she said, sweetly, smiling at Mrs Cunningham.
　　‘Oh, I expect Mrs Ellis means Gussy,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Little Gussy is staying for awhile - till his family can take him home.’
　　‘And may we not see the little Gussy?’ said the woman. ‘I love children. Do not leave this littleGussy out.’
　　‘Anyone know where he is?’ said Mrs Cunningham, in a voice that made the four children quitecertain that she didn’t want them to know. They didn’t know, anyway! Gussy was at that momentin the wardrobe upstairs, where he had put himself straight away at the first sound of the knock onthe door. Bill had thought he might as well stay there!
　　‘I’ve no idea where Gus is,’ said Jack. ‘Doing something on his own, I expect. Do you knowwhere he is, Philip?’
　　‘No idea,’ said Philip. ‘Messing about somewhere, probably out in the woods.’
　　‘Ah - he likes to wander about, does he?’ said the man. ‘Well - we may see him when we goback to the farm. Thank you, Madam, for being so kind to my wife. May I please give your fournice children something to buy ice creams with? And here is something for the little missingGussy also.’
　　To the children’s surprise he put down a five- pound note on the table in front of MrsCunningham. She pushed it back at once, quite horrified.
　　‘Oh no - please! I couldn’t hear of it. We only got you a glass of water. No, no - take this back.
　　I couldn’t possibly allow the children to have it.’
　　The man looked surprised and rather uncomfortable. He put the note back in his pocket. ‘Just asyou please,’ he said. ‘In my country it is only a courtesy to return a kindness.’
　　‘What is your country, sir?’ asked Jack, at once. ‘Aha!’ he thought. ‘Now we’ll bring you outinto the open.’
　　The man hesitated, and the woman gave him a quick glance. ‘My country - oh, I come fromItaly,’ he said. ‘A beautiful land. Come, my dear, we must go.’
　　He took his wife’s arm and led her to the door, his eyes searching everywhere for the missingGussy. He bowed to Mrs Cunningham and went down the path.
　　She called a sentence after him, and he turned. ‘What do you say?’ he said. ‘I didn’tunderstand.’
　　Mrs Cunningham repeated it. He looked puzzled, bowed again, and went out of the gate. Hedisappeared with his wife up the lane.
　　‘Well, he’s not from Italy!’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘I called out to him in Italian to say that hewas to give my best wishes to Mrs Ellis - and he didn’t understand a word!’
第9章 一个外出的下午
　　第9章 一个外出的下午
　　露西安停止了摇晃椅子，她的心沉了下去。外国人！那是不是意味着他们来自特瑞赫西亚，或者随便哪个国家——他们是为追踪古斯而来的？哦，天哪——当然，当然了，新的冒险还没有出现呢！至少目前看起来这会是一个不错的平静的假期。
　　“可恶！”露西安对她膝盖上的猫悄声抱怨，“可恶的古斯！还有他可恶的叔叔！”
　　比尔又问了一些更谨慎的问题，但伊莉斯太太再没说什么令他感兴趣的东西了。于是他站起来，拿了伊莉斯太太特地取来的每日牛奶，付了钱并向她表示感谢。道过晚安之后，他和露西安一起走出了屋子，融入了星光灿烂的夜色中。
　　“我担心——我非常担心——有人在追踪古斯。”在回去的路上，比尔低声说，“他们是怎么猜到古斯跟我们在一起的？恐怕是他非常显眼，很容易被认出来。我猜有人一定看到他跟我在一起，然后调查了我——一旦他们知道我是谁，剩下的就很容易了。哼！我可不喜欢这样。”
　　“你和古斯必须得离开这里吗？”露西安小声地问，声音轻到比尔几乎听不清，“请别离开，比尔。”
　　“我得和你阿姨商量一下，”比尔说，“别对古斯说一个字。他或许会陷入恐慌——以我对他的了解来说。你们所有的人都绝对不要把他单独留在任何地方——让他一直待在你们中间。”
　　“好的，比尔。”露西安说，“哦，天哪——我真希望那些人没有去农场。比尔，他们也可能是普通人，不是吗？他们还不是敌人，对吧？”
　　比尔握了握露西安的手：“是的。或许是我错了。但我对一些事有预感，露西安，特别是现在。你不用担心。我不会让任何意外发生的。”
　　“嗯——只要你和我们在一起，”露西安说，“请别离开，比尔。”
　　“我不会的，”比尔说，“除非我带古斯走，那可能真的是最安全的选择。”
　　他们到达了石场农舍，走了进去。古斯和黛娜都已经上床了。坎宁安夫人和男孩们还醒着，正在看书。
　　比尔把牛奶放到食橱里面，然后回到起居室。他坐下来告诉了他们三个伊莉斯太太说的话。坎宁安夫人看起来很严肃。
　　“他们怎么知道他在这里？”她奇怪道，“噢，比尔——我们现在该怎么办？我们是不是应该立即离开这里——所有的人一起？”
　　“不，这会告诉敌人太多事情，”比尔说，“我看不出那两个人——一个男人和一个女人——就凭他们自己能做到什么——我的意思是他们总不能放倒我们，把古斯从我们中间强行掳走！如果他们只有两个人，我们就不用太担心——如果还有别的什么人又来了的话，伊莉斯太太会告诉我们的。男孩们可以每天派一个人去取牛奶，并且得到最新消息。”
　　“那就这样。我们继续该做什么做什么。”他的妻子说，露西安松了一口气，“比尔，你会告诉古斯，对吧——让他保持警惕？他应该有所警觉——他必须跟我们在一起，不能一个人随便走开——男孩们晚上恐怕不得不把窗户锁上。”
　　“可恶！”杰克说，他讨厌晚上关窗，“有琪琪放哨就足够了，艾莉阿姨。如果有任何人进来的话，她能把屋顶叫塌。”
　　“把你们的窗户关起来我会觉得更安全。”坎宁安夫人说道，“我相信琪琪会尖叫。但是——我还是不想冒任何风险。”
　　第二天早上古斯被告知了这件事，黛娜也是。菲利普跑去农场，窥视了新来的客人。
　　他们坐着那辆菲利普前一天从望远镜里看到的黑车。它非常大，车身很长、底盘很低——外观看起来就非常昂贵。
　　“一辆戴姆勒。”菲利普自言自语道，“我打赌那坐起来肯定不错！现在——让我看看这些人长什么样？”
　　他们有两个人。其中那个男士又高又瘦，打扮得非常整洁，穿着一件精致得体的西装，戴着一副单片眼镜，梳着一丝不乱的背头。另一个则是个女士——漂亮，年轻，有着明显的外国口音。那个男人的英语说得非常不错，但他显然也是个外国人。
　　他的确非常小心地扶着那个女人。她搀着他的胳膊，一起走上了通往农家院的小路。
　　他们走得非常慢。
　　戴着单片眼镜的男人，就像菲利普描述的那样——以及靠着他的胳膊、走得很慢的女人。
　　“她要么病了，要么在装病，”菲利普想，“我最好回去告诉比尔——还有古斯。或许他可以从我的描述中认出他们。”
　　但是古斯没有。他摇摇头：“不，我不认识他们。”
　　“如果他们今天什么时候出现在这里，我也不会惊讶的，”比尔说，“他们会来附近刺探一下情况。我感觉他们肯定知道我住在这个农舍里——而且古斯在和你们一起度假！”
　　比尔是对的。那天下午，杰克正在房子附近观鸟的时候，听到了一些声音。他从灌木丛的枝丫缝隙间偷看过去。那一定就是农场来的客人！戴着单片眼镜的男人，就像菲利普描述的那样——以及靠着他的胳膊、走得很慢的女人。
　　杰克从后门溜进房子里。“比尔！”他喊道，“他们来了。古斯在哪儿？他可以去瞅一眼，看看是不是认识他们！”
　　古斯跑到一扇前窗旁，藏在窗帘后等着。但是农场来的夫妻并没有继续往前走！他们拐进了农舍的院门，直奔房子而来。很快，一阵尖锐的门铃声回响在下午的空气中。
　　“老鼠——什——什么——等等！”
　　坎宁安夫人跳了起来。她正在床上打盹。比尔开门走了进去。
　　“艾莉！是那对从农场来的人。胆子可真大，敢直接上门！他们显然觉得我们还没产生任何怀疑。你能去开一下门吗？我不应该出面——古斯也必须不露面。当然，其他人可以。”
　　比尔让古斯躲起来，坎宁安夫人则跑下楼，向前门走去。她理了理自己的头发，然后打开了门。
　　两个人站在台阶上，一男一女。男人礼貌地举起了帽子。
　　“请原谅我们的冒昧打扰，”他说，“但是我和我的妻子正在散步，她刚才觉得有些头晕。我想一杯水能让她好一点——如果可能的话，能帮帮我们吗？”
　　“喔——当然，请进来。”坎宁安夫人说，希望古斯不要跑下楼来，“我去给你们弄点水。”
　　她把他们带进了小起居室。女人在一张椅子上坐下来，闭上了眼睛。
　　“我的妻子病了，”那人说，“所以我带她到农场住几天——好的空气和好的食物，你知道的——比任何旅馆都要好！但我不应该第一天就带她走这么远。”
　　“我很抱歉，”坎宁安夫人说，尽可能地扮演着自己的角色，“黛娜！你在哪？能帮我拿一壶水和一个杯子来吗，亲爱的？”
　　黛娜匆匆走进厨房，回来的时候带着一壶冰水和一个放在小托盘上的玻璃杯。她把它们放在桌子上，好奇地看着这对夫妇。他们回头看着她。
　　“这是您的女儿吗？”女人说，“真是个好孩子！您还有其他的孩子吗？”
　　“哦，是的，”坎宁安夫人说，“还有一个我自己的，和另外两个我们收养的。去叫他们来，黛娜。”
　　黛娜去找其他人。他们礼貌地进来了，露西安，菲利普和杰克。当看到杰克肩膀上的琪琪时，女人尖叫起来。
　　“一只鹦鹉！别让它靠近我，拜托你！”
　　“擦干你的脚，”琪琪点了点头，“关好门。咯咯咯！”
　　女人用一种外语惊呼了一声，然后对那个男人说了些什么。他笑了。
　　“我的妻子说，来拜访你的人看来得有礼貌，不然你们的鹦鹉很快就会教育他们。”他说，“所以这是你的四个孩子。你没有第五个孩子吗？”
　　“不，”坎宁安夫人说，“只有这四个是我的。”
　　“我听伊莉斯太太说还有一个小男孩呢。”那女人呷了一口水。
　　坎宁安夫人伸手拿了一盒香烟递给了这位女士，希望她不要继续追究“另一个小男孩”的话题。但女人显然很固执。
　　“也许还有一个小男孩和你待在一起？”她对坎宁安夫人露出一个甜美的微笑，说道。
　　“哦，我希望伊莉斯太太是指古斯，”坎宁安夫人说，“小古斯会在这儿停留一段时间——直到他的家人来带他回家。”
　　“我们可以看看小古斯吗？”那女人说，“我喜欢孩子。别把这个小古斯漏下了。”
　　“有人知道他在哪儿吗？”坎宁安夫人用一种让四个孩子非常确信她不想“他们知道”的声音问道。不管怎么说，他们确实不知道！此时此刻，古斯正藏在楼上的衣橱里，在敲门声响起的那一瞬间，他就已经躲到那里边去了。比尔也认为他最好待在那里！
　　“我不知道古斯会去哪里，”杰克说，“我猜是在做他自己的一些事情。你知道他在哪儿吗，菲利普？”
　　“猜不出来。”菲利普说，“大概是正在什么地方晃荡，也许在树林里。”
　　“啊——他很喜欢四处晃荡，是不是？”男人说，“好吧——或许我们在回农场的路上会遇见他。谢谢您，夫人，如此热心地招待我的妻子。我可以给您的四个孩子一些谢礼吗？
　　他们可以用来买冰激凌。当然，不在场的小古斯也有份。”
　　令孩子们吃惊的是，他在坎宁安夫人面前的桌子上放了五张崭新的十先令纸币。她马上惊骇地将它们推了回去。
　　“哦，不——请别这样！我不能接受这个。我们只给了你一杯水。不，不——拿回去吧。我不可能让孩子们拿着这个。”
　　那人看起来很惊讶，甚至有些不舒服。他把纸币放回口袋里。“如您所愿，”他说，“在我的国家，回报仁慈只是一种礼貌。”
　　“你是哪个国家的，先生？”杰克马上问道，“啊哈！”他想，“现在轮到你来表演了。”
　　男人犹豫了一下，女人快速地瞥了他一眼。“我的国家——噢，我来自意大利，”他说，“美丽的地方。来吧，亲爱的，我们必须走了。”
　　他搀起妻子的手臂，带着她往门口走，但眼睛还在到处搜寻失踪的古斯。他向坎宁安夫人鞠躬告别，然后走上了小路。
　　她在他后面喊了一句话，男人转过身来。“你刚才说什么？”他说，“我没明白。”
　　坎宁安夫人重复了一遍。他看起来很困惑，再次鞠躬，然后走出了大门。他和他的妻子的身影在小路上渐渐消失了。
　　“嗯，他不是意大利人！”坎宁安夫人说，“我用意大利语对他说要他向伊莉斯太太致以我最好的祝福——但他一个字也没听懂！”
10 An urgent call
　　10
　　An urgent call
　　Jack slipped out to make sure that the couple went back to the farm. He came back to report thatthey had and Bill held a conference at once. Gussy had been hauled with difficulty out of thewardrobe.
　　He had recognized the woman but not the man. ‘She is Madame Tatiosa,’ he said. ‘The wife ofthe Prime Minister. I hate her! She is clever and sharp and cruel.’
　　‘What - that pretty young woman?!’ said Mrs Cunningham in astonishment.
　　‘Yes,’ said Gussy, nodding his head vigorously. ‘Once she was a spy for our country. My uncletold me. A very clever spy. And she married the Prime Minister, and tells him what to do.’
　　‘Hm,’ said Bill. ‘And you didn’t know the man, Gussy? Not that that matters. You’verecognized one of them and so we know for certain that they’re after you. I almost think we’dbetter clear out. I really don’t know what to do for the best! I think I’d better take you and handyou over to the keepers in the Tower of London! You’d at least be safe there!’
　　‘But you said, Bill, that if there were only two of them, the man and the woman, they couldn’tvery well do anything to Gussy,’ said Jack. ‘Why not let one of us keep watch each day to makesure no other car comes down to the farm - or no other visitor? I can easily go and spend the dayat the farm, and watch - and Philip can watch the next day.’
　　‘I think perhaps you’re right,’ said Bill, puffing at his pipe. ‘Anyway - we’ll stay put for thenext two days, and wait for the enemy to make the next move. There’s no doubt that they thinkGussy’s the boy they want. I expect Mrs Ellis has described him carefully to them - and he’seasily described!’
　　‘Yes - long hair, for one thing,’ grinned Jack. ‘Shall I nip along to the farm now, Bill, and keepwatch for the rest of the day? I can go and ask for some butter or something, and then hang round,helping with a few jobs. I’d like that, anyway.’
　　‘Right. You go,’ said Bill, and Jack sped off with Kiki on his shoulder. The others got up to gofor a walk, well away from the farm! ‘Take your tea,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Nobody will knowwhere you are, if you go off for a walk, so nobody will be able to find you! You should be quitesafe, Gussy!’
　　So Gussy, Philip and the two girls went off with a picnic basket. They walked for about twomiles and then found a glade that was golden with polished celandines. They sat down, hot withtheir walk.
　　‘This is heavenly,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I do love celandines. They look as if someone polishedthem every single morning. Jolly good workman he must be - he never misses a petal!’
　　Dinah gave a scream. ‘Oh - what’s that on your shoulder, Philip! Oh, it’s a mouse!’
　　Philip’s dormouse had decided that the pocket he lived in was getting too hot for his liking. Sohe had squeezed his way out, run up Philip’s vest, and appeared through the opening of his collar.
　　There he was now, sitting up on the boy’s shoulder.
　　‘Oh - a dormouse!’ cried Lucy-Ann in delight. ‘What’s his name, Philip? Will he let me holdhim?’
　　‘His name is Snoozy and it suits him,’ said Philip. He felt in a pocket and brought out a nut. Hegave it to Lucy-Ann. ‘Here, take this, offer it to him on the palm of your hand and he’ll run over toyou.’
　　Lucy-Ann balanced the nut on her palm and held it out to the tiny mouse, being careful not tomove too quickly. The dormouse watched her hand coming close to Philip’s shoulder, and hiswhiskers quivered as his nose twitched.
　　‘He can smell the nut,’ said Philip. ‘Keep quite still, Lucy-Ann. There he goes! How do you likethe feel of his tiny feet?’
　　‘Oh, lovely!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Isn’t he a dear, Philip. I wish I had one too.’
　　‘I’ll try and get you one,’ said Philip.
　　But Dinah gave a squeal at once. ‘No! She sleeps with me, and I’m not having mice in thebedroom.’
　　‘But this is a dormouse, not a housemouse,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘It doesn’t smell, or anything. It’sjust perfectly sweet.’
　　Snoozy nibbled daintily at the nut. A bit broke off and he took it into his front paws, sitting upjust like a squirrel. He looked at Lucy-Ann out of his bright eyes.
　　‘He’s got such big black eyes that they really are like mirrors,’ she said. ‘I can see my own face,very tiny, in each of them.’
　　‘Can you?’ said Gussy, in surprise and put his face close to Lucy-Ann’s to look into the bigeyes of the dormouse. It fled at once, disappearing down Philip’s neck at top speed.
　　‘You moved too fast, Gussy,’ said Lucy-Ann crossly. ‘You would manage to startle him.’
　　‘Excuse, pliss. I pollygize,’ said Gussy. ‘I beg your pardon, Lucy-Ann.’
　　‘All right. But I do hope Snoozy will come back,’ said Lucy-Ann, rather cross.
　　He peered out of Philip’s neck once or twice, but he wouldn’t come right out. ‘He’s notabsolutely tame yet,’ explained Philip. ‘I’ve not had him long enough. But he soon will be. He’llbe coming out at meal times soon and nibbling his little nut on my bread-plate.’
　　‘Not if I can help it,’ said Dinah.
　　‘Don’t be silly,’ said Philip. ‘You simply don’t try to like dormice. You . . .’
　　‘Someone coming,’ said Lucy-Ann, suddenly. Her sharp ears had caught the sound of voices.
　　‘Get under the bush, Gussy,’ ordered Philip. ‘Go on, quick!’
　　Gussy vanished at once, and the bush closed over him. It was a pity it was a gorse bush, butGussy didn’t have time to think of prickles.
　　Two men came by, talking in the broad accent of the countryside. One was the man who hadtold Philip so much about badgers. He waved to him.
　　‘It’ll be a good night for badgers tonight!’ he called. ‘Moonlight - and that’s what they like.’
　　‘Come out, Gus,’ said Philip, when the men had passed. ‘False alarm.’
　　Gussy crawled out, scratched on face, hands and knees by the gorse prickles. He was veryfrightened.
　　‘He blids,’ said Dinah unkindly. ‘Gus, you are blidding all over.’
　　‘It’s nothing much,’ said Philip, taking out his handkerchief and scrubbing the drops of bloodaway here and there. ‘Everyone gets pricked by gorse sooner or later. Cheer up, Gus. And forgoodness’ sake don’t complain.’
　　‘I don’t like blidding,’ said poor Gussy, in a woebegone voice. ‘It makes me feel sick.’
　　‘Well, be sick then,’ said hard-hearted Dinah. ‘But don’t make a FUSS .’
　　Gussy made a valiant effort and swallowed hard. He didn’t fuss after all. What a victory!
　　After they had eaten every crumb of their tea, they decided to go back. Philip wanted to have alook at the quarry on the way to see if he thought that badgers might really make that their haunt.
　　He wandered round the big deserted place, examining the hedges round for signs of a badger’ssett. The girls and Gussy ran the few hundred yards that lay between the quarry and the cottage.
　　Lucy-Ann thought they ought to, in case any enemy was lying in wait!
　　‘Any news?’ she asked, as they went indoors, panting. ‘Has Jack come back from the farm yet?’
　　He hadn’t. Nobody had any news at all, it seemed. Jack had none either, when he came.
　　‘Not a soul came to the farm,’ he said. ‘And I didn’t even see the man and the woman. Theymust have been in their room all the time. Once I heard a “ting” - as if somebody was using thetelephone. It might have been them.’
　　‘Can’t tell,’ said Bill. ‘Well - I seem to have had a lazy day. I’ve got some papers to read andthen I suppose it will be supper time. There’s going to be a fine moon tonight!’
　　‘Just right for badgers,’ Philip whispered to Jack. ‘Like to come out and see if we can find any?’
　　‘Rather,’ said Jack. ‘We can slip out when the others are in bed. Gussy always sleeps sosoundly, he’ll never hear!’
　　Supper time came. Cold ham, a salad, junket and cream. ‘Just the right kind of meal,’ saidPhilip. ‘Why can’t we have this kind of food at school?’
　　‘Don’t let’s start up the subject of school meals again, Philip,’ said his mother. ‘You’reyawning. Go to bed!’
　　‘I think I will,’ said Philip. ‘Coming, Jack?’
　　Jack remembered that they had planned an outing in the moonlight, and he nodded. They mightas well get a little sleep first. Gussy went up with them. The girls stayed down to finish their booksand then went up too.
　　‘I’ll set my little alarm clock for eleven,’ said Philip to Jack, in a low voice, not wanting Gussyto hear. ‘I’ll put it under my pillow and it won’t wake anyone but me. Gosh, I’m sleepy.’
　　In ten minutes all the five children were fast asleep. Downstairs Bill and his wife sat listening tothe radio. ‘We’ll hear the ten o’clock news and then go to bed,’ said Bill.
　　But, just as the ten o’clock news was about to come on, there came a cautious tapping at thefront door. Bill stiffened. Who was that? He looked at his wife, and she raised her eyebrows. Whocould that be at this time of night?
　　Bill went quietly to the door. He didn’t open it, but spoke with his mouth close to the crack.
　　‘Who’s there?’
　　‘Oh, sir, Mrs Ellis has sent me down to beg you to come up to the farm,’ said an anxious voice.
　　‘It’s her old aunt. She’s fallen down and broken her hip. Can you come? Mrs Ellis is in such away! She sent me to ask you, because the doctor’s away.’
　　Bill opened the door. He saw a bent figure, wrapped round in a shawl. It must be Alice, the oldwoman who helped Mrs Ellis in the kitchen. ‘Come in,’ he said.
　　‘No, sir, I’ll be getting back,’ said the old woman. ‘You’ll come, won’t you?’
　　‘Yes, we’ll come,’ said Bill. He shut the door and went back to tell his wife.
　　‘It’s a message from Mrs Ellis about the old aunt. Apparently she has fallen and broken herhip,’ he said. ‘Will you go, Allie? I’ll take you there, of course, and then I must leave you andcome back here, because of Gussy. But Mr Ellis will bring you back, unless you stay for thenight.’
　　‘Yes, I’d better go at once,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Poor Mrs Ellis! Just what she was afraidmight happen!’
　　She got her things on, and Bill and she went out of the door. ‘It’s not worth waking up thechildren and telling them,’ he said. ‘They’re sound asleep. Anyway, I’ll be back here in a fewminutes’ time.’
　　He shut the door quietly, made sure he had the key with him to open it when he came back, andthen set off with his wife. What a wonderful moonlight night! Really, he would quite enjoy thewalk!
第10章 紧急呼叫
　　第10章 紧急呼叫
　　杰克溜出去确认这对夫妇是否真的回到了农场。当他回来报告了他们已经回去了的时候，比尔立刻召开了一次家庭会议。古斯也被艰难地拽出了衣橱。
　　他认得那个女人，但不认识那个男人。“她是塔蒂莎夫人，”他说，“首相的妻子。我讨厌她！她很聪明，嗅觉敏锐又性情残忍。”
　　“什么——那个年轻漂亮的女人！”坎宁安夫人惊讶地说。
　　“是的，”古斯说，用力地点着头，“她以前是我们国家的间谍。我的叔叔告诉过我。一个非常聪明的间谍。她嫁给了首相，告诉他该如何行动。”
　　“哦，”比尔说，“古斯，所以你不认识那个人？不过，这不重要。你已经认出了一个，我们现在可以确定他们就是追着你来的。我觉得最好的办法是我们离开。除此之外，我真的不知道怎么做才是最好的！或许我应该把你带到伦敦塔的守卫那里去！至少你在那里会安然无恙！”
　　“但你说过，比尔，如果只有他们两个，一个男人和一个女人，他们不能对古斯做什么，”杰克说，“为什么我们不能每天轮班，去农场确认还有没有其他的车——或者其他的客人出现？我能在农场里待上一天，盯着他们——第二天可以换菲利普去监视。”
　　“我想也许你是对的，”比尔吸了口烟斗，“无论如何——我们会在这里再留两天，看看敌人接下来会做什么。毫无疑问，他们认为古斯就是他们想要的男孩。我估计伊莉斯太太将他描述得很到位——毕竟要形容他实在是太容易了！”
　　“没错——比如说，长头发。”杰克咧嘴笑了起来，“我是不是应该现在就赶紧去农场，在今天剩下的时间里都盯着他们，比尔？我可以去要一些黄油或别的什么东西，然后在那附近找点活儿干，帮忙之类的。不管怎么说，我还挺喜欢做那些事的。”
　　“好，你去吧。”比尔说。于是，杰克就带着肩膀上的琪琪匆匆地离开了。其他人也起身准备出去走走，当然离农场越远越好！“带上你们的下午茶。”坎宁安夫人说，“如果你们去散步，就没人知道你们在哪里了，自然也就无法找到你们！所以你会很安全，古斯！”
　　就这样，古斯、菲利普和两个女孩带着野餐篮离开了家。他们走了大约两英里，发现了一片金色的林间空地，到处都是优美的白屈菜。孩子们坐了下来，因为走得实在太热了。
　　“这里简直是天堂，”露西安说，“我真的很喜欢白屈菜。它们看起来就像有人每个早晨都把它们擦得亮晶晶一样。那一定是个特别棒的工人——他甚至不会错过一片花瓣！”
　　黛娜突然发出了一声尖叫：“噢——你肩上那是什么，菲利普！啊，一只老鼠！”
　　菲利普的榛睡鼠决定离开自己的口袋卧室，那里太热了，它不喜欢。于是它挤了出来，爬过男孩的马甲，从他的领口钻出头来，现在正坐在他的肩膀上。
　　“喔——一只榛睡鼠！”露西安兴奋地喊了出来，“它叫什么名字，菲利普？它会让我抱抱吗？”
　　“斯诺兹，这名字很适合它。”菲利普说。他在口袋里摸了摸，掏出一枚坚果，递给了露西安：“这儿，拿着这个。放到你的手心里平摊着递给它，它就会向你跑过去。”
　　露西安把坚果放到摊开的掌心上，小心地递给那只榛睡鼠，注意让自己的动作不要太快。榛睡鼠注视着她的手掌靠近菲利普的肩膀，抽动鼻子嗅了嗅，连带着胡须也跟着抖了抖。
　　“它可以闻到坚果的味道，”菲利普说，“保持住，露西安。它过去了！对它的小脚感觉如何？”
　　“喔，真棒！”露西安说，“它简直是个小宝贝，菲利普。我希望我也能有一只。”
　　“我会想法帮你弄一只。”菲利普说。
　　但黛娜立即发出了尖叫：“不！她和我睡一个卧室，我的卧室里不能出现老鼠。”
　　“但这是榛睡鼠，不是家鼠，”露西安说，“它没有气味，也没什么其他问题，它只是个甜美可爱的小家伙。”
　　斯诺兹优雅地一点点地啃着坚果。有一小块掉了，它用前爪捡起来，像松鼠一样坐直。那双明亮的眼睛看着露西安。
　　“它有一双黑色的大眼睛，就好像镜子一样，”她说，“我都能在其中看见自己的脸了，小小的，映在它的每个眼珠上。”
　　“真的？”古斯吃惊地问，他的脸凑了过去，挨着露西安，望向榛睡鼠的那双大眼睛。
　　它立即转身逃开了，以最快的速度消失在菲利普的脖子下面。
　　“你这个笨蛋，古斯，”露西安厌恶地说，“你总是做这样的事情。”
　　“第（对）不起，我很波（抱）谦（歉）。”古斯说，“请原谅我，露西安。”
　　“好吧。但我真希望斯诺兹能回来。”露西安没好气地说。
　　它从菲利普的脖颈处偷偷地向外瞥了一两次，但没有再出来。“它还没有彻底驯服，”菲利普解释道，“我才刚得到它不久。不过它很快就会驯服了。等会吃饭的时候它就会出来，到我的面包盘子上啃它的小坚果。”
　　“如果可以的话，最好不要。”黛娜说。
　　“别傻了，”菲利普说，“你只是不想尝试着喜欢榛睡鼠。你……”
　　“有人过来了。”露西安突然说。她敏锐的耳朵捕捉了一些什么声音。
　　“藏到灌木丛里去，古斯。”菲利普下令道，“去吧，快！”
　　古斯立刻消失了。灌木丛掩护了他。遗憾的是那是一丛金雀花，但古斯没时间考虑到花刺的问题。
　　两个男人一边用浓重的乡村口音聊着天，一边走了过来。其中一个是那个告诉菲利普关于獾的事情的人，他冲着男孩挥了挥手。
　　“今晚对獾来说会是好时候！”他喊道，“月光——它们最喜欢的。”
　　“出来吧，古斯。”等男人们走过去之后，菲利普说道，“虚惊一场。”
　　古斯爬了出来，脸上、手上和膝盖上都挂满了花刺。他几乎要哭出来了。
　　“他‘出洗（血）’了，”黛娜尖刻地说，“古斯，你到处都在出洗（血）。”
　　“好啦，没什么。”菲利普说。他掏出手帕，拭去从这里或那里渗出的血珠，“每个人早晚都得被金雀花扎那么一次。振作点，古斯，看在上帝分儿上，别让自己像个婴儿似的。”
　　“我不喜欢流洗（血）。”可怜的古斯用一种忧愁的声调说道，“它让我觉得想吐。”
　　“行吧，那就吐吧，”黛娜硬着心肠说，“但是别小题大做了！”
　　无论如何，古斯表现出了英勇的一面，艰难地忍住了。最终他没有“小题大做”。一次了不起的胜利！
　　在消灭了下午茶的所有东西之后，他们决定往回走。菲利普希望顺路去看看采石场，察看一下那里是不是真的有獾出没。
　　他在这个宽阔又荒凉的地方四处游荡着，检查着篱笆周围是否有獾洞的痕迹。女孩们和古斯则用跑的方式冲过了旧采石场和小屋之间那最后几百码的距离。露西安认为这是必要的，因为敌人可能在任何地方等待着他们！
　　“有什么消息吗？”众人气喘吁吁地进到屋里，露西安问，“杰克从农场回来了吗？”
　　他还没回家。看起来没有任何人有什么新消息。杰克回来后也没有更多的新闻。
　　“没什么人到农场去。”他说，“我甚至都没有看到那对男女。他们肯定就一直待在自己的房间里。有一次我听到了‘叮’的一声，就像是什么人在用电话。或许就是他们。”
　　“不好说。”比尔说，“好吧——看起来我是度过了无所事事的一天，读了些文件之类的。我猜现在是晚餐时间了。今晚的月色会很不错！”
　　“对獾来说最好不过，”菲利普对杰克悄悄道，“想出去看看我们能不能找到一只吗？”
　　“很想，”杰克说，“我们可以等别人都上床之后再溜出去。古斯一向睡得很死，他不会听到的！”
　　晚餐来了。有上等火腿、沙拉、乳冻和奶油。“这才是人吃的饭。”菲利普说，“为什么学校就不能给我们这样的东西吃？”
　　“别再提学校伙食的话题了，菲利普。”他妈妈说，“你已经开始打哈欠了，该上床睡觉了！”
　　“我想是的。”菲利普说，“一起来，杰克？”
　　杰克想起了他们准备在月夜里偷溜出去的计划，便点了点头。他们最好先去睡一会儿。古斯跟他们一起上楼了。女孩们则留了下来，直到读完了她们的书才上去。
　　“我会把我的小闹钟设到十一点，”菲利普对杰克低语道，以免被古斯听见，“然后把它放到枕头下，这样除了我它不会吵醒任何人。天哪，我真的有些困了。”
　　十分钟后，五个孩子都快睡着了。比尔和他的妻子在楼下坐着收听收音机。“我们听完十点的新闻就去睡觉。”比尔说。
　　然而，就在十点钟新闻即将播出时，从前门传来了几下小心的敲门声。比尔变得有些僵硬。那会是谁？他看向自己的妻子，她抬了抬眉毛。谁会在大晚上的这个时间过来？
　　比尔悄悄地走到门口。他没有打开它，只是将嘴贴近门缝问道：“是谁？”
　　“喔，先生。伊莉斯太太让我过来拜托你去农场一趟。”一个焦急的声音说道，“是她的老阿姨，她跌倒了，摔断了她的胯骨。您能来吗？伊莉斯太太实在没办法了！她让我来问你，因为医生不在。”
　　比尔打开了门。他看到了一个佝偻的、裹着披肩的身影。那一定是艾丽丝，给伊莉斯太太帮厨的婆婆。“进来吧。”他说。
　　“不了，先生。我就要回去了，”老婆婆说，“你会来的，对吧？”
　　“是的，我们会过去。”比尔说。他关上了门，回去将情况告诉了他的妻子。
　　“是伊莉斯太太捎来的一个消息，关于她的老阿姨。她跌倒了，弄断了胯骨。”他说，“你要去吗，艾莉？当然，我会带你过去。但因为古斯，之后我恐怕必须马上回来，把你留在那儿。不过伊莉斯太太应该会把你送回来，除非你要在那里待一整夜。”
　　“当然，我最好马上过去。”坎宁安夫人说，“可怜的伊莉斯太太！她最担心的事还是发生了！”
　　她收拾好东西，便和比尔出了门。“不用弄醒孩子们，告诉他们这事，”他说，“他们已经睡熟了。无论如何，我一会儿就会回来。”
　　他悄悄地关上门，确保自己带了钥匙以便回来的时候能够把锁打开，便和他的妻子一起离开了。多么美好的月夜！真的，他将会很享受这段步行！
11 Happenings in the night
　　11
　　Happenings in the night
　　The moonlight streamed down over the countryside as Bill and his wife set out. ‘What a lovelynight!’ said Bill. ‘As light as day, almost!’
　　They went up the tiny lane, hurrying as much as they could. ‘I’ll ask at the farm if Mr Ellis canbring you back,’ Bill said. ‘I won’t stay even a minute. I’m worried about Gussy. I may get aglimpse of Madame Tatiosa and her companion - but I don’t particularly want them to see me.’
　　They were passing a little copse of trees, a patch of dense black shadow in the surroundingmoonlight. Bill and his wife walked by, not seeing a small movement in the shadows.
　　Then things happened very quickly indeed. Four shadows came from the copse of trees, runningsilently over the grass. Bill turned at a slight sound - but almost as he turned someone leapt onhim and bore him to the ground.
　　Mrs Cunningham felt an arm round her, and a hand pressed over her mouth. She tried toscream, but only a small sound came from her.
　　‘Don’t struggle,’ said a voice. ‘And don’t scream. We’re not going to hurt you. We just wantyou out of the way for a short time.’
　　But Bill did struggle, of course. He knew what these men were after - Gussy! He groaned inanger at himself. This was a trick, of course! Old Aunt Naomi hadn’t had a fall! There had been noreal message from the farm. It was all a ruse to get them out of the house, so that it would be easyto kidnap Gussy.
　　Someone gagged his mouth by wrapping a cloth firmly round his face. He could hardly breathe!
　　He wondered how his wife was getting on, but he could see and hear nothing. He stoppedstruggling when at last his arms were pinned behind him, and tied together with rope.
　　There was nothing he could do. It was four against two, and as they had been taken by surprisethey were at a great disadvantage. Perhaps he would be able to undo the rope that bound him whenhis captors had gone to get Gussy. He might still prevent the kidnapping.
　　Mrs Cunningham was scared, and did her best to get away, but one man was quite sufficient tohold her and bind her hands and feet. She too was gagged so that she could not scream.
　　‘We are sorry about this,’ said a man’s voice, quite politely. ‘It is important to us to take thelittle Prince out of your hands. His country needs him. We shall not harm him in any way - andwe have not harmed you either. We have merely put you to some inconvenience. Once we havethe Prince one of us will come to untie you, if it is possible. If not - well, you will be found bysome farm worker early in the morning.’
　　The men left Bill and his wife against a haystack, protected from the wind. One of them hadgone through Bill’s pockets first, and had taken out the key of the cottage.
　　Bill listened as the men went off. Were they gone? He rubbed his head against the ground tryingto get off the cloth bound round his face. Was his wife all right?
　　He was furious with himself. To walk into a trap as easily as all that! The woman with themessage must have been one of the gang, of course. No wonder she wouldn’t come in. He shouldhave been suspicious about that. An ordinary messenger would have waited for them and thenwalked to the farm in their company.
　　He remembered the ‘ting’ of the telephone that Jack said he had heard that afternoon. That musthave been Madame Tatiosa or her companion telephoning to their headquarters to say that theyknew where the Prince was, and requesting help to capture him. Another car must have comedown that evening with other members of the gang. It all fitted in so well - but poor Bill saw theplot after it had been carried out, instead of before!
　　He wondered what was happening at Quarry Cottage. He believed the man who had said that hewas not going to harm the little Prince. All they wanted to do was to depose his uncle and setGussy up in his place. Poor Gussy! He would be made to do all that the gang wanted, and his lifewould be very miserable.
　　Nothing was happening just then at Quarry Cottage. All the five children were fast asleep, andso was Kiki. The window of the boys’ bedroom was shut, as Bill had ordered - but of what usewas that when the enemy had the key to the front door!
　　Time crept on - and eleven o’clock came. Philip’s alarm clock went off under his pillow,whirring in a muffled way that woke him up with a jump. At first he didn’t know what the noisewas, then he remembered.
　　‘Eleven o’clock!’ he thought, and slid his hand under his pillow to stop the alarm ringing. Hesat up. Moonlight poured into the room, and made everything silvery. Just the night for badgers!
　　He padded across the room and shook Jack. ‘Wake up! Eleven o’clock!’ he whispered, rightinto his ear. He did not mean to wake Gussy, and have him clamouring to go with them! ButGussy was very sound asleep indeed. The moonlight streamed on to his face, and showed up thelong lock of hair that had fallen as usual over his forehead.
　　Kiki awoke as soon as the alarm went off. But she was used to muffled alarm clocks, and merelygave a little yawn, and stretched her wings. If the boys were going out, she was quite ready!
　　Nothing would persuade her to be left behind.
　　The two boys dressed quickly in shorts, jerseys and rubber-soled shoes. They took a last glanceat Gussy. His mouth was wide open again. Jack grinned as he remembered the bits of grass thatKiki had popped into it on Sugar-Loaf Hill.
　　They crept downstairs, pausing outside Bill’s bedroom door to make sure all was quiet, and thatBill and his wife were asleep.
　　‘Can’t hear a thing,’ whispered Jack. ‘They must be very sound asleep! Not even a snore fromBill!’
　　This wasn’t very surprising, of course, as Bill was at that moment struggling with his ropes ashe lay in the shelter of the haystack.
　　‘We’ll go out the back way,’ whispered Philip. ‘The front door creaks a little. Don’t bump intoanything in the hall, for goodness’ sake.’
　　Kiki was on Jack’s shoulder, as quiet as the dormouse in Philip’s pocket. She could always bedepended on to keep silent when it was necessary. She knew quite well that the boys were tryingnot to be heard. She pecked Jack’s ear affectionately, wondering what he was up to on thismoonlight night.
　　The boys went out of the back door, and then stood still, debating which way to go.
　　‘I think I’ll come up to the little wood with you first,’ said Jack. ‘I might pop down to the quarrylater, to hear the owls there, and see if I can watch them swooping on mice or rats.’
　　So they went silently to the wood on the east side of the cottage, making no noise in theirrubber-soled shoes. They kept to the shadows of the hedges, afraid that someone might see them,even in this deserted spot. The moonlight was so very brilliant!
　　They came to the wood. Philip knew what type of place badgers would visit, and he led Jack toa hedge overshadowing a big bank.
　　‘This is the sort of place to wait about in,’ he said. ‘Let’s squeeze into that bush there.’
　　They crouched down in the black shadows. An owl suddenly hooted nearby, and Kiki at oncehooted back, copying the long, quavering hoot exactly, and making Jack jump.
　　‘Shut up, Kiki,’ he whispered fiercely. ‘You’ll bring all the owls down on us with your hooting.
　　Gosh, here comes the one you mimicked!’
　　An owl swooped by his head, and he ducked. So did Kiki! Kiki longed to hoot again. She lovedpuzzling any other bird.
　　She kept silent, half-sulky The boys listened with their sharp ears, watching for any movement.
　　Suddenly Jack gave Philip a nudge. A long, snake-like animal was hurrying by.
　　‘Stoat,’ whispered Philip in Jack’s ear. ‘And what’s this? A hedgehog!’
　　The hedgehog was curious about the black shadows sitting under the bush. He came fearlesslyup to investigate. Philip put out his hand slowly, and the hedgehog sniffed it over. Jack quiteexpected to see him climb on to Philip’s knee! No creature was ever afraid of him.
　　But the hedgehog was hungry and he ran off to find the slugs he liked best. The boys thought hewent along as if he was a little clockwork animal. They waited for the next night creature toappear.
　　And this time it was a badger! It really was. Philip drew in his breath sharply. He had hardlyhoped to see one so soon. It was a biggish creature, with a curiously striped black and white face.
　　It stood absolutely still in the moonlight, sniffing, wondering if it could smell a danger-smell - asmell of humans?
　　But the wind blew from the badger to the boys, and he could smell nothing. He could hardly beseen as he stood in the full moonlight, because the black and white stripes down his face were soexactly like the black and white shadows of this moonlit night.
　　‘Perfect camouflage!’ whispered Philip, and Jack nodded. Then he nudged Philip. Somethingelse was coming.
　　‘Young badgers!’ thought Philip, in delight. ‘A family party - yes, there’s mother badger at theback. What a bit of luck!’
　　The young badgers were skittish little bear-like things. They began to play about, and the twoboys watched their curious games, quite fascinated.
　　The little badgers began to bounce. They really did bounce, on all four legs, jumping up anddown in the same place, looking like fat, furry balls. They bounced at one another! One knockedanother over, but in a flash he turned a somersault, came up under the first badger and knockedhim over!
　　This head-over-heels game seemed a favourite one, and the young badgers played it for sometime. Then the parents gave a little call, and went off into the wood; the young ones stopped theirgame and followed.
　　Jack gave a little laugh. ‘What an amusing sight! I’ve never seen animals play that game before!
　　Do all badgers turn head-over-heels like that?’
　　‘I’ve heard so,’ said Philip. ‘A keeper once told me that a grown badger will spring traps thatway - he just turns himself head-over-heels on the trap, sets it off, and then takes the bait! All heloses is a few hairs off his back.’
　　An owl hooted again, some way off. It was a tawny owl calling. Then there was a screech froma barn owl. Kiki stirred on Jack’s shoulders. She was longing to do a bit of hooting and screechingherself!
　　‘I think I’ll go back now,’ said Philip, getting up. ‘I’d like to stay and watch for a few morecreatures to come by, but I’m afraid I shall fall asleep. You coming, Jack?’
　　‘Well - I rather think I’ll go and wander round that quarry a bit,’ said Jack. ‘I’d like to see whatowls are there - and I’d like to give old Kiki the chance of calling them, to see if she really canbring them to her. I know she’s longing to try. Aren’t you, Kiki, old bird?’
　　Kiki muttered something into his ear, afraid of speaking out loud. Jack got up and stretched.
　　‘Well, you get to bed, and I’ll come when I’m ready,’ he said. ‘I’ll be about half an hour, I expect.
　　Don’t be surprised if you hear thousands of hoots in a little while, once Kiki gets going!’
　　Philip went back to the cottage, and Jack made his way to the quarry. Little did they guess whata shock they were both going to get in the next ten minutes!
第11章 夜半事件
　　第11章 夜半事件
　　当比尔和妻子出发的时候，月光笼罩了整个乡野。“多美的夜晚！”他说，“几乎像白天一样明亮！”
　　他们走上了小路，以最快的速度向前赶路。“到了农场之后我会问问伊莉斯太太能不能把你送回来。”比尔说，“我不会在那里多留哪怕一会儿。我担心古斯。我也许会被塔蒂莎夫人和她的同伙看到——但我特别不想被他们看到。”
　　他们进入了一片小树林，月光让树木投出了密集斑驳的阴影。比尔和他的妻子赶着路，并没有注意到那些阴影里的小动作。
　　然后，事情发生得非常快。四条黑影从树丛中溜了出来，悄无声息地快速冲过了草地。比尔只来得及转过身——几乎就是在他转过去的瞬间，已经有人扑住了他，将他压倒在地。
　　坎宁安夫人被一条胳膊拦身抱住，另一只手捂住了她的嘴。她试图尖叫，却只发出了模糊的声音。
　　“不要挣扎，”一个声音说，“也别叫。我们不想伤害你们。我们只是想让你们暂时别挡路。”
　　当然，比尔还是挣扎了。他知道这些家伙的目标是谁——古斯！他对自己感到愤怒。
　　那当然是个骗局！老娜奥米婶婶并没有摔倒！他们得到的不是来自农场的真实消息。所有的一切都是为了把他们骗出门的诡计，然后这些人就可以轻易地绑走古斯。
　　有什么人用一块布紧紧地缠着他的脑袋，堵住了他的嘴。比尔几乎没法呼吸了！他想知道自己的妻子怎么样了，但他既看不到也听不到任何东西。接着，他不得不停止了挣扎，因为他的胳膊也被绳子紧紧地绑到了身后。
　　比尔无能为力。四对二，他们明显处于极大的劣势。也许当这些绑匪去搞定古斯的时候，他可以设法摆脱这些绳索。他或许还有机会阻止这场绑架。
　　坎宁安夫人很害怕，并尽了最大的努力试图挣脱，然而只需要一个男人就足以按住她，绑住她的手脚了。为了避免发出任何尖叫声，她的嘴同样被堵住了。
　　“我们为此感到遗憾，”一个男人的声音颇有礼貌地说，“将小王子从你们这里带走对我们来说非常重要。他的国家需要他。我们不会以任何方式伤害他——我们也不会伤害你们。这只是一些不便。如果条件允许的话，一旦我们接到王子，就会派个人过来解开你们。如果条件不允许——不管怎么说，明天一早总会有农场工人路过发现你们的。”
　　这些人将比尔和他的妻子带到一堆避风的干草垛旁。其中一个人搜索了他的口袋，找到了小屋的钥匙。
　　比尔听到他们离开了。这些人都走了吗？他用头蹭着地，试图将蒙面的布蹭掉。他的妻子还好吗？
　　他是如此生自己的气，那么轻易地落入陷阱！当然了，给他们传递消息的那个女人肯定是这个团伙里的一员。怪不得她不肯进门。他应该对此产生怀疑。一个正常的送信人本该等着他们一起去农场。
　　他想起杰克说的，下午听到的那个“叮”的电话声。那一定是塔蒂莎夫人或者她的同伙打电话给他们的总部，报告他们知道了王子在哪儿，并请求支援以便抓住他。晚上的时候肯定有另一辆车带了团伙的其他人过来。这一切都如此合理——可怜的比尔后知后觉，只能看着一切发生，而没有提前预料到！
　　他想知道石场农舍现在的情况。他相信那个人说的不会伤害小王子的话。他们想要的就是废黜他的叔叔，让古斯坐到那个位置上。可怜的古斯！他将受这个团伙的摆布，被迫去做他们希望的事情，而他的生活将会变得非常悲惨。
　　彼时彼刻，石场农舍里没有发生任何事。五个孩子都快睡着了，琪琪也是。男孩们的卧室窗户都已经按照比尔的吩咐关上了——但是当敌人拥有了前门的钥匙时，这又有什么用呢！
　　约定的时间悄然而至——十一点钟到了。菲利普的闹钟在枕头下面响了起来，模糊的嗡嗡声让他跳了起来。起初他不知道这噪音是什么，不过很快就记起来了。
　　“十一点了！”他想，把手伸到枕头下，摸索着关掉了闹铃。他坐了起来。月光倾泻进房间，为每一件东西镀上了银光。一个獾之夜晚！
　　他轻轻穿过房间，摇醒杰克。“醒了！十一点了！”他低声在杰克的耳边说道。他可不想吵醒古斯，让他有机会叫嚷着跟他们一起去！不过古斯睡得很沉。月光投在他的脸上，清楚地照出额前如往常一样掉下的一缕长发。
　　闹钟一响，琪琪就醒了。但她已经习惯了。她只是打了个小小的哈欠，扇了扇翅膀。
　　如果男孩们打算出去，那么自己也已经准备好了！没有什么能让她被抛下。
　　两个男孩快速地穿上了自己的短裤、衬衫和胶底鞋。他们最后瞥了一眼古斯。他的嘴巴又张得很大。杰克想起之前在糖面包山上，琪琪将干草扔进里边的场景，不由得窃笑起来。
　　他们溜下了楼梯，在比尔的卧室门外停留了一下，确认一切是否安静，家长们是否已经睡了。
　　“听不到什么。”杰克低声说，“他们肯定睡得非常沉！比尔甚至都没有打鼾！”
　　这当然不奇怪。因为比尔此时正在干草垛的遮盖下与绑在自己身上的绳索进行搏斗。
　　“我们从后门走。”菲利普悄声说，“前门总是有点吱嘎作响。看在老天的分上，别碰到大厅里的任何东西。”
　　琪琪蹲在杰克的肩膀上，就像菲利普口袋里的榛睡鼠一样安静。必要的时候，她总是可靠地保持着沉默。她很清楚男孩们正在努力避免被任何人听到。她充满爱意地轻啄着杰克的耳朵，想知道他打算在这个月夜里去做些什么。
　　男孩们走出后门，然后站住了，开始讨论接下来的路线。
　　“我想我会先跟你去小树林，”杰克说，“稍后再去采石场，去听听那里的鸮，看看能不能观察到它们抓耗子的情景。”
　　于是，他们安静地走向了农舍东边的小树林，胶底鞋没有发出任何声音。他们一直沿着树篱的阴影前进，因为担心有人会看到他们，即使这里其实是个荒凉的地方。今晚的月光实在是太亮了！
　　他们进入了树林。菲利普知道哪种环境是獾所喜好的，他领着杰克来到了一片树篱，它将一处很大的河岸笼罩在自己的阴影中。
　　“这就是我们需要守着的地方。”他说，“钻进那丛灌木。”
　　他们蹲伏到暗影中。突然，某种鸮在附近大声地鸣叫起来，琪琪立刻叫了回去，完美地复制了那声长长的带着颤音的鸣叫。杰克被吓了一跳。
　　“闭嘴，琪琪，”他恶狠狠地低声说，“你会把所有的鸮都招来的。天哪，已经来了一只！”
　　一只鸮向他的头扑来，他躲过了。琪琪也是！琪琪非常想再次鸣叫，她喜欢这样捉弄其他的鸟类。
　　她不情愿地保持了安静，有些愠怒地绷着脸。男孩们用他们敏锐的耳朵听着，注意着任何的风吹草动。突然，杰克推了菲利普一下。一只身体长长的、像蛇一样的动物匆匆地从他们身边跑过。
　　“白鼬。”菲利普附在杰克耳边低声说，“还有那是什么？刺猬！”
　　这只刺猬显然对灌木下的暗影有些好奇，它无所畏惧地开始调查。菲利普慢慢地伸出了手，刺猬嗅了嗅它。杰克期待着接下来能看到它爬到菲利普膝盖上的情景！还从没有什么生物怕过他。
　　但是刺猬饿了，跑着去找它最喜欢的蛞蝓美餐了。男孩们感觉它行走的样子就像一个小小的装发条的玩具。他们等待着下一个夜间生物的到访。
　　终于，这次来的是一只獾！没错，确实是。菲利普倒吸了一口气。他都没有指望这么快就会见到。这是个大家伙，有着一张充满好奇的布满黑白条纹的脸。它定定地站在月光下，嗅着，想确认这里是否有什么危险的气息——人类的气息？
　　但风是从獾的方向吹到男孩们这边的，所以它什么都没闻到。当它站在满月的光亮下时，几乎很难被看到，因为它脸上的黑白条纹与月夜下其他的黑白相间的影子太过相似了。
　　“完美的伪装！”菲利普低声说道。杰克点点头，然后推了推他。又有什么别的东西过来了。
　　“是小獾！”菲利普惊喜地想，“一个家庭聚会——没错，母獾就在后边。这真是太幸运了！”
　　小獾们就好像活泼好动的小熊一样。它们开始玩耍。两个男孩十分入迷地注视着它们奇妙的游戏。
　　它们开始弹跳。那真的是弹跳，小獾们用四条腿，原地弹起又落下，看起来就好像一堆毛茸茸圆滚滚的球。然后它们开始互相弹撞起来！其中一只把另一只撞开，但是另一只立即翻了个跟头，重新钻到撞开自己的那只的下边，抬头将它撞飞！
　　这种倒栽葱游戏看起来是最受欢迎的活动，小獾们乐此不疲。直到它们的父母发出了一声短短的呼叫，转身钻进树林。小獾们才终止了游戏，跟了上去。
　　杰克轻轻地笑了一下：“多有趣的情景啊！我还从没见过有什么动物玩那种游戏！是不是所有的獾都会这样？”
　　“我听说过，”菲利普说，“一个看门人曾经告诉过我，成年的獾会以这种方式绕开陷阱——它会倒立着靠到陷阱上，然后弹射出去，取走诱饵！结果只是失去它背上的几根毛。”
　　不远处，一只鸮再次呼啸而过。这次是一只灰林鸮。然后传来的是一只仓鸮的尖鸣。
　　琪琪在杰克的肩膀上动来动去，也非常想跟着尖啸和鸣叫！
　　“我想现在我该回去了，”菲利普说着站了起来，“虽然我挺希望能继续留下来看看更多的动物，但恐怕再待下去我就会打瞌睡了。要一起走吗，杰克？”
　　“好吧——我想去那个旧采石场转一圈，”杰克说，“看看那里有什么鸮——再给老琪琪一个机会尽情地叫一叫，看看是不是真的能把其他鸮引过来。我知道她很想试一试。对吧，琪琪，老伙计？”
　　琪琪在他耳边小声咕哝着什么，一副不想大声说出来的样子。杰克站起来抻了抻身子。“嗯，那就这样，你回家睡觉，我完事就回去。”他说，“我估计大概需要半小时。如果你听到成千上万的鸟鸣，别惊讶就是了，那肯定是琪琪干的！”
　　菲利普向农舍走去，而杰克则走向了旧采石场。他们谁也没有预料到接下来的十分钟里会发生什么！
12 Capture!
　　12
　　Capture!
　　Philip made his way to the back door of the cottage, but just as he was about to go in, he stopped.
　　What noise was that? It sounded like someone going to the front door - someone tiptoeing up thepath, surely?
　　The boy hesitated. Could it be someone after Gussy? He’d better warn Bill then - go in andwake him. He tiptoed quietly through the back door, into the hall and up the stairs. He stopped atthe top and looked back, hearing a small sound.
　　The front door was opening quietly, but with the little creak it always gave. Then a torch wasflashed on and off very quickly. Yes - somebody was getting in.
　　Philip yelled at the top of his voice. ‘Bill! BILL ! BILL ! Wake up, Bill. There’s someone getting in.’
　　He was standing just outside the girls’ door as he yelled, and they woke up at once. Gracious! -who was shouting like that?
　　‘Someone’s getting in. Quick, Bill, quick!’ shouted Philip again, wondering why there was noanswering shout from Bill’s room nearby.
　　The girls’ door opened and Dinah looked out, scared. ‘What is it? Who is it? Where’s Bill?’
　　‘Keep where you are,’ said a voice suddenly, and a torch was flashed on to the three of them,for Lucy-Ann had now appeared, trembling.
　　Philip pushed the girls violently, and they almost fell into their bedroom. Then he rushed intoBill’s room, yelling again. ‘ BILL ! Do wake up!’
　　The moonlight showed him a completely empty bed - a bed not even slept in! Then where wasBill? And his mother - where was she? Philip was astounded.
　　Gussy was now awake, up in the attic bedroom. He sat up, bewildered. What was all thisshouting? He suddenly noticed that Jack and Philip were not in their beds, and he leapt out of his,afraid.
　　Downstairs, in Bill’s bedroom, Philip was still yelling. Bill must be somewhere about - butwhere? ‘Bill! I say, BILL !
　　A torch flashed into the room, and two figures loomed up by the door.
　　‘You won’t find Bill,’ said a voice. ‘Or his wife either. We’ve got them. And now we want thePrince Aloysius. We do not intend to harm him in any way - but he must come with us. Hiscountry needs him.’
　　‘What have you done with my mother?’ demanded Philip, fiercely. ‘I’ll get the police! What doyou think you’re doing, capturing people, and coming after the Prince! You can’t do that kind ofthing in Britain!’
　　‘Oh yes, we can,’ said the foreign voice, smoothly, and the man stepped into the moonlight.
　　Philip saw that it was the man who had come with the woman that afternoon. Behind him wereother people - how many? Philip wished that Jack was with him. One boy wasn’t much against allthese people. He didn’t count Gussy as a boy!
　　One of the men behind called out something in a language that Philip didn’t understand, andreceived a sharp order in return. There was the sound of feet on the stairs leading up to the atticbedroom. They were after Gussy, who had done quite the wrong thing, and had appeared at the topin the bright moonlight! He had been seen at once, of course.
　　Gussy fled into the bedroom, slammed the door and locked it. He leaned against it, trembling.
　　Then he ran to the window. Could he get out?
　　No. Gussy was no climber, and although Jack and Philip would certainly have had a shot atclambering down the creeper, Gussy was afraid he might fall.
　　‘Unlock this door!’ cried a voice, but Gussy did not obey. Then two of the men flungthemselves against it, and it broke down easily. They clambered over the broken panels and wentto Gussy. He screamed.
　　One of the men bowed to him. ‘Your Highness, we have not come to harm you. We have cometo take you back to Tauri-Hessia to be crowned King in the place of your uncle. He is not liked,your uncle. The people want you instead.’
　　‘It’s a lie!’ shouted Gussy, trembling. ‘I’ve been told all about it. My uncle is too strong a rulerfor you, and you want a boy instead who will do as he is told. I will not come!’
　　All this was said in his own language, so that the girls, listening fearfully in their room below,did not understand a word. Philip pushed by the men at the door of Bill’s room and ran up toGussy.
　　‘Look here,’ he said fiercely to the two men there. ‘You know that the British Government andyour own Government won’t let you make Gussy King. You’ll get into trouble with ourGovernment, you know. You’ll be clapped into prison either here or in your own country.’
　　The men, joined by the other two below, had a quick conference. Philip didn’t understand aword. Then the tall man with the eyeglass bowed slightly to Philip.
　　‘You too will come with us,’ he said, ‘and the other children as well. You will - er - becompanions for our little Prince - and we do not think your Government will be too angry whenthey know we hold you also!’
　　‘Oh! So you think you’ll take us and make us a kind of hostage, do you?’ said Philip, quitebeside himself with rage. ‘You think you can bargain with our Government just because you’llhold us prisoners! My word, you don’t know the British people. You’ll be sorry for this! Holdingus to ransom! I never heard such a fatheaded idea in my life. You aren’t living in the Middle Ages,you know!’
　　The man heard him out to the end, quite politely. Then he made a motion with his hand, andtwo of the men pounced on Philip and Gussy and held them in such a vice-like grip that it wasquite hopeless to get away.
　　‘Run, you two - run!’ yelled Philip at the top of his voice, hoping that Dinah and Lucy-Annwould have the sense to rush into the woods and get away. But although they did manage to teardownstairs, they found a man in the hall, and he was quite able to hold the two kicking, yellinggirls until yet another fellow came to his help.
　　Sharp orders were given by the man with the eyeglass, who seemed to be in command. Oneman detached himself and went upstairs. He came down with an assortment of clothes for the girlsand Gussy, who was, of course, still in his beautiful silk pyjamas. The girls were in pyjamas anddressing gowns, but had no slippers on. The man was sent back to fetch shoes.
　　‘Where’s Bill?’ said Lucy-Ann, with chattering teeth. ‘I want Bill. What have they done withhim? And where’s Aunt Allie?’
　　‘Don’t be frightened,’ said the man with the eyeglass, patting her. ‘We shall treat you verykindly. We shall not hurt you. It will be nice for the little Prince Aloysius to have his friends withhim. You will have a fine time in Tauri-Hessia.’
　　Lucy-Ann suddenly realized that Jack was missing. She looked round wildly for him. ‘Where’sJack? What have you done with Jack?’
　　‘Ah, yes - there was another boy. I remember now,’ said the chief man. ‘Where is he?’
　　‘Out bird-watching,’ said Philip, sullenly. His only hope now was that Jack would see and hearthis disturbance and go to fetch help before they were all whisked away. He had given upstruggling. What was the use? He would only get hurt, and he could see that if the girls were goingto be captured, he certainly must go with them to look after them as best he could.
　　‘Bird-watching! At this time of night!’ said the man. ‘What strange habits you Britishers have!
　　We will not wait for this boy Jack. We do not need him.’
　　They opened the front door again, and pushed the four children out in front of them, holdingtheir arms tightly.
　　‘It is of no use to scream,’ said the chief, still very politely.
　　‘There is no one to hear you - and we should gag you if you did scream.’
　　‘Philip - what shall we do?’ asked Dinah, scarlet with rage at being captured like this.
　　‘Nothing,’ said Philip. ‘Just - er - hope for the best.’
　　Dinah guessed what he meant. Perhaps even at this very minute Jack was bringing help!
　　Lucy-Ann stumbled along miserably in her dressing gown. She had been allowed to put on hershoes, and so had the others. She was worried about Bill and her aunt, and very very worried aboutJack. Would she be taken off to Tauri-Hessia and have to leave Jack for months and months?
　　Where was Jack?
　　Jack was down in the quarry with Kiki. He had found plenty of owls hooting and screechingthere, for, as the old farm hand had said, it was a wonderful hunting place for owls of all kinds.
　　Kiki had been having the time of her life. She had hooted and screeched and twitted, and hadbrought a crowd of owls almost down to Jack’s shoulders. One owl, a barn owl, had screecheddeafeningly in his ear, and had struck him with a wing.
　　Jack decided that he was too easily seen where he stood. He must get under a bush somewhere,or else the next owl might scratch his face with a sharp talon or two!
　　He moved to the other side of the quarry and made his way to a big hedge there. As he drewnear, the moonlight glinted on something under the hedge. Something that shone brightly. Jackstopped. What could it be?
　　He went cautiously forward, and saw that something dark and long and very big was under thetall hedge, as close to it as possible. The moonlight caught its polished surface here and there.
　　‘Gosh! It’s a car!’ said Jack, in the greatest astonishment. ‘A car exactly like the one the couplehave at the farm - it must be the same one. What’s it doing here?’
　　He went over to it. It was empty. Nobody was in it at all. The key had been taken out so that itcould not be driven away.
　　‘Has somebody parked it here to go and spy round Quarry Cottage?’ wondered Jack. He went tothe back of the car. It had an enormous luggage boot. Jack opened it and peered inside. It wasempty except for an extra inner tube and a few tools.
　　Kiki hooted again, and an owl answered her. ‘Be quiet now, Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘We’ve got to do abit of spying. We’ll creep back to Quarry Cottage and see if there’s anyone snooping round there.’
　　But before he could do that, he heard the sound of footsteps coming into the quarry, and hedived into some bushes.
　　The footsteps made quite a lot of noise, because there were eight people coming into thedeserted quarry, where the car had been parked. Jack peered out of his bush and saw, to his greatalarm, that Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Gussy were all being held very firmly indeed! He stared,bewildered, unable to think what to do.
　　Kiki suddenly screeched - but it was not an owl screech, it was a real parrot screech - andPhilip recognized it at once. It was Kiki! Then Jack must be somewhere in the quarry still!
　　He gave a shout. ‘They’re taking us away! Tell Bill!’
　　The man holding him gave him a shove. ‘You were told not to shout! What’s the use ofshouting here? There’s no one to hear you!’
　　But there was, of course. There was Jack. But what was Jack to DO ?
第12章 被劫持
　　第12章 被劫持
　　菲利普走到农舍的后门，但就在要进去的时候，他停了下来。那是什么声音？听起来像是有什么人正在走向前门——蹑手蹑脚地沿着那条小径走来，如果他没听错。
　　男孩犹豫了一下。难道是那些追古斯的人？这样的话他最好进去叫醒比尔——向他发出警告。他悄悄地从后门走进大厅，上了楼梯，然后停在楼梯顶部，回头往下看去，仔细听着那小小的动静。
　　前门悄悄地被打开了，但就像往常那样还是发出了一点吱吱声。一个手电筒快速地闪烁了一下。是的——确实有人进来了。
　　菲利普用他最大的音量喊了出来：“比尔！比尔！比尔！快醒醒，比尔。有人进来了！”
　　他喊的时候正站在两个女孩的房门外。她们立刻被惊醒了。天哪！——这是谁在大喊大叫？
　　“有人进来了，快，比尔，快！”菲利普再次喊了起来，同时奇怪着为什么旁边比尔的卧室里还没传出任何回应。
　　女孩们的房门打开了，黛娜惊恐地探了出来：“发生了什么？是谁？比尔呢？”
　　“站着别动。”一个声音突然说，同时手电筒的光照到了他们三个身上——露西安刚才也出来了，正瑟瑟发抖地站着。
　　菲利普猛地推开女孩们，让她们几乎摔进了卧室里。他冲进比尔的房间，再次大喊：“比尔！醒一醒！”
　　然而月光下，只有一张空荡荡的床——上边甚至连人睡过的痕迹都没有！比尔在哪儿？还有他妈妈——她在哪里？菲利普惊呆了。
　　阁楼的卧室里古斯也醒了。他坐了起来，困惑不解。这些人大吵大嚷是怎么回事？他突然注意到杰克和菲利普都不在床上，这让他吓得一下子跳了起来，开始感到恐惧。
　　楼下比尔的卧室里，菲利普还在大喊。比尔一定在什么地方——但是在哪儿？“比尔！
　　我说，比尔！”
　　手电筒的光照进房间，两个人影阴森地出现在门口。
　　“你不会找到比尔的，”一个声音说，“他老婆也是。我们已经把他们搞定了。现在我们要阿洛伊修斯王子。我们不打算以任何方式伤害他——但他必须跟我们走。他的国家需要他。”
　　“你们对我妈妈做了什么？”菲利普愤怒地问道，“我会报警的！你们以为你们在做什么，劫持别人，还有王子！你们不能在英国做这种事！”
　　“哦，是的，我们可以。”那个外国腔柔顺地说道，随即一个男人踏进月光之中。菲利普认出了他正是那天下午和那个女人一起过来的男人。在他身后还有其他人——有几个？
　　菲利普真希望此时此刻杰克在他身边。一个男孩对付不了这么多人。他可没把古斯算在内！
　　其中一个男子用菲利普听不懂的语言喊着什么，然后得到了一道严厉的命令。这时，传来了有人踩着楼梯往阁楼的卧室去的脚步声。他们是冲着古斯去的，而古斯做出了最错误的选择，在明亮的月光下，他出现在了楼梯顶部！当然，他立即就被看到了。
　　古斯逃回卧室，砰的一声锁上了门。他靠着门，浑身颤抖。然后，古斯跑向窗户。他能从这里逃出去吗？
　　不。古斯并不善于攀爬。尽管换作菲利普和杰克的话，或许可以尝试沿着藤蔓植物爬下去，但他恐怕会直接掉下去。
　　“开门！”一个声音大喊着，但古斯并没有照做。两个男人猛地用力撞门。门很轻易地就被撞开了。他们踏过破裂的门板，一步步向古斯逼近。他尖叫起来。
　　其中一名男子向他鞠躬：“殿下，我们不打算伤害你。我们只是来带你回特瑞赫西亚，取代你叔叔加冕为国王。你的叔叔不受欢迎。人民更希望你在那个位置上。”
　　“你撒谎！”古斯颤抖着喊道，“我听过所有的事情。我的叔叔对你们来说太强大了，你们只是想要一个听从你们命令的男孩。我才不回去！”
　　这些话都是用他自己的语言说出来的，所以女孩们只是在楼下的房间里恐惧地听着，却一句话都听不懂。菲利普推开了站在比尔房间门口的男人，跑向古斯。
　　“听着，”他对那里的两名男子凶狠地说，“你们知道英国政府还有你们自己的政府都不会允许你们拥立古斯为国王。我们的政府会和你们算账的，明白吗！你们早晚会进监狱的，不是在这儿，就是在你们自己的国家。”
　　这两个人和下边的两个人进行了一番快速的交流。菲利普一个字也听不懂。那个戴着单片眼镜的高个子向他微微鞠躬。
　　“你也会和我们一起走的，”他说，“还有其他孩子。你们会——嗯——陪伴我们的小王子——我们认为，如果你们的政府知道你们在我们那里，应该就不会太生气！”
　　“哦！所以你认为你们可以把我们绑走，让我们成为什么人质，是吧？”菲利普勃然大怒，“你觉得绑了我们就可以与我们的政府讨价还价了！我得说，你真不了解英国人。你会为此后悔的！劫持我们然后期待什么赎金！我迄今为止还从没听说过这么白痴的主意。你们不是活在中世纪，你知道的！”
　　那个男人很有礼貌地听他说完，然后做了一个手势，两个男人立刻扑向了菲利普和古斯，以异常凶狠的姿势轻易地将他们制服了，完全没有给他们留下任何逃脱的余地。
　　“快跑，你们两个，跑！”菲利普吼道，希望黛娜和露西安能想办法冲进树林然后逃脱。然而，尽管她们成功地冲下了楼梯，却在大厅里遭遇了另一名男子。他成功地控制住了两个尖叫着挣扎反抗的女孩，直到另一个人赶过去帮忙将她们彻底制服。
　　戴眼镜的男人再次发出了严厉的命令，这个人似乎是行动的指挥。一个男人上楼去了。当他再下来的时候，怀里抱着一堆各种各样的衣服，有女孩们的，也有古斯的——他还穿着他的漂亮的真丝睡衣，当然。女孩们穿着睡衣和睡裙，但是光着脚。男人又回去拿鞋。
　　“比尔在哪儿？”露西安牙齿发颤地说，“我想要比尔。他们对他做了什么？还有艾莉阿姨？”
　　“别害怕，”那个戴单片眼镜的男人拍了拍她，“你们会受到非常友好的招待。我们不会伤害你们。小阿洛伊修斯王子的朋友能陪着他一起将会是一件很好的事情。你们将在特瑞赫西亚过得很愉快。”
　　露西安突然意识到杰克不见了。她恐慌地开始用眼睛四处搜寻他：“杰克在哪儿？你们对杰克做了什么？”
　　“哦，对了——还有一个男孩，我想起来了，”为首的男人说，“他在哪儿？”
　　“出去观鸟了。”菲利普沮丧地说。他现在只希望杰克能够注意到或听到这里的混乱，在他们所有的人都被劫走之前能及时找到援助。他已经放弃了挣扎。有什么用呢？他只会因此受伤。而且他想到如果女孩们也被带走，无论如何他都必须跟着，以便尽可能地照顾她们。
　　“观鸟！在大半夜！”那人说，“你们英国人的嗜好可真够奇怪的！我们不会等这个叫杰克的男孩。我们不需要他。”
　　他们再次打开了前门，紧紧地抓着四个孩子的胳膊，将他们推到前边。“尖叫是没有用的，”为首的男人说，语气依旧彬彬有礼，“没人会听到——如果谁要尖叫，我们就会塞住他的嘴。”
　　“菲利普——我们该怎么办？”黛娜问道，她对孩子们被这样抓住有点恼羞成怒。
　　“不做什么。”菲利普说，“只是——嗯——尽量往好处想吧。”
　　黛娜猜到了他什么意思。也许就在此时此刻，杰克正带着援兵赶来！
　　可怜的露西安穿着睡裙，磕磕绊绊地走着。她被允许穿上鞋子，其他人也是。她担心着比尔和艾莉阿姨，还有杰克。她会被带到特瑞赫西亚，然后就这样长年累月地和杰克分开吗？杰克在哪里？
　　此时，杰克正和琪琪待在旧采石场里。他在那里发现了大量的鸮，它们此起彼伏地鸣叫着。就像那个农场老劳工说的一样，对于所有的鸮来说，这里都是一个绝佳的狩猎地点。
　　琪琪兴高采烈地享受着属于她的时光。她发出各种声音，尖啸的，长鸣的，带着颤音的，招惹了差不多一整群鸮落到杰克的肩膀上。其中一只仓鸮就在他耳畔震耳欲聋地尖叫着，还用翅膀扇中了他。
　　这让杰克觉得自己站的地方大概是太显眼了。他应该钻到灌木丛下面或者别的什么地方去，否则下一次弄不好就是哪只鸮的爪子抓花自己的脸了！
　　他转向旧采石场的另一头，向一大片树篱走去。然而当他靠近时，月光照在树篱下的什么东西上闪闪发光。那闪光实在是太明亮了。杰克停下了脚步。那是什么？
　　他小心翼翼地靠近，发现那是一个又大又长又黑的东西，停在高大的树篱下边。他尽可能地靠近它，看清楚了那物体不断地折射着月光的光滑表面。
　　“天！一辆汽车！”杰克难以置信地说，“看起来和农场的那对男女坐的那辆一模一样——应该就是一辆。它怎么会在这里？”
　　他走了过去。车子是空的。没有人在里边。钥匙也被拔走了，以防它被开走。
　　“把它停在这里的人是要去监视旧采石场吗？”杰克寻思道。他绕到车后边，发现它有一个巨大的后备厢。杰克打开了它，向里窥视。里边除了一个备胎和一些工具之外，什么也没有。
　　琪琪又一次嚷嚷起来，并且引来了一只鸮的回应。“现在安静，琪琪，”杰克说，“我们得做一些秘密的侦查工作了。让我们悄悄地溜回农舍，看看是不是有人在那边做一些鬼鬼祟祟的事情。”
　　但是，还没等他来得及实行计划，远处就传来了一些向旧采石场走来的脚步声，于是他潜入了灌木丛里。
　　脚步声很嘈杂，因为足足有八个人进入了这座废弃的采石场，走向停车的地方。杰克从树缝间向外窥视，十分惊恐地发现菲利普、黛娜、露西安和古斯都被牢牢地控制着！他瞪大了眼睛，困惑不解，不知该怎么办。
　　琪琪突然开始尖叫——不是鸮的那种叫法，而是真正的鹦鹉式的尖叫——菲利普立刻认出了这个声音。那是琪琪！那么杰克一定还在旧采石场的某个地方！
　　他大喊了出来：“他们带走了我们！告诉比尔！”
　　押着他的那个人给了他一下：“告诉过你了不许喊！在这里喊有什么用？没人能听到！”
　　有人，当然有。杰克就在这里。但是杰克该做些什么呢？
13 The extra passenger
　　13
　　The extra passenger
　　Jack stared in distress at the four children being bundled into the car - Philip and Dinah at theback with three men, and Gussy and Lucy-Ann in front with the driver. What a crowd! If anyonesaw the car going along with such a number of people in, surely it would be noticed and stopped?
　　‘Yes, it would,’ thought Jack, ‘so that means they can’t be going very far - they will arrive attheir destination before daylight. Are they going to take them to some hiding place fairly nearthen? Why in the world have they got Philip and the girls as well as Gussy?’
　　Everyone was now in the car. The doors were shut as quietly as possible. The engine wasstarted up - and just at that very moment Jack had an idea!
　　He ran, crouching, to the back of the car. He hadn’t had time to shut the luggage boot properlywhen he had opened it to look inside. Could he get into it before the car drove off? It was such afine big one.
　　The car began to move very slowly out of the quarry, bumping over rough places. Jack flunghimself at the back of it, and clambered up on to the luggage boot. It swung right open, and Jackhalf-fell into it. Kiki was astounded, and flew off his shoulder at once. Jack stared at her anxiously.
　　He dared not call her back.
　　But, as soon as she saw Jack settled in the boot, she flew down again, and found his shoulder.
　　She talked solemnly into his ear, in a very low voice, trying to tell him in parrot language that shethought these goings-on were extremely peculiar, but that so long as Jack approved of them, shedid too - and she was coming with him, even in this dark, smelly car boot!
　　Jack felt comforted to have her. He puzzled over everything. Where was Bill? And Aunt Allie?
　　How was it these fellows had been able to get into Quarry Cottage so easily and capture everyone?
　　But what had they done with Bill? Was he lying knocked out in the cottage? Ought Jack to havegone to see, instead of climbing into the boot?
　　The car had now gathered speed and was going down country lanes very fast. It drew up once,at some dark little house, where a man came out. There was another car there and one of the menin the first car thankfully got out and went to the second car. This went on ahead, as if guiding theother. Jack was glad. He didn’t want bright head lights behind him, showing him sitting in theboot!
　　‘I ought to close the boot and shut myself in. But suppose I can’t get it open again?’ he thought.
　　‘I simply must see what place they’re taking the others to. If I can do that, I can soon raise thealarm, have the place surrounded, and everyone rescued! I hope no one sees me here.’
　　Another hour’s run in the smooth-running powerful car - then it stopped. There was a sharpexchange of words, a light flashed, and a gate creaked open.
　　‘Hallo! We’re here already, wherever that may be!’ thought Jack. ‘Had I better get out now,while the car has stopped? Blow - it’s too late. They’re going on again.’
　　The car bumped over a dark field. And then suddenly a strange, extraordinarily loud noisestarted up not far ahead. Jack jumped violently, and Kiki gave a loud screech, which fortunatelycouldn’t possibly be heard in the enormous noise going on.
　　‘An aeroplane!’ said Jack. ‘So that’s what they’ve planned. They’re going off to Tauri-Hessia!
　　They must be. And they’ll hide Gussy somewhere till their plans are all ready, and the girls andPhilip with him. Nobody will know where they are.’
　　He felt the car come to a stop with a bump. He crawled out of the boot at once, and ran to a bigshape looming up nearby. It was a lorry. Jack crouched beside it, watching.
　　He saw an aeroplane not far off, its propellers whirring. It hadn’t all its lights on yet, but menwere round it with lamps. It was obviously soon going to take off.
　　What was this place? A private airfield? Jack had no idea at all. He watched all the passengersin the big black car tumbling out, one after the other. He thought he heard Lucy-Ann crying, andhis heart sank. She would hate all this! She wasn’t tough, like Dinah. Where would she betomorrow?
　　Everyone was hurried towards the plane. Jack left his hiding place and hurried too. He had hadanother idea! Could he hide in the plane? He had hidden in the car, and no one had suspected it.
　　Would there be any place to hide in the plane?
　　He thought of the planes he had flown in. The luggage-space would be the only place. Thereprobably wouldn’t be much there. It was a risk, but he’d take it. If he was discovered, well, at leasthe’d be with the others.
　　‘But I mustn’t be discovered!’ he thought desperately. ‘If I am I’ll be hidden away somewheretoo - and I simply must find out where the others are being taken, so that I can somehow get wordto Bill.’
　　Kiki came to his help, quite unexpectedly. She didn’t see why she shouldn’t talk to the others,whose voices she had recognized as soon as she heard them getting out of the car. She left Jack’sshoulder and flew towards Lucy-Ann.
　　‘Pop goes the weasel!’ she cried. ‘God save the King! Send for the doctor!’
　　The four children in front turned round in utter amazement. ‘Kiki! KIKI ! How did you get here?’
　　The men pushing them forward stopped at once. They had no idea that Kiki was only a parrot,and had not even spotted her in the darkness. They thought she must be someone coming after thechildren, on the airfield, someone quite unexpected, who had followed them!
　　Orders were shouted. Lamps flashed here and there. Kiki was frightened and flew back to Jack.
　　‘Wipe your feet!’ she called, much to the amazement of the men with the lamps.
　　Jack ran round the other side of the lorry, for the men were coming too near him. Then he sawhis chance. Everyone’s attention was on the men who were searching the field with lamps.
　　Nobody was watching the plane.
　　Jack ran to it in the darkness, stumbling as he went. Thank goodness the moon had convenientlygone behind a remarkably black cloud! He felt a drop of rain. Perhaps the moon wouldn’t comeout till he was safely in the plane.
　　He reached the plane, and thankfully saw the steps up to it. He ran up and found himself in theplane. No one was there. He groped his way to the back, where he hoped to find the luggage-space. He felt something that was shaped like a crate. Yes - this must be where they put theluggage! He felt round again, and came across a box. It had a lid, and he lifted it up, hoping thatthe box was empty.
　　It wasn’t. It was full of something soft, that might be clothes, or material of some kind. It feltlike silk. Jack pulled most of it out and stuffed in into a corner, behind the big crate.
　　Then he hurriedly got into the box and pulled the lid down. Only just in time! Kiki was withhim, of course, silent and astonished. Jack had tapped her beak to tell her she must be absolutelyquiet.
　　He heard the sound of voices and the noise of feet going up the steps into the plane. He heardshouts, and bangs and whirs. The propellers, which had stopped, were started up again, and theaeroplane shook violently.
　　The wheels bumped very slowly over the field and then the bumping stopped.
　　‘We’ve taken off,’ thought Jack, thankfully. ‘And I’m here with the others, though they don’tknow it. Now will my luck hold? Shall I get to wherever they’re going without being discovered?
　　I do hope so! If only I can find out where they will be hidden, things will be easy.’
　　It was uncomfortable in the box, but as Jack had left some of the soft material at the bottom, atleast he had something soft to crouch on. Kiki didn’t like it at all. She grumbled in his ear, andthen suddenly produced a tremendous sneeze.
　　It sounded very loud indeed to Jack. He sat as quiet as a mouse, waiting for someone to comeand look round the luggage-space. But nobody did. The noise of the engines was too loud forKiki’s sneeze to be heard. It was a real sneeze, not a pretend one, and Kiki was just as surprised asJack was when it came.
　　The children in the front of the plane talked in low voices, sure that the engines would drownwhat they were saying. It seemed queer to be sitting in a plane dressed in night clothes - all butPhilip, of course.
　　‘Was that Kiki we heard out on the field?’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘It must have been. I’m sure I heard“Pop goes the weasel”!’
　　‘I believe it was,’ said Philip. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if old Jack hung on to that car somehow.
　　After all, we know he was in that quarry - he probably saw what was happening, and managed tohang on behind somewhere.’
　　‘I wish he was with us now,’ sighed Lucy-Ann. ‘I shan’t like being without him. Where are wegoing, I wonder? To some horrid old castle - or perhaps a palace? Gussy, have you got a palace?’
　　‘Yes,’ said Gussy. ‘But only a small one. We shan’t go there, because the people know me.
　　They would see me. I have heard these men talking, and they do not want me to be seen yet. Firstthey must deal with my uncle. I hope they will not kill him. He is nice, my uncle.’
　　‘I sincerely hope they won’t do anything of the sort,’ said Philip. ‘You’d have to be King then,Gussy. How I’d hate to be a King! Always having to be on my best behaviour, never to lose mytemper or do a thing that was wrong or impolite, having to be nice to people I hated, and . . .’
　　‘Why isn’t your father King?’ asked Dinah. ‘Why are you the heir to the throne?’
　　‘My father is dead,’ said Gussy. ‘There is only my mother, and in our country women are notallowed to rule. So one day I must be King. I shall like it.’
　　‘Well - you like ordering people about, and showing off,’ said Dinah. ‘So I suppose it’ll suityou. But I can’t say you’re my idea of a King. Oh dear - I wish this hadn’t happened. All ourEaster hols spoiled!’
　　‘I hate all this,’ said Lucy-Ann, dismally. ‘I’m cold, and now I’m sleepy.’
　　‘Cuddle up to me,’ said Dinah. After all, it’s the middle of the night, so we ought to feel sleepy.
　　I do too. Let’s go to sleep. It will make the night seem shorter.’
　　‘I could go to sleep at once if I didn’t keep thinking of Bill and Aunt Allie,’ said Lucy-Ann,shutting her eyes, and getting close to Dinah for warmth. ‘I keep on thinking about - about - Ikeep on . . .’
　　Philip smiled at Dinah over Lucy-Ann’s head. She was asleep already, in spite of her ‘thinking’.
　　Poor Lucy-Ann - she fell into adventures as readily as the others, but she didn’t enjoy them nearlyso much!
　　Jack fell into an uncomfortable sleep too, in his box in the luggage-space. Kiki tucked her headunder her wing and slept peacefully. The plane went on and on in the night, through a rain-storm,and then out into clear weather again, with a moon still bright in the sky.
　　None of the children saw that it was flying over the brilliant, moonlit sea. None of them gazeddown to see the towns that looked like toy villages far below. The engines droned on and on, andthe rhythm lulled the sleepers for mile upon mile.
　　And then the plane began to circle over a small airfield. It had arrived! Philip woke in a hurryand shook the girls. Gussy woke too and looked down from the window.
　　‘Tauri-Hessia!’ he said, proudly. ‘My country, Tauri-Hessia!’
第13章 额外的乘客
　　第13章 额外的乘客
　　杰克痛苦地注视着四个孩子被塞进车里——菲利普和黛娜被夹在后座的三个男人之间，古斯和露西安则在前座，司机旁边。如此拥挤！如果有人看到车里有这么多人，肯定会觉得不正常，然后叫它停下来？
　　“没错，肯定会的，”杰克想，“这就意味着他们不能去太远的地方——也就是说，他们的目的地肯定是什么在天亮之前就能到的地方。这些人是打算把古斯他们带到附近的某个秘密基地吗？该死的！到底为什么他们连菲利普和女孩们也跟着古斯一起绑了？”
　　所有的人现在都在车里了。车门被尽可能安静地关上。引擎启动了——这时，杰克突然有了一个主意！
　　他快速跑到了车的后边，蹲下来。之前他打开后备厢察看的时候，没来得及把它关上。在车子开走之前他能钻进去吗？不管怎么说那里面有足够大的空间。
　　车子开始非常缓慢地向旧采石场外开去，在崎岖不平的路上颠簸着。杰克猛地扑向它的尾部，吃力地攀住了后备厢的边缘。车子突然向右转弯，杰克的半个身子都被甩进了后备厢。琪琪吓了一跳，立刻从他肩上飞了起来。杰克焦急地望着她，不敢出声招呼她回来。
　　但是，当她看到杰克在后备厢里坐稳之后，马上又飞了下去，重新蹲回到他的肩膀上。她压低了声音、非常严肃地对着他的耳朵嘀咕，试图用鹦鹉的语言告诉他正在发生的这一切感觉起来实在是不怎么样，但既然杰克决定了，那么她也一样——她会跟着他，哪怕是在这黑乎乎、臭烘烘的汽车后备厢里！
　　因为有她在身旁，杰克才感到一点安慰。他对每一件事都困惑不解。比尔在哪里？还有艾莉阿姨？这些家伙为何能如此轻易地进入石场农舍并且绑架了每一个人？他们对比尔做了什么？他被击昏在农舍里了吗？或许杰克应该去看看那边，而不是爬进这个后备厢里？
　　车子开始加速了，它沿着乡村小道快速行驶，只在一所漆黑的小房子前停了一次。一个男人从里面走了出来。那里还有另一辆车。杰克潜伏的这辆车上的某个男人钻出车外，松了口气，换到了第二辆车上。而后那辆车便开到前边去带路。杰克不由觉得庆幸。坐在后备厢里，被明晃晃的车头灯从后边照出来可不是他所期待的事情！
　　“我或许应该把后备厢合上，把这里锁好。但万一我打不开它该怎么办？”他思考着，“我只是必须看到他们要被带到哪里去。一旦搞清楚，我就可以马上报警了。让那个地方被包围，这样每个人都能得救！希望没人看到我在这里。”
　　这辆马力强劲的汽车平稳地跑了一个小时后停了下来。随即传来一阵急促的交谈声，一道光闪过，某扇门被吱吱嘎嘎地打开了。
　　“好了！我们现在算是到了，不管这是哪里！”杰克想，“车子已经停了，我是不是最好现在离开？啧——迟了。车又开了。”
　　车子颠簸地穿过一片黑乎乎的地方。突然，附近响起了一个巨大的、古怪的噪音。杰克猛地弹了起来，琪琪也发出了一声响亮的尖叫。幸好在这一片嘈杂里，它的声音并没有被注意到。
　　“一架飞机！”杰克自言自语道，“这就是他们的计划。他们打算飞去特瑞赫西亚！肯定是的。然后他们就可以把古斯藏到随便什么地方，直到一切准备就绪。女孩们、菲利普和古斯会被关在一起。没人能知道他们在哪儿。”
　　他感觉到车子颠簸了一下，然后停住了。杰克立刻爬出了后备厢，跑向离得最近的一片巨大的阴影。那是一辆货运卡车。杰克蹲伏到它的旁边，向外窥望着。
　　他看到不远处停着一架飞机，螺旋桨正在嗡嗡作响。它上边的灯并没有全部都亮着，但人们提着灯围着它。显然，它很快就会起飞了。
　　这里是什么地方？一座私人机场吗？杰克一头雾水。他看着那辆大黑轿车里的乘客们一个接一个跌跌撞撞地下了车。他似乎听到了露西安的哭声，这让他的心沉了下去。露西安肯定讨厌透了这一切！她并不像黛娜那么坚强。明天她会在哪儿？
　　每个人都慌忙地向飞机走去。杰克也匆匆地离开了自己的藏身之地。他有了一个新主意！或许他可以藏到飞机里？他之前躲在轿车里，并没有人怀疑过。飞机上有什么地方可以让他藏起来吗？
　　他回忆着自己坐过的飞机。看起来行李舱是唯一的选择。那里可能不会很大。这有一定的风险，但他必须这么干。如果他被发现了，好吧，那至少他会和其他人在一起了。
　　“但我一定不能被发现！”他绝望地想着，“如果被发现了，我就会和其他人一样被带到什么地方去关起来——而我必须要搞清楚他们会被带到哪里去，然后总有办法给比尔捎个消息。”
　　琪琪以某种意料之外的方式帮了他。她看不出有什么理由不能和其他人说话。在孩子们钻出轿车的时候，她就认出了那些声音。于是她离开了杰克的肩膀，飞向露西安。
　　“砰，去追黄鼠狼！”她叫着，“天佑吾王！去请医生来！”
　　四个孩子极其吃惊地转过身来：“琪琪！琪琪！你怎么到这来的？”
　　推搡着他们往前走的男人们立即停了下来。他们不清楚琪琪是一只鹦鹉，而且因为黑暗的环境也没有看到它。他们认为那一定是追着孩子们来的什么人，就在这机场里，某个不速之客跟着他们来了！
　　命令被大声传递着。灯光四处照射着。琪琪害怕起来，便飞回到杰克身边。
　　“擦干你的脚！”她喊道，让那些提着灯的人吃了一惊。
　　杰克从货车的另一边跑了出去，因为那些人已经离得太近了。很快，他看到了自己的机会。此时，所有人的注意力都集中在那些提灯搜寻着地面的男人身上，没有人看向飞机。
　　在黑暗之中，杰克磕磕绊绊地跑向它。谢天谢地，仿佛特别方便他似的，月亮躲到了一朵厚厚的黑云后面。杰克感觉到了一滴雨滴。或许直到他安全地进入飞机之前，月亮都不会露面了。
　　他到达了飞机所在的地方，欣慰地发现那里有一架通向它的舷梯。他跑了上去，进到里边。机舱内空无一人。他摸索着走到后面，希望在那里能找到行李舱。然后他碰到了一个东西，摸起来很像板条箱。没错——这一定是他们用来放行李的地方！他四处摸索着，然后碰到了一个大箱子。这箱子有个盖子，他把它掀开，希望里边是空的。
　　可惜事与愿违。它装满了某种柔软的东西，可能是衣服或某种布料。感觉像是丝绸。
　　杰克把大部分东西都掏了出来，胡乱地塞进了板条箱后面的某个角落里。
　　然后，他匆匆爬进了箱子，把盖子合上。时间刚刚好！当然，琪琪仍旧跟着他，沉默着，并且有些吃惊。杰克轻轻地敲了敲琪琪的嘴巴，告诉她必须保持绝对的安静。
　　他听到了一些谈话的声音，然后从登机舷梯那里传来了纷杂的脚步声。他又听到了一些喊声，什么东西被猛力关上的声音，还有嗡嗡的声音。之前停下的螺旋桨再次转了起来，飞机开始剧烈地晃动。
　　飞机的轮子在地面上缓慢地颠簸前行，随后，颠簸感消失了。
　　“可算起飞了，”杰克想着，松了口气，“我在这里和其他人一起，虽然他们不知道。不知道我的好运气会不会一直继续下去？我能悄悄地跟着他们直到目的地都不被发现吗？最好是这样！只要我搞清楚他们将被藏到哪里，一切就会变得很容易。”
　　箱子里很不舒服，但杰克留了一些那种柔软的料子在箱底，这样他至少有一个软一点的地方可以倚靠。虽然琪琪完全不喜欢这里。她对着他的耳朵抱怨着，突然打了一个大喷嚏。
　　在杰克听来，这简直是巨响。他像老鼠一样僵坐着，等着有什么人过来查看行李舱。
　　但并没有人。机械发出的轰鸣声太响了，以至于琪琪的喷嚏声没有被听到。这是一个真正的喷嚏，而不是模仿的，所以当它发生的时候，琪琪和杰克一样吃惊。
　　机舱前座上的孩子们低声交谈着，很确定在引擎声音的掩护下，他们的聊天不被听到。穿着睡衣坐在飞机里看起来确实很古怪——当然，除了菲利普。
　　“在停机坪上我们听到的是琪琪的声音吗？”露西安说，“肯定是。我确信我听到了‘砰，去追黄鼠狼！’”
　　“我认为就是它。”菲利普说，“如果老杰克用某种办法蹭上了那辆车，我也不会感到惊讶。不管怎么说，我们知道他就在那个旧采石场里——他或许看到了发生的事情，然后想办法挂在车上的某个地方跟了过来。”
　　“我真希望他现在和我们在一起，”露西安叹气道，“没有他在我会不习惯的。我想知道我们要去哪儿？一个可怕的古堡——或者一座宫殿？古斯，你有王宫吗？”
　　“有，”古斯说，“但只是很小的一个。我们应该不会去那里。因为人们认识我。他们会发现我的。我之前听到这些人聊天说了，他们还不希望我现在就被看到。他们必须先摆平我叔叔。我希望他们不会杀了他。我叔叔他人很好。”
　　“我真诚地希望他们不会做这种事，”菲利普说，“否则你就不得不成为国王，古斯。天知道我多讨厌做一个国王！必须永远保持最好的仪态和行为，不能失礼，不能说错做错任何事情，必须对我讨厌的人们和蔼可亲，还有……”
　　“为什么你爸爸不是国王？”黛娜问，“为什么你是王位继承人？”
　　“我父亲去世了。”古斯说，“现在只有我妈妈，但是在我的国家女人是不能成为国王的。所以某一天我必须成为国王。我必须得喜欢这件事。”
　　“好吧——你喜欢给人们下命令，喜欢摆谱，”黛娜说，“所以我想那也许挺适合你。但是我得说你不是我理想中的那种国王。哦，天哪——我真希望这一切都没发生。我们的复活节假期彻底泡汤了！”
　　“我讨厌这一切，”露西安怏怏地说，“我很冷，而且现在很困。”
　　“搂着我，”黛娜说，“毕竟现在是半夜，感到困是正常的。我也困了。我们睡一会儿吧，这会让时间感觉上过得快一些。”
　　“如果我没有一直在想比尔和艾莉阿姨的事情，我应该早就睡着了，”露西安说着，闭上了眼睛，向黛娜靠过去以获得温暖，“我一直在想关于——关于——我一直……”
　　菲利普越过露西安的头对黛娜笑了笑。尽管她“在想”，她还是睡着了。可怜的露西安——她总是和其他人一起被卷入冒险，但她从来都没那么喜欢过这件事！
　　杰克也睡着了，在行李舱狭小的空间里，保持着很不舒服的姿态。琪琪将头埋进翅膀，睡得很安然。飞机在夜空中向前，向前，穿过了一片暴风雨，再进入了晴朗的区域。
　　一轮明月悬挂在空中，照耀着它。
　　没有一个孩子看到它正飞过月光下波光粼粼的海洋。他们也没看到遥远的大地上那如玩具一般的村镇。发动机持续地嗡嗡作响，沉闷的节奏抚慰着沉睡的人们，伴随着他们飞了一英里又一英里。
　　随后，飞机开始绕着一块小停机坪盘旋。它已经到了！菲利普突然醒来，并摇醒了女孩们。古斯也醒了，从窗口向下望去。
　　“特瑞赫西亚！”他自豪地说，“我的国家，特瑞赫西亚！”
14 Jack is on his own
　　14
　　Jack is on his own
　　The sun was up, just above the horizon, when the plane landed gently on the runway. The sky wasgolden, and in the distance small whitewashed houses gleamed brightly.
　　Jack awoke when the engines stopped. He lifted up the lid of his box slightly, listening. Hadthey arrived? Then he heard Gussy’s voice. ‘Tauri-Hessia!’
　　‘So we’ve arrived,’ thought Jack. ‘Now - what do I do next? It’s daylight - though I shouldguess it’s only just sunrise.’
　　The four children in front were hustled out. The little airfield was completely deserted exceptfor a few mechanics. A large car stood waiting. The children were pushed into it without amoment’s pause. Obviously they were to be hurried somewhere secret as fast as possible.
　　Jack got out of the box and made his way cautiously to a window. He saw the children justbelow, getting into a big car. The man with the eyeglass appeared to be in command, and gave anorder to the chauffeur as he got in. The man was holding open the door and bowed. He saluted too,and repeated something after the man with the eyeglass.
　　‘Borken!’
　　Then he got into the driving-seat and drove swiftly off the field to a large gate in the distance.
　　‘Borken!’ said Jack to himself. ‘Now would that be the name of a place - or just a Hessian wordfor “Thank you” or something? Well - they’ve gone. Kiki, you and I are on our own in a strangeland whose language we don’t know. And we have only got a few English coins in our pocket - sowhat do you suppose is the best thing to do?’
　　‘Send for the doctor,’ said Kiki, putting up her crest and looking very wise. ‘Send for thedoctor. Put the kettle on.’
　　Jack went on looking out of the window. It seemed to him that everyone had walked off to alittle wooden building at one end of the airfield - to get refreshments, perhaps? Jack felt that hewould like some too!
　　He went cautiously into the other part of the plane. Not a soul was there. In fact, not a soul wasto be seen anywhere, even on the field or in the distance.
　　‘I think the time has come for us to go, Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘Ready for a sprint? I hardly think we’llget away without being noticed - but at any rate we’ll have a good start, if the men have to comefrom that wooden building right over there.’
　　He went to the landing steps and ran down them. Then he sprinted at top speed across the fieldto the entrance. Nothing happened for a minute or two, and then two men appeared at the door ofthe distant building. They shouted loudly, and then began to run after Jack.
　　But he had a wonderful start, and the men gave up almost at once, and returned to the building.
　　‘Just a boy longing for a close look at an aeroplane!’ they said to one another.
　　Jack ran out of the entrance and found himself on a wide, deserted road. No one was in sight.
　　He could not even see any houses. This must be a very lonely airfield! He began to walk along theroad, Kiki on his shoulder. He was very hungry indeed now.
　　‘Why isn’t anyone about?’ he thought. ‘Not a car to be seen so I can’t get a lift. I wonder wherethe others are by now? Wish I was with them!’
　　He suddenly remembered that it was very early in the morning. Of course no one would beabout yet. The sun had only just risen. Possibly he might meet a workman or two soon.
　　He met a man cycling along the road after a while and held up his hand to stop him. The manput one foot on the road, and stopped his bicycle.
　　‘Eglinoota?’ he said. At least, that is what it sounded like to Jack. He looked astonished to seeKiki.
　　‘I’m English,’ said Jack, trying to speak slowly and clearly. ‘Where is the police station?’
　　‘Eglinoota?’ said the man again, looking bewildered. ‘Oota? Oota?’
　　‘Parp-parp,’ said Kiki, suddenly. ‘Parp-parp!’ It sounded exactly like the hooter of a car! Jacklaughed.
　　‘Did you think the man kept saying “hooter”?’ he asked Kiki. ‘Well, he wasn’t. Goodnessknows what he was saying! I wish I knew what “food” was in the Hessian language!’
　　‘Powkepotoplink?’ said the man, trying again. He pointed to the parrot. ‘Powkepotoplink? Ai,ai!’
　　He suddenly took out a notebook and a pencil and began drawing something on a page. Jackwondered what it was. The man tore out the page and gave it to him.
　　The drawing looked like a small map showing various roads. There was something that lookedlike a pond also, and something else that looked like a church spire. At the bottom of the map theman had drawn what looked like a tent. He jabbed at it with his pencil.
　　‘Powkepotoplink,’ he said again, very loudly, as if that might help Jack to understand.
　　‘Plink-plonk, plink-plonk,’ said Kiki, at once, and went off into a cackle of laughter. The manlooked at her in admiration. He undid a bag and took out a small sugared cake. He presented it toKiki, who took it with her right foot, making a sudden clucking noise like a hen.
　　Jack looked at it with hungry eyes and the man noticed the look. He delved in his bag again andbrought out an enormously thick sandwich with some kind of bright red meat in it. He presentedthis to Jack, who was thrilled.
　　‘Thank you,’ said the boy. ‘Thank you very much.’
　　‘Cheepalikkle,’ said the man, incomprehensibly, and rode off, waving. Jack walked on,munching the huge sandwich. Kiki put out her parrot-tongue and licked the cake. She didn’t like itand gave it to Jack. In return he gave her some of her favourite sunflower seeds, of which healways kept a supply in his pocket. She sat happily on his shoulder, cracking them.
　　Jack looked at the map. What did it mean? Why had that man drawn it? He must have thoughtthere was some particular place Jack wanted to go to - but Jack himself didn’t know of any placein Tauri-Hessia that he wanted to find, except the place where the others had gone. And that mightbe Borken and it might not. Borken might mean anything in this unknown Hessian language!
　　He walked on and on for miles, feeling much better for the sandwich. He decided that he mustlook for a police station if ever he came to the end of this wide, deserted road. It looked as if it hadonly been built to lead to the airfield! Except for the man on the bicycle he met nobody at all.
　　But at last he saw houses in the distance. Ah - he was coming to a village - no, a town, becauseas he came nearer he saw that it was far too big to be called a village.
　　‘If I could just find somebody who spoke English, it would be such a help,’ thought Jack. ‘Icould ask for a police station then, and get a telegram - or a cable - sent to Bill. I wish he’d comeout here and help. I wonder what happened to him. I bet those fellows knocked him out.’
　　He came into the town and looked around him with interest. The shops were small and dark, thehouses were whitewashed or pink-washed, and seemed to run to curls and squiggles and muchdecoration - rather ‘fretworky’, Jack decided. Curly roofs, squiggly bits of woodwork here andthere, and windows whose sills were covered with decorated flower boxes.
　　The people looked like farmers and were dressed in bright, simple clothes. No woman wore ahat, but many wore shawls. The men wore rather tight trousers, and had some kind of sash roundtheir waists. Their waistcoats were gaily embroidered, and somehow they reminded Jack of bullfighters though he didn’t quite know why.
　　The children were very thin, and simply dressed. Even the little girls wore long, rather raggedyskirts, and the boys wore tight trousers like their fathers but had no embroidered waistcoats.
　　Instead they had very bright red, blue or yellow shirts.
　　They soon saw Jack, and ran to him. The parrot fascinated them.
　　‘Powke, powke!’ they yelled, pointing at Kiki, who was delighted at being the centre ofattention. She put up her crest and lowered it, and even did a little hoppity dance on Jack’sshoulder.
　　‘Powke - that must mean parrot,’ thought Jack. ‘Hey, you kids - where’s the police station?’
　　They didn’t understand a word, of course. They followed Jack, talking together, still entertainedby Kiki, who was showing off tremendously.
　　Then a small boy with a little wooden gun ran up. He pointed it at Jack, and shouted ‘Pop-pop-pop!’
　　That was quite enough for Kiki. She stood up on her toes and shouted at the top of her voice.
　　‘Pop! POP ! BANG-BANG-BANG ! Pop goes the weasel! Powke, powke, powke.’
　　There was an awed silence after this effort of Kiki’s. Everyone stared, still trotting after Jack.
　　Kiki went off into one of her idiotic bouts of laughter, and the children all began to laugh too.
　　‘Wipe your feet, blow your nose!’ shouted Kiki, and then made a noise like an express train in atunnel.
　　This made a tremendous impression. The children fell back a little, startled. But they sooncaught up again, yelling ‘Powke, powke, powke’, and soon the crowd was considerably bigger,and Jack began to feel like the Pied Piper of Hamelin with so many children following him.
　　Then an official-looking person stopped him at a crossroads, and addressed him quite sternly,pointing to the crowd that had now gathered round him. Jack didn’t understand a word.
　　‘I am English,’ he said. ‘English. You speak English? Yes? No?’
　　‘Ha! Ingleeeeesh!’ said the person, and took out a black notebook which immediately told Jackwhat he was. Of course - a Hessian policeman!
　　‘You speak English?’ said Jack, hopefully.
　　The policeman rattled off something at him, and held out his hand. He still had the notebook inthe other one. Jack hadn’t the faintest idea what he wanted. He shook his head, puzzled. Thepoliceman grew annoyed. He slapped his hand with the notebook and shouted again.
　　Jack shook his head once more. Kiki shouted back at the policeman. ‘Pop goes the weasel, putthe kettle on, pop!
　　All the children laughed. There were a good many grown-ups around now, watching. Onesuddenly put his hand into his pocket and drew out a worn, doubled-over card. He showed it toJack, and made him understand that that was what the policeman was asking him for.
　　Jack saw that it was a kind of passport or identity card. He hadn’t got one on him, of course, soonce more he shook his head. Kiki shook hers, too, and the children roared.
　　The policeman shut his notebook with a snap and put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. He fired asentence at him in sharp Hessian and pushed him in front of him smartly.
　　‘Now where do we go?’ thought Jack. ‘What a colourful policeman - blue trousers, red shirt,blue sash, an imposing kind of flower-pot helmet - really!’
　　But he didn’t think things were quite so happy when he saw where the policeman was takinghim. There was no doubt about it at all. It was a police station, a small, square, whitewashed place,sober-looking and severe, with a good many more stern-faced policemen standing about.
　　‘Look here! You can’t put me into prison!’ cried Jack, struggling away. ‘I’ve done nothingwrong! You let me go!’
第14章 单独行动的杰克
　　第14章 单独行动的杰克
　　当飞机在跑道上轻轻地滑行的时候，太阳刚刚从地平线上升起。天空被染成了金色，远处有一些小小的粉白色房屋折射着明亮的光。
　　机器停止了轰鸣，杰克也醒了过来。他轻轻掀起箱盖，侧耳聆听着。他们已经到了吗？然后，他就听到了古斯的声音，“特瑞赫西亚！”
　　“这么说我们到了，”杰克想，“现在——接下来我该做什么？天已经亮了——虽然我猜应该才刚刚日出。”
　　前边的四个孩子被催促着下了飞机。这个小机场非常荒芜，只有几个机修工。一辆大轿车正在旁边等候。孩子们没来得及喘口气，就都被推搡着塞了进去。显然有人急着想以最快的速度把他们送到什么秘密的地方去。
　　杰克从箱子里钻出来，小心翼翼地走到一扇窗前。他看到孩子们就在下边，正在进入那辆轿车。戴着单片眼镜的男子似乎负责发令。当司机出现的时候，他对他传达了一道命令。司机扶住打开的车门鞠了个躬，敬了礼，跟着他重复了一遍。
　　“博肯！”
　　然后他便坐上了驾驶座，车子迅速驶离了停机坪，开向远处的一扇大门。
　　“博肯！”杰克自言自语道，“会是什么地方的名字吗，或者只是特瑞赫西亚语里的‘谢谢’之类的意思？好吧——他们走了。琪琪，现在只有我俩在这个陌生的语言不通的鬼地方了。我口袋里只有几枚英国的硬币——所以你对接下来做什么有啥好主意吗？”
　　“给医生送去，”琪琪说着，挺起了她的鸟冠，一副深谋远虑的样子，“给医生送去，把水壶烧上。”
　　杰克再次向窗外望去。看起来所有的人都离开了，去了机场尽头的一栋小木屋里——或许是去休息吃点东西？杰克真希望自己也能吃一些！
　　他谨慎地走向机舱的前半部分。那里没有一个人影。实际上，现在所有的地方都没有人的踪迹，包括停机坪和他目力所及的最远处。
　　“我想是时候走人了，琪琪。”杰克说，“准备好冲刺了吗？虽然我不觉得等一会离开的时候，我们能完全不被注意到——但不管怎么说，至少我们会有个好的开始。那些人就算想追也不得不从远在那头的小木屋跑过来。”
　　他走到舷梯那里，跑了下去，然后以自己最快的速度冲向了停机坪尽头的大门。最初的几分钟内没发生任何事，不过，远处屋子的门口出现了两个男人。他们大声喊着，开始追杰克。
　　但他已经跑出了相当一段距离，男人们追了不远就放弃了，转身回了木房子。“只是个想从近处看看飞机的男孩罢了！”他们对彼此说道。
　　杰克跑出了大门，发现自己来到了一条宽阔荒凉的马路上。目力所及的范围内没有一个人。他甚至看不见一栋房子。这一定是个非常偏僻的机场！他开始沿着马路走，让琪琪蹲在肩上。他现在觉得自己真的很饿了。
　　“为什么这里没有一个人？”他想，“也没有一辆车，我甚至不能搭个便车。我想知道其他人现在在哪儿，真希望我和他们在一起！”
　　他突然意识到，现在只是清晨，还太早了。路上当然还没人。太阳才刚刚升起。或许很快他就能碰见一两个工人。
　　过了一会儿，他遇见了一个骑自行车的男人，于是举起手拦下他。男人用一只脚撑着地面，停住了车。
　　“Eglinoota?”他说。至少，从杰克听来是这样。这人惊讶地看着琪琪。
　　“我是英国人，”杰克以尽可能慢的语速尽可能清晰地说，“警察局在哪里？”
　　“Eglinoota?”男人看起来很困惑，他又说了一遍那个词，“Oota?Oota?”
　　“叭噗——叭噗，”琪琪突然开口，“叭噗——叭噗！”这听起来与汽车的鸣笛非常地像！杰克忍不住笑了起来。
　　“你觉得他是在说‘汽笛’吗？”他问琪琪，“呃，不是的。天知道他在说什么！我真希望我知道‘食物’在特瑞赫西亚语里怎么说！”
　　“Powkepotoplink?”男人再次尝试与他交谈。他指着鹦鹉，“Powkepotoplink?Ai,ai!”
　　他突然掏出一本笔记和一支铅笔，开始在一页纸上画起了什么。杰克有些好奇。男人把那页纸撕了下来，递给他。
　　这看起来像是一幅显示着各种道路的小地图。上边还有一处看起来像个池塘，而另外一处则看上去像个教堂的尖顶。在地图的底部男人画了一个像帐篷一样的东西。他用铅笔指了指。
　　“Powkepotoplink!”他又非常大声地说了一遍，仿佛这样就能帮杰克明白似的。
　　“噗林克、噗隆克，噗林克、噗隆克，”琪琪立刻说道，咯咯地笑了起来。男人赞赏地看着她，然后解开一个袋子，拿出了一块小糖饼，递给琪琪。鹦鹉用右脚抓住了它，突然发出了和母鸡一样的咕噜声。
　　杰克用非常饥渴的目光注视着那块糖饼。男人注意到了他的样子，再次把手伸进包里，掏出一块又大又厚的三明治，里边夹着某种鲜红色的肉。他把它递给了激动的杰克。
　　“谢谢您，”男孩说，“真是太感谢了。”
　　“Cheepalikkle.”男人仍旧说着他听不懂的话，然后挥挥手离开了。杰克继续向前走去，一边吃着那块大大的三明治。琪琪伸出她的鹦鹉舌头舔了一下糖饼。她不怎么喜欢它，于是递给了杰克。作为交换，男孩给了琪琪一些她最喜欢的瓜子。他的口袋里总是带着一些作为储备。琪琪愉快地蹲到他的肩头上，开始嗑瓜子。
　　杰克看了看地图。它意味着什么？那个男人为什么画它？他一定是认为杰克想要去某个特定的地方——然而杰克一点也不了解特瑞赫西亚，除了其他人去的那个地方，他并不知道自己还应该去哪里。那个地方或许叫博肯，或许不叫。在古怪的特瑞赫西亚语里，博肯可能是任何意思！
　　吃过三明治，杰克感觉好多了，他继续向前走了几英里，打定主意一定要找到一个警察局，哪怕他不得不走到这条宽阔又荒凉的大路尽头。这条路看起来是专门为机场修建的！除了那个骑自行车的男人，他再没碰到什么人。
　　最终，他看到了远处有很多屋子。那似乎是一个村子——不对，是一个镇。当他靠得更近一些时，他意识到这个地方远超出了村子的规模。
　　“只要我能找到一个会说英语的人，就好办了。”杰克想，“然后我就能问清楚警察局在哪儿，去发个电报——或者传个消息——给比尔。希望他能来这里帮帮忙。真想知道他到底怎么了。我敢打赌那些跟踪的家伙肯定是把他打昏了。”
　　他进入了镇子，随意地四处闲逛。镇上的店铺都很小，外观是深色的，其他房子则被漆成了粉色或白色，并且有非常多曲线和波纹状的装饰——在杰克看来，相当地“工艺繁复”。它们有着弧状的屋顶，到处都是波浪形的木工细雕，窗台上则摆满了带着饰纹的花箱。
　　这里的人们看起来像是农民，他们的衣服色彩明快、样式简单。没有女人戴帽子，但许多围着披肩。男人们则穿着紧腿的长裤，腰间通常缠着几条装饰的腰带。他们的背心上都有着花纹锦簇、色彩炽烈的刺绣，不知为何让杰克联想到了斗牛士。
　　小孩们却都非常脏，穿得很差。即使那些小女孩也只是穿着破烂的长裙子。男孩们则穿着和他们的父亲一样的紧身长裤，但没有刺绣背心。相反地，他们穿的是非常脏的红色、蓝色或黄色的衬衫。
　　他们很快就注意到了杰克，然后向他跑去。鹦鹉饶有兴趣地盯着他们。
　　“Powke,Powke!”他们指着琪琪大叫着。她很得意自己成为关注的焦点，炫耀似的将冠羽反复竖起，甚至还在杰克肩头来了一小段摇摆舞。
　　“Powke——那一定是指鹦鹉，”杰克寻思着，“嗨，孩子们——警察局在哪？”
　　毫不意外，他们一个字也听不懂。他们只是跟着杰克，叽叽喳喳地叫嚷着，被这只仍在尽情炫耀自己的鹦鹉吸引着。
　　这时，有个拿着迷你木枪的小男孩跑了过来。他将枪对准杰克，喊道：“砰——砰——砰！”
　　对琪琪来说这已经足够了。她踮起脚绷直了身体，以最大的音量喊了起来。“砰！砰！
　　—— —— ！砰，去追黄鼠狼！Powke,Powke,Powke.”
　　琪琪带来的震撼效果让人们在惊叹中陷入了一片寂静。每个人都一边注视着她，一边亦步亦趋地跟在杰克身后。
　　琪琪发出了一阵她特有的那种傻乎乎的笑声。孩子们也笑了起来。
　　“擦干你的脚，擤擤你的鼻子！”琪琪喊道，然后发出了一阵火车穿过隧道时的鸣笛声。
　　这实在是令人印象深刻。孩子们吃了一惊，向后退了几步。但他们的热情很快就再度高涨，开始大喊“Powke,Powke,Powke”。人群变得越来越庞大。杰克感觉自己就好像那个花衣吹笛手一样，被一大群孩子跟在身后。
　　一个穿着奇异的人在某个十字路口拦住了他，一边指向他身旁聚集的人群，一边厉声地询问着他什么。但是杰克完全听不懂。
　　“我是英国人，”他说，“英语。你会英语吗？会？不会？”
　　“哈！因国！”这个人说着，掏出了一个黑色的笔记本。这立刻让杰克明白了他是什么人。当然了——一名特瑞赫西亚警察！
　　“你会说英语吗？”杰克充满希望地问。
　　警察飞快地对他讲了一大串话，并且伸出了手。他的另一只手则握着那本笔记本。杰克不是很确定他到底想要什么，他困惑地摇了摇头。警察看起来变得有些恼火。他用笔记本拍打着自己的手，再次大喊。
　　杰克又摇了摇头。琪琪对警察喊了回去：“砰，去追黄鼠狼！把水壶烧上。砰！”
　　所有的孩子都笑了起来。现在有很多成年人也围了过来，看着事态的发展。其中一个人突然把手伸进衣兜，掏出了一张脏兮兮的双面卡片，展示给杰克看，让他明白了那就是警察要的东西。
　　杰克觉得那看起来像是护照或者身份证之类的东西。当然了，他身上可没有，所以他再次摇了摇头。琪琪也跟着摇了摇头，孩子们爆发出一阵大笑。
　　警察啪地合上了笔记本，用手按住杰克的肩膀。他厉声迸出一句特瑞赫西亚语，猛地把男孩向前推去。
　　“我们要去哪里？”杰克想，“这警察简直像个滑稽演员——蓝裤子、红衬衫、蓝色腰带，还有个花盆似的可笑头盔——实在是滑稽！”
　　但当他看到警察要把他带到哪里去的时候，就不再觉得事情是那么可笑了。毫无疑问——那是个警察局，一座小小的、白漆粉刷的四方房子，透着一股严酷冷静的气息，为数众多的“滑稽”警察站在里边。
　　“听着！你不能把我关进监狱！”杰克喊叫着，试图挣脱男人，“我没做错什么！放开我！”
15 The map comes in useful
　　15
　　The map comes in useful
　　Jack was pushed firmly into a small, square room with one bench in it against the wall. He wasmade to sit down on this, and the policeman went to report at a big, untidy desk. He spoke veryquickly, and it all sounded like a lot of Double Dutch to Jack.
　　It did to Kiki too, and she sat on Jack’s shoulder and sent out such a stream of unendingnonsense that every policeman in the place stared in admiration.
　　Nobody was standing in Jack’s way to the door. He looked at it. He thought he would make adash for freedom, and try to get away from these awkward policemen. He was half-afraid he mightbe locked up for weeks. Perhaps they thought he was a beggar or a tramp? Perhaps it was a greatcrime not to have some kind of card to say who he was?
　　He saw his chance, when nobody was looking at him, and raced for the door. He was down thesteps and into the street before a policeman stirred! He heard shouts behind him but he didn’t lookback. Down the dusty street he ran at top speed, turned a corner, ran down an alley, and came to abig door.
　　He ran inside and looked round. No one was there. A squawk attracted his attention, and madeKiki look round in interest. Jack saw a parrot in a cage, a very colourful one with blue and greenand yellow feathers.
　　Kiki flew to the cage and stood on the top. She bent her head down and looked inside excitedly.
　　Another parrot!
　　‘How- do- you- do, how- do- you- do!’ said Kiki. ‘Good morning, good night! Pop goes theweasel!’
　　The other parrot gave another squawk. It seemed rather scared. Then Jack heard the sound offootsteps, and before he could move, a voice spoke - a gentle voice, soft and kind.
　　A girl stood there, aged about twelve. She was beautifully dressed in bright silks, and her longdark hair was woven in and out with bright ribbons. She stared at Jack in surprise.
　　‘Eglinoota?’ said the girl. ‘Oota?’
　　Jack wished he knew what this ‘oota’ word meant. He really didn’t know what to say. Hepointed to the parrots and smiled cheerfully. ‘Powke, powke!’ he said. The girl looked at the twoparrots and laughed.
　　Then, to his delight, she slowly spoke a few words in English. ‘Where - you - go?’ she said.
　　‘You - English - yes?’
　　Jack fished out the bit of paper the man on the bicycle had drawn him. It would look as if hereally was going somewhere, if he showed her that! She took it and nodded her head.
　　‘Come,’ she said, and took him to the door.
　　‘Listen - do you know anyone who speaks English well?’ asked Jack, eagerly. The girl didn’tunderstand, though he repeated it several times. Then she heard a voice from somewhere in thehouse, and she gave him a push, pointing down an alley, and then to the right. Jack thanked her,called Kiki and went out. He ran down the alley and came to the end. Then he turned to the rightand went quickly along a narrow, dusty street with high walls each side.
　　He stopped at the end and looked at his map. He supposed he might as well follow it. Obviouslythe bicyclist must have had some reason for drawing it. It might lead somewhere useful!
　　In front of him was what would be, in England, a village green. But this green was parched anddusty, and three skinny hens wandered over it looking thoroughly miserable. At the side was a biground pond in which dozens of small children were paddling. Jack looked at his map again.
　　‘Ah - the pond! Yes, I must be on the right road. I’ll go down here, and see if I can spot thething that looks like a church tower.’
　　He went on for some way without seeing anything like a church tower. At last he stopped akindly-looking old woman and showed her the map. He pointed to the drawing that looked like achurch.
　　She nodded her head at once. She took his arm and pointed across a field. There was a paththere. It led upwards towards a hill. On the hill Jack saw a building with a great tower. He couldn’timagine what it was, unless it was a Tauri-Hessian church.
　　He went on again, over the field and up to the tower. He looked at the map again - it showed awinding road from the tower and this road led to the drawing on the map that looked rather like atent. Jack looked up from the map and recognized the winding road, going down the other side ofthe hill on which the tower stood. But what could the tent-like drawing be?
　　An old man sat on a bench, dozing. Jack went cautiously up to him and sat down. The old manopened an eye, saw the parrot and sat up at once.
　　‘Good. He’s awake,’ thought Jack, and pushed the map in front of him, pointing to the tent-likedrawing, and trying to make the man understand that he wanted to get there.
　　‘Ahhhh!’ said the old fellow, in a hoarse voice. ‘Pikkatioratyforg. Ahhhhhh!’
　　‘Very helpful!’ thought Jack. The old man got up and tottered a little way down the path. Thenhe pointed with his stick.
　　‘Surkytalar,’ he said. ‘Surky.’
　　‘Surky,’ repeated Jack, and looked where he was pointing. Then he stared hard. He knew whythe bicyclist had drawn the tent now! In a big field were crowds of tents and vans! It must be acircus of some kind - a travelling circus!
　　‘Of course! Surky - he means circus,’ thought Jack. ‘It’s a circus. That’s why that fellow on thebike directed me there. He thought I wanted the circus - thought I was trying to make my way toit, because I’d got a talking parrot. Well, well, well! I’ve solved that puzzle!’
　　He thanked the old man and thought he might as well make his way to the circus. Somebodythere might possibly speak English. Circus people knew all kinds of languages. Anyway they wereusually kindly folk, they might give him a meal and help him a bit.
　　So Jack, suddenly feeling very hungry again, went down the long winding road to the fieldwhere the circus was.
　　It took him about half an hour to reach it and when he got there he saw that it was packing up tomove on. The tents were being taken down, horses were being put into some of the vans and therewas a great deal of shouting and noise.
　　Jack leaned over the gate. A boy came by, carrying a load of boxes that looked very heavy. Ashe passed, the pile toppled over, and he dropped about four of them. Jack leapt over the gate andwent to help.
　　The boy was about his own age, swarthy and black- eyed. He grinned at Jack, and saidsomething he couldn’t understand. He said it again, in another language. Still Jack didn’tunderstand.
　　‘Merci beaucoup,’ said the boy, trying again this time in French. Ah - Jack understood that!
　　‘Ce n’est rien!’ he answered. The boy looked at Kiki and rattled off something in French again,asking Jack if he was a circus boy and had come to ask for a job there.
　　Jack answered as best he could, for his French was not really very good. ‘I should like a job,’
　　said Jack, in French. ‘Better still, I should like a meal!’
　　‘Come with me then,’ said the boy, again in French, and Jack followed him to a van. A womansat there, peeling potatoes.
　　‘Ma!’ said the boy, in English. ‘Here’s a hungry kid. Got anything for him?’
　　Jack stared at the boy in astonishment. Why, he was speaking English! ‘Hey!’ said Jack, ‘whydidn’t you speak English before? I’m English!’
　　‘My dad’s English’, said the boy, grinning. ‘My ma’s Spanish. We don’t mind what languagewe speak, really. We’ve picked them all up in our wanderings around. Ma, give this boysomething to eat. Do you think he can get a job with us? Where do you want to go?’ he askedJack.
　　‘Well - is there a place called Borken anywhere about?’ asked Jack, hopefully.
　　‘Borken! Yes, we’re on the way there,’ said the boy, and Jack felt suddenly cheerful. ‘It’s a bigtown, and outside there’s the Castle of Borken on a hill.’
　　Jack drank all this in. A castle - would that be where the others had been taken? This was a bitof luck after all his set-backs. He would certainly go with this travelling circus if they would havehim.
　　Ma gave him a meal. It was very rich and rather greasy, but Jack enjoyed it because he was sohungry. Then Ma said something commanding in Spanish and the boy nodded.
　　‘Got to take you to the Boss,’ he said. ‘And let him look you over. Got anyone to speak for you?
　　Anyone’s name to give? The Boss will give you up to the police if you’ve run away from any kindof trouble.’
　　‘No, I don’t know anyone here who will speak for me,’ said Jack, anxiously. ‘I just want to getto Borken. I’ve got friends there.’
　　‘Oh, well - maybe they’ll speak for you,’ said the boy. ‘Look, my name’s Pedro. What’syours?’
　　‘Jack,’ said Jack. He followed Pedro to a big motor caravan. Pedro rapped on the door, and avoice growled something from inside. They went in, and Jack saw a vast, enormously fat mansitting in a great chair. He had startlingly blue eyes, grey curly hair, and a beard that fell to hiswaist. He looked rather a terrifying kind of person.
　　‘You speak for me, Pedro,’ said Jack. ‘I shan’t be able to understand a word he says, unless hespeaks English.’
　　‘I spik the English,’ said the old man, in his deep, growling voice. ‘English boys are good boys.
　　Where you come from?’
　　‘Well - nowhere particularly,’ said Jack, wondering what to say. ‘Er - I’ve just been wanderingabout since I came to this country. But I’m hoping to meet my friends at Borken.’
　　The old man fired a question or two at Pedro. Pedro turned to Jack. ‘He wants to know if you’veever been in trouble with the police?’ he asked. This was awkward. Had he been in trouble withthe Hessian police? Well, no, not really, Jack considered. So he shook his head.
　　‘He wants to know if you’ll make yourself useful here?’ said Pedro. ‘He can see you must beused to circuses because you’re carrying a talking parrot around with you. He says that if we stophere and there on the road to Borken, you can put your parrot on show if you like, and earn a bit ofmoney by making it talk. He says, make it talk now.’
　　Jack rubbed Kiki’s soft neck. ‘Talk, Kiki,’ he said. ‘Make a noise!’
　　Kiki was always ready to talk. She raised her crest and began unexpectedly to sing at the top ofher voice. ‘Humpty-dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty-dumpty fell down the well, ding-dong-ding-dong, pussy’s in the well, Fussy-Gussy, ha ha, ha! Wipe your feet and shut the door, oh, younaughty boy, pop-pop- POP !’
　　Kiki ended with a loud sneeze and a hiccup which sent Pedro into fits of laughter. Kiki cackledtoo, and then went off into her express train performance, which drew people from all over thefield at once.
　　‘Ha! She is goot, fery, fery goot!’ said the old man, laughing, which made him appear as if anearthquake was shaking him. ‘Yes - yes - you may come with us, boy.’
　　‘I say! Your parrot’s a wonder, isn’t she?’ said Pedro, as they walked back to his van. ‘Wouldyou like to sleep with me in my little van - look, the one behind Ma’s? There’ll be room for you ifyou don’t mind a squash.’
　　Jack didn’t mind at all! He would soon be on the way to Borken. Borken Castle! Would he findthe others there? He’d get Bill over as soon as he could to rescue them - if only they were there!
第15章 地图派上了用场
　　第15章 地图派上了用场
　　杰克被狠狠地推进了一个方形的小房间，里面只有一条靠墙的长凳。他被迫坐下来，警察则走到一张凌乱的大桌子旁进行汇报。他的语速非常快，在杰克听来简直是很多莫名其妙的单词。
　　琪琪也这么觉得。她蹲在杰克肩头上，发出了一长串叽里咕噜、毫无意义的语句，弄得所有的警察都惊愕不已地看向她。
　　现在杰克与门口之间并没有什么人挡着。他看着它，寻思着自己能不能一下子冲出去，摆脱这个鬼地方和这些可笑的警察。他有点担心自己万一被关个十天半个月的话该怎么办。或许他们以为他是个乞丐或者流浪儿？没有那种能证明身份的卡片在这里会是很严重的罪名吗？
　　很快，他瞥到了一个机会。当所有的人都没再注意他的时候，他突然向门口全速冲去。在任何一个警察有所反应之前，他已经跑下了台阶，来到了街上！他听到身后的呼喊，但是没有回头。他只是沿着灰尘弥漫的道路以最快的速度向前跑着，转了一个弯，冲过一条小巷，最后闯进一扇大门。
　　他冲进去之后环顾了一下四周。里边没有一个人。突然一声尖厉的鸟叫引起了他和琪琪的注意。杰克看到一个笼子里蹲着一只色彩绚烂的鹦鹉，它披着蓝色、绿色和黄色的羽毛。
　　琪琪飞了过去，停在笼子的顶端。她低下头，兴奋地看着里面另一只鹦鹉！
　　“你——好！你——好！”琪琪说，“早上好，晚上好！砰，去追黄鼠狼！”
　　另一只鹦鹉又发出了一声尖叫。它似乎相当害怕。这时，杰克听到了脚步声。在他有所动作之前，一个声音开口说话了——一个非常温柔且充满了善意的声音。
　　一个十二岁左右的女孩站在那里，她穿着非常漂亮的、色彩明艳的丝织衣服，闪耀着光泽的绸带与黑色的长发相互交织在一起。现在她正惊讶地盯着杰克。
　　“Eglinoota?”女孩问，“Oota?”
　　杰克真希望自己知道这个“Oota”是什么意思，但他实在不知道该说什么。他指着两只鹦鹉，露出一个灿烂的笑容。“Powke,powke!”他说。女孩看着两只鹦鹉，笑了起来。
　　接着，让他感到惊喜不已的是，她非常缓慢地用英语说了几个词。“你——去——哪里？”她说，“你——英语——是吧？”
　　杰克掏出那个骑车的人给他画的地图。如果把这个给女孩看，就会显得他确实正是要去什么地方！她接过纸片，点点头。
　　“来。”她说着，将他带到门口。
　　“嘿——你知道有谁说英语说得比较好吗？”杰克热切地问道。尽管他重复了好几遍，女孩还是听不懂。这时，她听到房子里传来的什么声音，立刻推了他一把，指了指一条小巷，又指了指右边。杰克向她表示了谢意，便把琪琪召唤过来，走了出去。他沿着小巷一直跑到尽头，然后向右拐，快步走上了一条两边都是高墙的狭窄肮脏的路。
　　他在路的尽头停下来，再次查看了地图。他觉得自己应该按照上面的路线走。那个骑车的人画了它显然是有原因的，或许它能把自己带到某些有用的地方！
　　此刻，在他眼前的是一片村庄的草地，和英格兰的有些像，尽管这片草地热烘烘、脏兮兮的，三只瘦小的母鸡在上面十分可怜地徘徊着。草地旁是一个圆形的大池塘，里边有很多孩子在划船。杰克又看了看地图。
　　“啊——池塘！没错，我肯定走对了。那么我应该从这里下去，看看能不能找到那个像教堂尖顶一样的东西。”
　　他继续走了一段路，但没看到任何类似塔楼的建筑。最终，他拦住了一个看起来很和蔼的老婆婆，将地图拿给她看，并且指了指那个教堂似的图案。
　　她立即点点头，握住男孩的手臂，将一片田野指给他看。那里有一条路，通往一座小山。杰克望见山顶上矗立着一栋有着高高塔楼的建筑。那肯定是特瑞赫西亚的教堂，除此之外他猜不到它还会有什么别的用途。
　　他继续向前走，穿过田野，爬到塔楼附近，再次看了一遍地图——按上面画的，从这里沿着一条弯曲的路出发，就可以走到那个像帐篷一样的地方。杰克抬起头，很快确定了那条路，它就在山坡的另一侧，从这里向下蜿蜒而去。但是那个帐篷图案又意味着什么呢？
　　附近的长椅上坐着一位老人，正打着盹。杰克小心翼翼走过去，坐到他旁边。老人睁开眼睛，看到鹦鹉，立刻坐了起来。
　　“好的。他醒了。”杰克想着，把地图推到他面前，指着上边的帐篷图案，试图让他明白自己想要去那里。
　　“啊，”老人用嘶哑的声音说，“Pikkatioratyforg，啊哈！”
　　“很有帮助！”杰克嘲讽地想。老人站了起来，沿着小路向前走了几步，然后用手杖指向一个地方。
　　“Surkytalar,”他说，“Surky!”
　　“苏基。”杰克跟着重复了一遍，望向他指的地方。随即他的视线突然定住了。现在他知道那个男人为什么画帐篷了！那里有一大堆帐篷和篷车！那一定是马戏团之类的玩意——一个流动马戏团！
　　“当然了！苏基——他是指马戏团，”杰克想，“马戏团。这就是为什么那个骑车的人给我指了这么条路。他以为我想要去马戏团——以为我试图在找去那里的路，因为我有一只会说话的鹦鹉。好吧，好吧，好吧！至少我把这个谜题解决了！”
　　他谢过了老人，觉得或许自己最好就这么去马戏团看看。那里可能有人会说英语。马戏团的人总是知晓所有的语言。不管怎样，他们通常都是些友善的家伙，或许能给自己提供一点帮助，还有一些食物之类的。
　　杰克突然又觉得饥肠辘辘了，于是他沿着那条长长的蜿蜒曲折的路走下去。
　　他花了大约半小时才走到目的地。当他抵达的时候，马戏团的人正在收拾行李，准备再次开始迁移。帐篷被拆卸下来，马匹被套上篷车，到处都充斥着叫喊声和各种嘈杂的声音。
　　杰克倚在大门上。一名男孩搬着一堆看起来就很沉的箱子走了过来。当他经过的时候，那堆箱子忽然倒了下来，掉了四个。杰克立刻越过大门，冲上去帮忙。
　　这个男孩年龄和杰克差不多，有着深色的肌肤和黑色的眼睛。他对杰克笑了笑，说了一些他听不懂的话。他又用另外一种语言说了一遍，然而杰克还是不明白。
　　“Mercibeaucoup [1] !”男孩这回用法语说了一遍。啊——杰克能听得懂这个！
　　“Cen'est rien [2] !”他回答道。男孩盯着琪琪，又用法语飞快地说了一长串，问杰克是不是一个耍马戏的男孩，到这里来是不是为了找个活计。
　　由于杰克的法语其实并不是很好，他只能尽力回答。“我喜欢有份工作，”杰克用法语说道，“如果还能有一顿饭，更好！”
　　“跟我来。”男孩再次用法语说道。杰克跟着他进了一辆篷车。一个女人正坐在里边削着土豆。
　　“玛！”男孩用英语说，“我们这里来了一个饿肚子的孩子。有什么吃的能给他吗？”
　　杰克惊讶地盯着男孩。什么，他居然在说英语！“嗨！”杰克说，“之前你为什么不和我说英语？我是英国人！”
　　“我爸爸是英国人，”男孩咧嘴笑道，“我妈妈是西班牙人。我们其实不在意说什么语言，只是想到什么说什么。玛，给这个男孩点吃的。你觉得他能找到个活计，跟我们一起走吗？你想去哪里？”他问杰克。
　　“嗯——这里有个叫博肯的地方吗？”杰克抱着希望问道。
　　“博肯！是的，我们正要去那里。”男孩说，这让杰克突然振奋起来，“那是一个大镇子，在镇外的山上还有一座博肯城堡。”
　　杰克为这个消息激动不已。一座城堡——其他人是被带到那里去了吗？在他遭遇了那么多挫折之后，这总算是个好一点儿的消息了。如果这个马戏团肯收留他，他肯定要跟着去那个地方。
　　玛给了他一些食物，非常丰富，尽管有点油腻，但是杰克非常喜欢，因为他真是饿坏了。之后玛用西班牙语严肃地说了一些话，男孩点了点头。
　　“我得带你去老板那里，”他说，“让他看看你。你有什么担保人吗？随便什么名字？如果你是为了摆脱什么麻烦的话，老板可能会把你交给警察。”
　　“没有。在这里，我不认识任何能为我担保的人，”杰克有些担忧地说道，“我只是想要去博肯。在那里，我有朋友。”
　　“哦，好吧——或许他们会为你担保，”男孩说，“那么，我的名字是佩德罗，你的呢？”
　　“杰克。”杰克说。他跟着佩德罗走到一辆有着摩托引擎的大篷车前。佩德罗敲了敲门，里边的一个声音咆哮了几句。他们走了进去，杰克看到一个体形庞大的胖子坐在一张很大的椅子上。他有着蔚蓝色的眼睛，灰色的鬈发和几乎垂到腰间的长胡须。他看起来就像是那类非常可怕的人。
　　“你帮我说，佩德罗，”杰克说道，“除非他说英语，否则我一个字也听不懂。”
　　“我索（说）英语，”老头说道，他的声音低沉，隆隆作响，“英国的男孩都不错。你来自哪里？”
　　“呃——我居无定所，”杰克一边说一边思忖着自己该说什么，“呃——自从来到这个国家，我一直在闲晃。但我希望能在博肯见到我的朋友们。”
　　老人问了佩德罗几个问题。男孩转向杰克，问道：“他想知道你是否和警察有过什么麻烦？”这可有点尴尬。他卷入过和特瑞赫西亚警察有关的麻烦吗？不，没有，并没有真正的麻烦。杰克想着，摇了摇头。
　　“他想知道你能在这里做什么？”佩德罗说，“他可以看出你必定已经习惯马戏团的生活了，因为你带着一只会说话的鹦鹉。他说当我们在去博肯的路上停留的时候，你或许可以带着鹦鹉参与演出，如果你愿意的话。让它说话，赚点小钱，他说，现在就让它说话。”
　　杰克搔了搔琪琪柔软的脖颈。“说话，琪琪，”他说道，“学些声响！”
　　琪琪时刻都在准备着这事。她立刻竖起她的冠羽，出人意料地以最高的音量开始唱歌：“矮胖子坐在墙上，矮胖子掉下井啦，叮——咚——咚——咚，小猫在井里，费事——古斯，哈，哈，哈！擦干净脚关好门，喔，你这个淘气的小家伙，噗—噗—噗！”
　　最后琪琪用一个巨大的喷嚏和一个长长的嗝作为收尾，这让佩德罗大笑起来。琪琪也咯咯地笑了起来，然后又开始她拿手的火车专列表演。附近田地上的人全都被吸引过来了。
　　“哈！她很不凑（错），灰（非）常、灰（非）常好。”老头大笑着说道，他笑得全身抖动，仿佛地震一样，“很好——很好——你可以和我们一起走，小子。”
　　“我得说！你的鹦鹉简直是个奇迹，是吧？”当他们往回走的时候，佩德罗开口道，“你愿不愿意和我睡在我的小篷车里——看到了吗？就是玛的车后边那辆。如果你不介意拥挤的话，还是有地方给你的。”
　　杰克根本不介意！他很快就去博肯了。博肯城堡！他会在那里找到其他人吗？他会尽快营救他们出来，还有比尔——只要他们真的在那里！
　　[1]法语的“非常感谢”。
　　[2]法语的“不算什么”。
16 With the circus
　　16
　　With the circus
　　Jack liked Pedro very much. He was a born circus boy, with all their manners and ways, and hewas sensitive enough to know that Jack did not want to talk about himself or what he was doing inTauri- Hessia, wandering about with Kiki. So he asked him no questions, and Jack was verygrateful.
　　He couldn’t have told him the truth, and he didn’t want to tell him lies! Perhaps when they werein Borken, and he knew Pedro better, he would be able to tell him a little - perhaps even get hishelp.
　　The circus went on the road that evening. The vans and lorries creaked out of the fields, andwent clattering down the highway. It was a rough road, and the vans swayed about dangerously.
　　Some of them had caged animals inside, and Jack watched them anxiously. What would happen ifa van went over - would the animals escape? There were bears in one van, and two chimpanzeesin another.
　　Kiki was a source of enormous amusement to everyone in the camp. Many of the circus folkcould speak a broken English - enough to make themselves understood, anyway! They laughed ateverything Kiki said. They brought her all kinds of titbits, and when they found that she was fondof tinned pineapple they raided the shops they passed, and bought tins of it!
　　Jack asked Pedro many questions. How far was Borken? Who owned the castle? Was it veryold? Could anyone see over it?
　　Pedro laughed. ‘Borken Castle - and the whole of Borken - and all the land we are passingthrough - is owned by the Count Paritolen. He lives at the castle, and as for letting anyone seeover it - my word, they’d be clapped into a dungeon before they even got through the door!’
　　‘He sounds rather fierce,’ said Jack, gloomily. If the others had been taken to the Count’s castlethey wouldn’t have a very nice time, with such a fierce captor!
　　‘He’s a very strong and determined fellow,’ said Pedro. ‘He hates the King, who is too strongfor him. He’d like to make the young Prince Aloysius King - then he could rule the countryhimself, through the Prince, who would have to do as he was told.’
　　‘I see,’ said Jack, his heart sinking. What could he hope to do against a man like CountParitolen?
　　‘Is this Count the Prime Minister?’ asked Jack, suddenly remembering what Gussy had said.
　　‘No. His brother-in-law, Count Hartius, is Prime Minister,’ said Pedro. ‘They’re both alike inhating the King - but Count Hartius is weak, where his brother-in-law is strong. It is his wife whorules him - a very clever woman, so they say - Madame Tatiosa.’
　　Jack listened to all this intently. He was beginning to have a clearer idea about things. Howstrange to be suddenly plunged into the middle of all this - to know the little Prince himself - to beso near the Castle of Borken, and to be on the land of Count Paritolen, who wanted to depose theKing! It sounded like a tale in a book, a tale that had suddenly become real.
　　‘How do you know all this, Pedro?’ he asked.
　　‘Oh, everyone in Tauri-Hessia knows it,’ said Pedro. ‘It may mean civil war, you see, and allthe people fear that. If the King is deposed, and this young Prince is put in his place, the peoplewill take sides and will be at one another’s throats in no time - and circus people like us will haveto get out of the country as quick as we can! So we keep our ears to the ground to find out what isgoing on.’
　　Jack was certain that he himself knew the latest news of all! He was sure that as yet no one inTauri-Hessia knew that Prince Aloysius had been kidnapped from England, and was even now aprisoner in Borken Castle. But what was going to happen next? Would the plot take one stepfurther, and news come out that the King had been killed - or put into prison?
　　Jack fell into deep thought - so deep that he didn’t even hear Ma calling to him to come and eat.
　　The boy suddenly felt that he had become a very important person in this plot - someonefortunately unknown to the plotters - but who might spoil the plot altogether if only he couldmanage to get into the castle.
　　‘Penny for your thoughts!’ said Pedro and gave him a punch. ‘Wake up! You look very solemn.
　　Anything on your mind?’
　　Jack shook himself, and smiled. Kiki had flown off his shoulder to Ma, who was fishing upsome peculiar titbits for her from a big black pot.
　　‘Polly put the kettle on,’ said Kiki. She cocked her head on one side and looked at Ma.
　　‘Bonnytageloota!’
　　Ma slapped her knees and laughed. She loved Kiki. She pointed to Kiki. ‘She spik Hessian!’ shecalled.
　　Jack was astonished. Now how in the world did Kiki manage to pick up the Hessian language?
　　Really, she was a marvellous mimic. ‘What does “Bonnytageloota” mean?’ he asked.
　　‘Top of the morning to you!’ said Pedro, with a grin.
　　The circus stopped at a big village, and set up camp for two days. Jack was busy then. He had togive Pedro a hand in all kinds of ways - putting up tents, pulling vans into place, setting up thebenches in rows, running here and there for the ‘Boss’, whose name Jack never could manage topronounce.
　　The circus folk approved of Jack. He was willing and quick, and he had good manners, whichmade him very popular with the women, who had got used to plain ways from the menfolk. Jackliked most of the circus people - they were kindly and generous, quick-tempered and cheerful -some were dirty and slovenly, too, not always very honest and sometimes lazy. They were good toJack, and made him one of themselves at once.
　　They were a curious lot. There was Fank, with his three bears, one of the great draws of theshow. The bears were all large, dark brown, and were natural clowns. They boxed, they knockedeach other over, they lumbered round in a laughable dance, and they adored Fank, their trainer.
　　‘Don’t you go too near them, though,’ Pedro warned him. ‘They’re treacherous. No one butFank can manage them. Bad-tempered, bears are - have to be careful of them.’
　　The two chimpanzees were amusing fellows. They walked about hand in hand with their owner,a tiny woman called Madame Fifi. She wasn’t much taller than they were! They really loved her.
　　Jack liked them very much, but soon found that they were dreadful pickpockets! They slippedtheir furry hands into his pockets without his knowing, and took his handkerchief, a notebook andtwo pencils.
　　Madame Fifi gave them back to him, with a laugh. She poured out something in French - orwas it Spanish or Italian? She spoke so quickly that Jack couldn’t even make out what languageshe was speaking. She saw that Jack didn’t understand, and produced a few words of English.
　　‘Bad boys!’ said Madame Fifi, pointing a tiny finger at the chimpanzees, Feefo and Fum.
　　‘Smack, smack, smack!’
　　There were Toni and Bingo the acrobats. Toni was a marvellous rope-walker, and raised aperfect storm of cheers and shouts when he performed on a wire rope high up in the big circustent. He could do anything on it - run, jump, dance - even turn head over heels. Jack was alwaysafraid he would fall.
　　‘Why doesn’t he have a safety net?’ he asked Pedro. ‘You know, he’d kill himself if he fellfrom that height!’
　　‘Ask him!’ said Pedro with a laugh. So Jack put the question to Toni, when the acrobat cameacross to talk to Pedro’s mother. Toni was Spanish, but he understood English well, though he didnot speak it fluently.
　　‘Pah! Safftee net!’ he said, in scorn. ‘Onnly in Eengland is a safftee net put for me. I do not fall!
　　I am Toni, the grrrrreat TONI !
　　There was Tops, too, a clown whose great speciality was stilt- walking. It was absolutelyamazing to see him stalk into the ring, as tall as a giant. He had big boots fitted on to the bottom ofhis stilts, and to most of the children in the audience he seemed a true giant, especially as he had atremendous voice.
　　He had had a peculiar bicycle built for himself, very tall - and he could ride this when still onstilts. That brought the house down! Another thing that made everyone laugh till they cried waswhen someone in the ring wanted to talk to Tops. They brought in a long ladder and put it right upto his waist - then up the ladder somebody ran to talk to the clown at the top of it.
　　Tops was a funny little man in himself, always joking. His big voice didn’t fit his small body.
　　‘That’s why he learnt stilt-walking,’ Pedro told Jack. ‘To be tall enough for his voice! That’s whathe always says, anyway.’
　　There was Hola, the sword-swallower. Jack watched him, shuddering. Hola could put a swordright down his throat up to the hilt! He would put back his head, and down would go the sword.
　　‘I can understand his being able to swallow short daggers or knives,’ said Jack. ‘Well - notswallow them, exactly, but stick them right down his throat - but Pedro, HOW can he swallow thatlong, long sword of his? It’s awful to see him. It makes me feel quite sick.’
　　Pedro laughed. ‘I’ll take you to Hola’s van when he is in a good temper,’ he said. ‘He will showyou how he does that.’
　　And one evening Jack had gone across to Hola’s bright yellow van, and had been introduced toHola himself, a tall, thin fellow with sad eyes. Pedro spoke to him in German, and Hola noddedand produced a small smile. He beckoned Jack into his van. In a big stand were all sizes of knives,daggers and swords. Jack pointed to a very long sword indeed.
　　Hola took it up. He put back his head, and down went the sword, down, down, down his throatright up to the hilt. It wasn’t possible! How could a man do that?
　　Up came the sword again, and Hola took it out of his mouth and smiled, still with his sadexpression. He handed the sword to Jack.
　　And then the boy understood how Hola could do such an extraordinary thing. The sword wascollapsible! It could be made to slide into itself, so that it became only the length of a long dagger.
　　By a most ingenious mechanism, worked by a knob in the handle, Hola could make the swordshorter and shorter as he swallowed it.
　　Jack was most relieved. He was allowed to press the little secret knob, and see how the pointedend of the sword slid upwards into the main part, making itself into a curious dagger.
　　The circus folk were certainly interesting to live with! Jack couldn’t help enjoying the strange,happy-go-lucky life, although he worried continually about Lucy-Ann and the others, and wasimpatient for the circus to go on to Borken. He was so afraid that he would be too late, if the circuswas too long on the way.
　　‘But I must stay with them,’ he thought. ‘It is the best possible hiding place for me. The policewould certainly get me sooner or later if I wandered off on my own. But I WISH the circus wouldget on a bit faster. I simply must get to Borken soon, and do a bit of prowling round the castle onmy own.’
第16章 和马戏团在一起
　　第16章 和马戏团在一起
　　杰克非常喜欢佩德罗。他只是一个马戏男孩，举止粗鲁，但他非常敏感，能察觉到杰克并不想谈论自己或者他和琪琪到底在特瑞赫西亚打算做什么。所以他没有问任何问题，这让杰克很是感激。
　　他不能告诉他真相，但也不想对他说谎！或许等到了博肯，他对佩德罗更了解一些之后，可以告诉他一点——甚至可能从他那里获得一些帮助。
　　当天晚上，马戏团就上路了。篷车和卡车在田野间吱嘎作响，咣当咣当地驶过大路。
　　道路崎岖不平，使篷车们危险地摇摆着。杰克有些紧张地盯着那些装载着动物笼子的马车。如果哪辆车翻了会发生什么呢——动物们会逃跑吗？有一辆篷车上可是装着熊，另一辆上则有两只黑猩猩。
　　对于营地里的所有人来说，琪琪都是一个巨大的快乐源泉。马戏团里许多人都能讲一点很烂的英语——但无论如何，已经足以让他们听得懂了！琪琪说的每一句话都能让他们捧腹大笑。他们给她带来了各种各样的小玩意儿，当她喜欢菠萝罐头的小嗜好被发现时，这些人差不多洗劫了沿途的商店，买下了成堆的罐头！
　　杰克问了佩德罗许多问题。博肯有多远？谁是城堡的主人？它存在多久了？任何人都能靠近去参观它吗？
　　佩德罗笑了起来。“博肯城堡——以及整个博肯地区——所有我们经过的地方——都属于帕瑞托兰伯爵。他就住在城堡里。至于参观的问题——要我说，任何敢这么做的人还没等前脚迈过大门，就会被丢进地牢里去啦！”
　　“他听起来很凶残。”杰克沮丧地说。如果其他人被带去了伯爵的城堡，面对这么凶残的绑架者，想必不会太好过！
　　“他是一个强大的铁腕人物，”佩德罗说，“他恨国王，因为国王对他来说太强势了。他想让年轻的阿洛伊修斯王子成为国王——这样他就可以成为这个国家实际的统治者。王子将不得不按照他说的去做。”
　　“我明白了。”杰克说，他的心在下沉。他能做些什么来对抗像帕瑞托兰伯爵这样强大的人呢？
　　“这个伯爵是首相吗？”杰克突然想起古斯说过的话，于是问道。
　　“不。他的妹夫哈提乌斯伯爵才是首相。”佩德罗说，“他们两个都讨厌国王——但是哈提乌斯伯爵比较弱，真正厉害的是他的大舅子。实际上，他的老婆控制着他——就像人们说的，那是一个非常聪明的女人——塔蒂莎夫人。”
　　杰克专心地听着这一切。他开始对一些事有了更清晰的认识。多么奇怪啊，像这样忽然被卷入旋涡的中心——先是认识小王子本人——现在又离博肯城堡这么近，就在帕瑞托兰伯爵的领地上，那个想要除掉国王的人！所有这些听起来都像书里的故事，但这个故事却突然变成了现实。
　　“佩德罗，你是怎么知道这些的？”他问道。
　　“嗨，特瑞赫西亚的每个人都知道。”佩德罗说，“因为它可能意味着内战，你看，所有人都担心这个。如果国王被废除了，这位年轻的王子被送上那个位置，人们就会立刻开始站队，拔刀相向——而像我们马戏团这样的人就不得不尽快逃往国外！所以我们总是竖着耳朵，注意着各种动静。”
　　杰克确信自己已经掌握了所有的最新消息！他确定特瑞赫西亚还没有人知道阿洛伊修斯王子被从英格兰绑架回来，现在甚至已经成为博肯城堡的囚犯。但接下来会发生什么？
　　事态会进一步发展吗，会传出诸如国王被暗杀——或者被投进监狱之类的消息吗？
　　杰克陷入了沉思——他是如此专注，连玛喊他吃饭的声音都没听见。男孩突然觉得自己成为了这个故事剧情里的一个非常重要的角色——一个幸运的，还未被阴谋策划者所知晓的角色——只要他能潜入城堡，他就能破坏整个预设的剧情。
　　“想啥呢！”佩德罗说着打了他一拳，“醒醒！你看起来严肃得不像话。你在合计什么吗？”
　　杰克摇摇头，笑了一下。琪琪离开了他的肩头，向玛飞过去。妇人正从大黑锅里捞出一点吃的准备喂她。
　　“波莉烧上了水。”琪琪说。她歪着头看着玛：“Bonny-tageloota！”
　　玛拍腿笑了起来。她爱琪琪。“她索（说）了特瑞赫西亚语！”她指着琪琪喊道。
　　杰克被震惊了。天晓得琪琪是怎么搞定特瑞赫西亚语的？她真是一个了不起的模仿者。“Bonnytageloota是什么意思？”他问。
　　“问你早上好！”佩德罗笑着说。
　　马戏团在一个大村庄停了下来，并准备在这里驻扎两天。接着杰克就忙碌起来了。他必须竭尽全力地给佩德罗搭手帮各种忙——支帐篷，把篷车推到该停的位置，放好一排排的长椅，还有为“老板”到各处跑腿。杰克永远说不出他名字的发音。
　　马戏团的人已经接纳了杰克。他一直那么热情洋溢、机敏、举止有礼，这让他在那些已经习惯了粗野汉子的女人中大受欢迎。马戏团里的大多数人杰克都很喜欢——他们善良又慷慨，性格直爽又乐观——但他们同时也是又脏又邋遢的，有时候并不诚实，偶尔还会偷懒。他们对杰克很好，这让他迅速地融入了他们之间。
　　他们是一群奇妙的人。比如马戏团节目里的最大惊喜，范克和他的三头熊。所有的熊都是深棕色的，体格庞大壮实，是天生的丑角演员。它们会拳击，把对方击倒，它们会笨拙地围成一圈跳一支滑稽的舞蹈。三只熊都非常崇敬它们的驯兽师，范克。
　　马戏团里的大多数人杰克都很喜欢——他们善良又慷慨，性格直爽又乐观——但他们同时也是又脏又邋遢的，有时候并不诚实，偶尔还会偷懒。
　　“不过，别离它们太近，”佩德罗警告地说，“它们很危险。除了范克之外，没有人能控制它们。坏脾气的熊——必须小心。”
　　两只黑猩猩则是非常有趣的伙伴。它们手拉着手，跟在主人——一个叫作菲菲女士的瘦小妇人——的身后。她看起来就和它们差不多高！它们真的很爱她。
　　杰克非常喜欢它们，但很快就发现它们是可怕的扒手！它们会神不知鬼不觉地将毛茸茸的手指伸进他的口袋，掏走他的手帕、笔记本和两支铅笔。
　　菲菲女士笑着将东西交还给他。她用法语说了一大堆话——也可能是西班牙语或者意大利语？她的语速太快了，以至于杰克甚至搞不清楚她说的是什么语言。她看出来杰克没有听懂，于是说了几个英文单词。
　　“坏孩子！”菲菲女士说着，伸出纤细的手指指向黑猩猩菲弗和福姆，“啪，啪，啪！”
　　托尼和宾果是杂技演员。托尼是一位了不起的走绳者，每次他在马戏团搭的帐篷里表演走钢丝时，都能引起风暴般的掌声和欢呼喝彩。他可以在上边做任何事情——跑步、跳跃、跳舞——甚至倒立。杰克总是怕他掉下来。
　　“为什么他不用安全网？”他问佩德罗，“你知道，如果他从那个高度掉下来，会把自己摔死的！”
　　“问他！”佩德罗笑着说。所以当那个杂技演员碰到佩德罗的妈妈，停下来和她聊天的时候，杰克对托尼又问了一遍这个问题。托尼是西班牙人，但是他完全听得懂英语，尽管说得不是很流利。
　　“呸！安圈（全）网！”他不屑地说，“只有在恩（英）格兰，他们提供了一个安圈（全）网。我不可能掉下去！我是托尼，最最最伟大的托尼！”另外还有托帕斯，一个特别擅长踩高跷的小丑。看着他走进舞台，真是太神奇了，他简直像巨人一样高。他的高跷底部装了一双大靴子。对于观众席上的大多数孩子来说，他看起来就是一个真正的巨人，尤其是他还有一副洪亮的嗓子。
　　他有一辆量身打造的特殊自行车，非常高——他可以踩着高跷骑着它走。这简直让帐篷里沸腾了！欢呼声几乎要把篷顶都掀掉。另外一件让大家笑出眼泪的事情是，每次舞台上的某个人想要和托帕斯交谈的时候，都会搬来一个梯子，升到和他的腰差不多高的地方，然后爬到梯子顶部与小丑对话。
　　托帕斯本身是个很有趣的小个子，总是在开玩笑。他洪亮的声音和他瘦小的身体完全不匹配。“这就是为什么他学了踩高跷。”佩德罗告诉杰克，“足够高到配得上他的音量！反正他总是这么说。”
　　霍拉是一个表演吞刀剑的演员。杰克看着他，不寒而栗。霍拉可以把剑吞入喉咙，直接没到手柄！他的头大幅度地后仰着，好让剑顺利地滑下去。
　　“我知道他是怎么吞下短剑或刀的，”杰克说，“好吧——确切地说，不是吞下去，而是贴到喉咙上——但是佩德罗，他怎么能吞下那么长的剑？这看起来真糟糕。让我觉得不舒服。”
　　佩德罗笑了起来。“等他心情好的时候，我带你去霍拉的篷车，”他说，“他会告诉你他是怎么做到的。”
　　于是，某天晚上杰克去了霍拉那辆明黄色的篷车。他被介绍给这位高高瘦瘦的、有着一双忧郁眼睛的男人。佩德罗对他说了几句德语，霍拉点点头，露出了一个微笑。他招手示意杰克进到他的篷车里去。在一个大台子上，放着各种尺寸的刀剑和匕首。杰克指向其中的一柄长剑。
　　霍拉拿起了它。他向后仰起头，吞下了剑。他一直吞，一直吞，直到只剩下剑柄在外边。这简直不可能！人类怎么可能做到这种事？
　　霍拉又把剑从嘴里拉出来。他笑了起来，尽管神情仍旧是忧郁的。他将剑交给杰克。
　　这下，男孩明白了霍拉是怎么做到这件不可思议的事情的。剑是可以伸缩的！它可以缩短到只有匕首的长度。通过一个很巧妙的机关，一个在剑柄上的小旋钮，霍拉可以在吞剑的时候不断让它变短。
　　杰克放下心来。他被准许去试了试那个小旋钮，看着尖尖的剑端是如何缩进剑体，使自己变成一把奇妙的匕首。
　　和马戏团的人一起生活真的非常有趣！虽然杰克一刻也没有放下对露西安和其他人的担忧，并急切地希望马戏团能尽快前往博肯。他很担心如果马戏团在路上耽搁太久，一切都会变得太晚了。
　　“但是我必须和他们在一起。”他思考着，“这对我来说是最好的掩护。如果我单独行动，警察迟早会抓到我。但我真希望马戏团能走快一点。我只是必须尽快到博肯，并且单独去侦察一下那个城堡。”
17 Borken at last!
　　17
　　Borken at last!
　　Kiki was a great success, not only with the circus folk, but with the people who came to visit it.
　　The Boss kept his word, and allowed Jack to show Kiki. Pedro helped him to make a little standwith a gilded perch set on a pole. Kiki was thrilled!
　　‘I believe you think you’re on a throne or something!’ said Jack, grinning. ‘Princess Kiki, thefinest talking parrot in the world! Now - what about a song?’
　　Kiki was always ready to do anything if she could get claps and cheers and laughter. She reallysurpassed herself, and made Fank, the bear trainer, quite jealous because she drew such a lot ofpeople to her little sideshow!
　　She sang lustily, and although she mixed up the rhymes and words she knew in a mostridiculous manner, the Tauri-Hessian folk didn’t know that. They really thought she was singing aproper song.
　　Then she would always answer them if they said anything to her, though as they didn’t speakEnglish they had no idea what she was saying. Still - she answered at once, and usually went offinto such a cackle of laughter afterwards that everyone roared too.
　　‘Tikkopoolinwallyoo?’ somebody would ask Kiki.
　　‘Shut the door, fetch the doctor, Polly’s got a cold!’ Kiki would answer at once. Even Jack hadto grin at her, she enjoyed it all so much.
　　Her noises were the biggest attraction of all. Her sneezes and coughs and her sudden hiccupsmade the village people hold their sides and laugh till the tears fell down their cheeks. They wererather overawed by her express- train- roaring- through- a- tunnel imitation, and they didn’tunderstand the lawn mower noise because they did not use them; but they really loved the way sheclucked like a hen, grunted like Fank’s bears, and barked like a dog.
　　Yes - Kiki was a great success. Jack felt that she was getting very spoilt by all this fuss - butshe did bring in money to him, so that he could pay Pedro’s mother for the food she gave him, andfor letting him share Pedro’s little van.
　　The rest of the money he tied carefully up in his handkerchief, thinking that it might come invery useful if he needed any in Borken. He kept his hand on it when Feefo and Fum thechimpanzees were anywhere about. They would pick his pocket if they could - and he would loseall his savings!
　　‘We shall be in Borken tomorrow,’ Pedro told him, as they got orders to pack up that evening.
　　‘The Boss has got a pitch there - a good one too, at the bottom of the castle hill.’
　　Jack’s heart leapt - ah, Borken at last. A whole week had already gone by, and he had beengetting very worried indeed. Now perhaps he could get some news of the others. If only he could!
　　Was Lucy-Ann all right? She would so hate being a prisoner in a castle.
　　They arrived in Borken the next evening. Jack first saw the castle from a long way off. It stoodon a hill, and looked like something out of an old tale of King Arthur and his Knights. It wasimmensely strong, and had four sturdy towers, one at each corner.
　　‘Borken Castle,’ said Pedro, seeing it suddenly, as they came out of a thick wood, throughwhich a rough road ran. He pointed to the great hill. ‘In that castle many a prisoner has been held- and never heard of again. The dungeons are . . .’
　　‘Don’t,’ said Jack, fearfully. ‘Don’t tell me things like that.’
　　Pedro looked at him in surprise. ‘What’s the matter? Not scared of a castle, are you?’
　　‘No,’ said Jack. ‘Er - whereabouts were prisoners kept? In a tower? Anywhere special?’
　　‘Don’t know,’ said Pedro. ‘We might have a stroll round it sometime - but we wouldn’t beallowed to go too near it, you know.’
　　The circus camp settled itself in a sloping field just at the bottom of the castle hill. Thetownsfolk came streaming out to watch them set up camp. Evidently it was a great thing for themto have a travelling circus visiting Borken.
　　Children darted in and out, shouting and laughing. One small girl came running up to Pedro,calling out something excitedly. He swung her up into his arms, and she shrieked in delight,‘Pedro, Pedro, allapinotolyoota!’
　　Pedro replied in the same language. Then he turned to Jack, grinning with pleasure. ‘My littlecousin Hela,’ he said. ‘Her father married my aunt. He is a soldier in the Hessian army.’ He turnedand asked the excited Hela a few questions.
　　‘Hela says her mother is with her father here - she is working as a maid in the castle forMadame Tatiosa, who is living at the castle now. And Hela lives in the castle too.’
　　This was news! Grand news! Now perhaps he would hear something about Lucy-Ann and theothers. He stared at the small, lively Hela in excitement. But wait - wait - he mustn’t give himselfaway. He mustn’t blurt out questions without thinking. He frowned and tried to think what wouldbe the best thing to ask.
　　‘Pedro - has Madame Tatiosa any children?’ he asked at last. ‘Would she - er - would she likeus to give a little show in the castle for them, do you think?’
　　‘Madame Tatiosa has no children,’ said Pedro. ‘I can tell you that. If she had, she would try tomake one of them King! She is a clever, dangerous woman, that one.’
　　Hela wanted to know what Jack had asked. She listened and then went right up to Pedro andwhispered something in his ear, her eyes dancing. Then she put her finger to her mouth as if tellinghim not to talk of what she had said.
　　‘Silly child!’ said Pedro. ‘You have been dreaming!’
　　‘What did she say?’ said Jack, impatient to hear everything that Hela said. To think she lived inthe castle. Why - she might see the others every single day!
　　‘Hela says that Madame Tatiosa must have adopted some children, because sometimes, whenshe goes with her mother to one of the towers, she hears children’s voices,’ said Pedro, laughing.
　　‘And she says that no one but Madame Tatiosa and Count Paritolen go right into that tower. Shesays it is very mysterious, but that no one must know, because when she told her mother what shehad heard, her mother threatened her with a sound whipping for making up stories.’
　　‘I see,’ said Jack. ‘Does she know which tower this is? Could she show us from where we standnow?’
　　‘You don’t want to believe a word she says, Jack!’ said Pedro. ‘She is a babbler, a story-teller,our little Hela!’
　　‘Ask her, all the same,’ said Jack, in such an insistent voice that Pedro did what he asked. Helagazed up at the great stone castle. She pointed to the tower on the south side.
　　‘That one,’ she said, in a half-whisper to Pedro, and Jack understood, although she used Hessianwords. She put her finger on her lips again to make sure that Jack and Pedro understood that theymustn’t give her away.
　　Jack took her to buy some sweets. He wished intensely that he could speak the language of thecountry, but although he had picked up quite a few words - though apparently not so many as Kikihad! - it was impossible to hold any sensible kind of conversation with Hela. He didn’t knowenough of her language.
　　She chattered away to him and he didn’t understand a word. He bought her the sweets and sheflung her arms round him and hugged him. Then she ran off at top speed to show the sweets to herfriends.
　　The camp was soon ready. The circus was to open the following evening. Jack had been verybusy indeed, and was tired. But he was determined, quite determined that he was going to prowlround the foot of the great castle that night. Should he ask Pedro to go with him? No - it might beawkward to have Pedro there, if he did manage to get into touch with Philip and the others. Hewould have to explain everything to Pedro, and he didn’t quite know how the circus boy wouldtake his news.
　　Ma called out something to Pedro as he and Jack went to her van to get their evening meal.
　　Pedro listened, and looked grave.
　　‘What’s up?’ asked Jack.
　　‘It’s Fank, the bear-trainer,’ said Pedro. ‘He’s feeling ill again. The Boss is very worried.’
　　‘Why?’ asked Jack. ‘It will only mean that the bears don’t perform, won’t it? Anyway, Fankmay be better by tomorrow.’
　　‘It’s a great loss to the circus when a big attraction like Fank’s bears is taken off,’ said Pedro.
　　‘But there’s worse to it than that. No one can manage those bears but Fank. They get quite out ofhand when he’s ill - won’t let their cage be cleaned out - won’t eat - fight one another. Once theyeven broke down their cage and got out. Fank had to crawl out of his bed in his caravan andsomehow get them back. But it nearly killed him!’
　　‘Poor Fank,’ said Jack. ‘Well, let’s hope he is all right again by tomorrow. I don’t particularlywant great bears like that breaking down their cage and wandering about the camp, I must say.
　　Fank’s a wonder with them - I’ve watched him. He teases them and plays with them - and theyfawn round him like dogs!’
　　‘Not many people can manage animals as Fank can,’ said Pedro. ‘He had lions once - and twotigers - trained them all by himself. Then he suddenly said they didn’t like performing and soldthem to a Zoo. And yet they were the best trained lions and tigers in the world!’
　　‘And now he’s got bears,’ said Jack. ‘He must love animals very much, and they must love him.
　　There are other people like that, Pedro. I know a boy who can do anything with animals, too.’ Hewas thinking of Philip, of course.
　　‘Ever tried his hand with lions, or tigers or bears?’ asked Pedro. ‘No? I thought not! I bet theywouldn’t eat out of his hand. Cats and dogs and rats and mice and other creatures are easy to dowhat you like with - but not the big animals - the bears and the great cats!’
　　‘No, I suppose not,’ said Jack, thinking that Philip had never had the chance to work his magicon great creatures like those. ‘Well - I hope Fank will be better tomorrow. I wouldn’t like the jobof cleaning out the bears’ cage, I must say. I’d be afraid of their claws in my back the whole time!’
　　Jack did not go to sleep as quickly as he usually did, when he lay down on his mattress inPedro’s caravan. He didn’t mean to. He was going to explore all round the foot of Borken Castle.
　　He had bought a torch in the town that day. He didn’t quite know what good he would do,wandering round in the dark - but it was the only thing he could think of. He had to do something!
　　He slid off the mattress as soon as he heard Pedro breathing deeply. He didn’t want to wakehim. He went out of the van, holding his clothes. He put them on in the darkness, and then, withthe surprised Kiki on his shoulder, he set off to the castle hill.
　　If only he could speak to the others! If only he could make sure they were still all right!
第17章 终于到了博肯
　　第17章 终于到了博肯
　　琪琪不仅得到了马戏团众人的喜爱，也在所有的游客和观众中间赢得了巨大的成功。
　　老板遵守了承诺，允许杰克与琪琪进行表演。佩德罗帮他用一根镀金栖木和底座做了一个漂亮的小支架。琪琪非常兴奋！
　　“我估计你大概是觉得自己正坐在宝座之类的东西上边！”杰克笑着说，“琪琪公主，全世界最会讲话的鹦鹉！现在——来一首歌怎么样？”
　　只要能得到欢呼喝彩、掌声和笑声，琪琪就随时准备好了做任何事情。她的表演比之从前更加出色，吸引了大量的人聚集到她的表演场地周围，这让驯熊师范克都很是嫉妒。
　　她嘹亮地唱着，尽管是用了最可笑的方式混合了各种她所熟悉的韵脚和词语，特瑞赫西亚的人们却并不知道这点。他们真的以为她在唱一首正儿八经的歌。
　　此外，如果他们对她说了什么，她也总是会回答。虽然他们不懂英语，也不知道她在说什么。即使如此，她每次都会立刻回答，还经常自顾自地开始咯咯发笑，人们也总会跟着哄笑起来。
　　“Tikkopoolinwallyoo?”有人问琪琪。
　　“关好门，找医生，波莉感冒了！”琪琪立即答道。尽管杰克嘲笑她，她还是非常享受这一切。
　　她模仿的各种声响最为吸引人。她打喷嚏，咳嗽，又突然打起嗝，每一次都让村民们捧腹大笑，直到笑出眼泪。他们对火车呼啸着穿过隧道的音效感到畏惧，又对割草机的声音迷惑不解，因为他们从未见过；不过他们真的很喜欢琪琪模拟的各种动物的声音，比如母鸡一样的咯咯声，范克熊一样的咕噜声，还有像狗一样的犬吠声。
　　没错——琪琪取得了巨大成功。杰克觉得她已经被这些激动的反响给惯坏了——但她确实为他赚到了钱。他现在可以为佩德罗妈妈给他的食物付账了，还有小篷车的寄宿费。
　　他小心地用手帕将剩余的钱紧紧地包好，如果他在博肯遇到需要花钱的地方，这将变得非常有用。每当黑猩猩菲弗和福姆出现在周围时，他总是不放心地将手放在钱袋上。因为只要有机会，它们就会掏他的口袋——然后他就会失去所有的积蓄！
　　“我们明天应该就会到博肯了，”当他们那天晚上收到打包行李的指令时，佩德罗告诉他，“老板已经在那里找到一个扎营的地方——一块很不错的坡地，就在城堡的山脚下。”
　　杰克的心跳了起来——啊，终于要到博肯了。已经过去整整一个星期了，他实在是非常担心。现在他或许能得到一些关于其他人的消息了。只要他能！露西安还好吗？她肯定特别讨厌被囚禁在城堡里。
　　第二天傍晚，他们抵达了博肯。还离得很远的时候，杰克就先看到了城堡。它坐落在山上，看起来就像是从亚瑟王与圆桌骑士的古老故事里跑出来的。它非常宏伟，在四个角上各有一座坚固的塔楼。
　　突然，佩德罗也看见了它，他说道：“博肯城堡。”他们刚刚离开了一片密林，经过的道路坑坑洼洼，让车队颠簸不已。佩德罗指向那座醒目的山峰：“那座城堡关押过许多囚犯，并且再也没听说过关于他们的任何消息。地牢是……”
　　“别说了，”杰克害怕地说，“别告诉我那些事。”
　　佩德罗惊讶地看着他：“怎么了？你不会是怕一座城堡吧？”
　　“不是，”杰克说，“呃——一般来说，囚犯会被关在哪里？在塔楼里吗，还是什么特殊的地方？”
　　“不知道。”佩德罗说，“之后我们或许会有机会绕着它散散步——但靠得太近是不被允许的，你懂的。”
　　马戏团的营地就驻在城堡的山脚下。镇民们都涌出来了，围观他们扎营。显然，对博肯人来说，流动马戏团的到访是一件大事。
　　孩子们跑来跑去，大声笑闹着。一个小女孩跑到佩德罗身边，兴奋地喊了一些话。他把她抱起来举高高，她开心得尖叫起来：“佩德罗，佩德罗，allapinotolyoota!”
　　佩德罗用同样的语言回了一句。他转向杰克，脸上挂着高兴的笑容。“这是我的小表妹赫拉，”他说，“他爸爸娶了我阿姨。他是一名特瑞赫西亚军人。”他转头向兴奋不已的小赫拉，又问了一些问题。
　　“赫拉说她妈妈和爸爸现在就在这里——她在城堡里工作，是塔蒂莎夫人的女佣。塔蒂莎夫人现在就在这座城堡里。所以赫拉也住在那里。”
　　这可是个新闻！一个大新闻！现在他或许能探听到一些露西安和其他人的消息了。杰克兴奋地注视着那个快乐的小赫拉。不过等等——等一下——他可不能暴露自己。他绝不能不过脑子地问问题。他皱起眉头，开始思考怎么问才最适合。
　　“佩德罗——塔蒂莎夫人有没有孩子？”他终于问道，“她会不会——呃——如果我们到城堡为他们做一个小小的专场表演，她会不会喜欢？你觉得呢？”
　　“塔蒂莎夫人没有孩子，”佩德罗说，“我可以确定。如果她有的话，她就会想办法让其中一个成为国王了！她是一个非常聪明，也非常危险的女人。”
　　赫拉想知道杰克问了些什么。她听着他们的对话，然后奔向佩德罗，在他耳边嘀咕了一些话，眼睛里闪烁着淘气的光芒。之后她做了一个噤声的手势，仿佛在让男孩不要说出刚才跟他讲的话。
　　“傻孩子！”佩德罗说，“你总是在做梦！”
　　“她说什么？”杰克问，急切地想知道赫拉说的每一个字。她可是住在城堡里。想想看——她甚至可能每天都会见到其他人！
　　“赫拉说，塔蒂莎夫人一定收养了一些孩子。因为有时候，当她和妈妈一起去某个塔楼时，会听到孩子们的声音。”佩德罗笑着说，“她说，除了帕瑞托兰伯爵和塔蒂莎夫人，没人能进入那个塔楼。她说这很神秘，并不知道怎么回事。因为当她告诉妈妈关于她听到的东西时，她妈妈只是编了一些故事来糊弄吓唬她。”
　　“我明白了，”杰克说，“她知道那是哪座塔楼吗？她能从我们站的这里把它指出来吗？”
　　“你可别信她说的话，杰克！”佩德罗说，“她是个话痨，喜欢编故事，我们的小赫拉！”
　　“不管怎么说，问问她呗。”杰克坚持道，于是佩德罗问了。赫拉看了看那座庞大的石头城堡，然后指向了南侧的塔楼。
　　“那个。”她对佩德罗小声说。虽然她用的是特瑞赫西亚语，杰克还是懂了。她再次将手指竖到嘴上，确保佩德罗和杰克明白不可以出卖她。
　　杰克带她去买了一些糖果。他此刻特别希望自己会说这个国家的语言，尽管他已经能说几个单词——虽然看起来还没琪琪会的多！——但显然仍没办法与注意力转移得很快的赫拉进行任何有条理的对话。
　　她喋喋不休地跟杰克聊着，然而他听不懂一个字。他给她买了糖果，她扑向男孩，给了他一个拥抱，然后飞快地跑开，向她的朋友炫耀糖果去了。
　　营地里的一切都准备好了。马戏团将在第二天晚上开放演出。杰克忙碌了一天非常累。但他还是下定了决心今晚就要去那座大城堡的附近侦察一下。他应该叫佩德罗一起去吗？不，如果他真的设法联系上了菲利普和其他人，佩德罗在那里的话会有些麻烦。他将不得不向佩德罗解释一切，但他不清楚这个马戏男孩会如何看待这些事情。
　　当佩德罗和杰克一起去玛的篷车上吃晚饭时，她大声对佩德罗说了一些话。男孩听了之后一脸凝重。
　　“怎么了？”杰克问道。
　　“是驯熊师范克，”佩德罗说，“他又病了。老板很担心。”
　　“为什么？”杰克问，“这只是意味着熊没法演出了，不是吗？无论如何，或许范克明天就会好转了呢。”
　　“如果‘范克的熊’这样的热门表演取消，对马戏团来说会是一个巨大的损失，”佩德罗解释道，“但情况比这个更糟。因为除了范克，没人能管得了那些熊。当他生病时，它们就会失控——不肯让人清理它们的笼子——不肯吃东西——互相掐架之类的。有一次它们甚至破坏了笼子跑了出去。范克不得不从床上爬起来，想办法把它们带回来。那几乎要了他的命！”
　　“可怜的范克，”杰克说，“好吧，希望明天他会痊愈。不得不说，我并不是很想看到那些大熊弄坏它们的笼子，跑到营地里四处游荡。范克对它们来说简直是个奇迹——我观察过。他逗弄它们、与它们一起玩——而那些熊就像狗一样绕着他转！”
　　“很少有人能像范克那样让动物驯服，”佩德罗说，“他以前有过狮子——还有两只老虎——完全是他自己训练出来的。然后有一天他突然说，它们并不喜欢表演，就将它们卖给了动物园。尽管它们是全世界训练得最好的狮子和老虎！”
　　“而现在他有熊，”杰克说，“他一定很爱动物，它们一定也爱着他。还有一些人和他一样，佩德罗。我就知道一个男孩，可以让动物做任何事。”他想到的当然是菲利普。
　　“你朋友也试过把他的手伸进狮子、老虎和熊的嘴里吗？”佩德罗问，“没有？我猜就没有！我敢肯定它们不会吃掉范克的手。你可以很容易让猫猫狗狗和小老鼠这类的动物做你想要它们做的事情——但那些猛兽不行——熊和狮子之类的！”
　　“不，我想不是。”杰克说，他认为菲利普只是从来没有机会在这些大家伙身上展现他的魔法而已，“好了——我希望明天范克能好转。我必须得说，我可不会喜欢给熊清理笼子的活计。我会一直担心它们把爪子放到我的背上！”
　　杰克躺到佩德罗篷车里的床铺上，没有像平时那样很快就入睡。他不打算睡着，而是准备去侦察那座城堡，为此他白天特地在市集上买了一支手电筒。男孩并不是很确定这么做是否合适，在黑暗中摸索——但这是他唯一能想到的。他必须得做点什么！
　　当佩德罗的呼吸变得绵长的时候，杰克从床上溜了下来，尽量避免吵醒他。他拿着衣服走出篷车，在黑暗中穿好它们。接着，带着肩膀上惊讶不已的琪琪，他向城堡所在的山丘走去。
　　只要他能和其他人说上话！只要他确定他们都还好！
18 Up to the castle!
　　18
　　Up to the castle!
　　Jack went stealthily out of the camp. All was quiet. There was no lamp or candle alight in any ofthe vans. The circus folk were tired out with setting up camp again, and had gone to bed early, inreadiness for their grand opening the next day.
　　It was a starry night, with no moon, so there was not much light. It was not pitch dark, however,and Jack did not need to use his torch, once his eyes had got used to the darkness. The stars gave afaint light, just enough for him to avoid falling over anything.
　　He went up to the slope of the hill where the camp was placed. He came to a low castle wall. Heshone his torch here and there, and found a place he thought he could climb, where the stoneswere rough and uneven.
　　His rubber shoes helped him a good deal. He wished he had rubber gloves on his hands, too, sothat his fingers would not slip on the stones as he tried to grasp them!
　　He was over at last. He looked round cautiously, not daring to put on his torch. He seemed to bein a small courtyard. He strained his eyes. He could make out the great bulk of the castle easily. Itrose up high, towering about him, solid and strong. He despaired of ever getting inside - or evenof getting in touch with Philip and the others!
　　He crept quietly over the courtyard, stumbling now and again over an uneven stone. Hesuddenly walked into something that scared him tremendously, and made Kiki give a frightenedsquawk.
　　Something wrapped itself round his head! What was it? In a panic Jack tore at it, and ranforward. But something flapped at him again, and covered his whole face. Desperately Jackswitched his torch on and off for a moment, to see what was attacking him.
　　When he saw what it was, he gave a laugh of relief, and felt very silly. He had walked into aline of washing! A sheet had ‘attacked’ him, that was all - and the thing that had wrapped itselfround his head was a jersey.
　　A jersey! Jack stopped. A jersey - such things were not worn in Tauri-Hessia. He stepped backand flashed his torch on again. Yes - it was either Lucy-Ann’s or Dinah’s. There was no doubt ofit. So they definitely were there. Good, good, good! They were quite near him, somewhere. Ifonly, only he could get to them.
　　He stood and considered. If the children were held in secret, then it was strange that theirclothes should be washed and hung out on a line. People would see them and be surprised. Perhapsthis courtyard was an enclosed space - a secret yard where nobody came, except possibly MadameTatiosa. Would she wash the clothes though? She might, if she didn’t want anyone to know aboutthe children.
　　Perhaps Hela’s mother was in the secret too? Perhaps she washed for the children, cooked theirmeals and so on? Somebody would have to do that.
　　There must be a way into the castle from this little yard - possibly a back way into the kitchenor wash-houses. Jack went towards the great walls of the castle and flashed his torch up and down.
　　He would have to risk being seen by someone! He would never find out anything if he didn’t usehis torch now and again.
　　There was a small wash house there, as he had expected. He tried the door. It was locked. Heshone his torch in at the window and saw coppers and pails and washing baskets. Yes, that waswhere the washing was done. What a pity the washerwoman had remembered to lock the door!
　　Jack looked at the little washhouse. It was built out from the castle wall. He flashed his torch tothe roof of the wash house - and then higher up. He saw something that made his heart jump inexcitement!
　　There was a window not far above the wash house roof - and as far as Jack could see it had noglass in it at all! It was a very old, narrow window and might never have had any glass, hethought.
　　‘Now, let me think carefully!’ he said to himself. ‘If I could get up on the wash house roof -and then up to that window - I’d be inside the castle at once, and could look for the others. Buthow can I get up to the roof? I really don’t think I can climb it, though it isn’t very high.’
　　He couldn’t. It was just too high for him to jump and catch hold of the guttering to pull himselfup. There was no pipe he could climb up, either. Nothing at all.
　　‘A ladder,’ thought Jack, desperately. ‘If only I could find a ladder.’
　　He began to hunt round, feeling rather hopeless. Kiki sat still on his shoulder, puzzled. Sheknew she must not make a sound, but she longed to, especially when a bat came swooping nearher.
　　Jack went carefully round the yard. It wasn’t very big. He came to a small shed. It was notlocked, only latched. He opened the door carefully, horrified at the squeak it made, and flashed historch inside.
　　Wonder of wonders! There was a ladder there! Jack could hardly believe his eyes. He went overto it. It was very old, and some of its rungs were missing - but it might do. It just might do!
　　Anyway, he would try it.
　　He pulled it out of the shed, upsetting a can of some sort as he did so. The noise echoed roundthe yard, sounding extraordinarily loud. Jack halted, holding his breath. He quite expected to seelights flashing up in every window.
　　But none came. Everything was still and dark. He heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps nobody hadheard the noise after all - or perhaps nobody slept on that side of the castle.
　　He carried the ladder over to the wash house. It was not very heavy, because it wasn’t verylong. Still, it would be long enough, he was sure.
　　He set it up against the wash house. It reached almost to the roof. He flashed his torch at therungs to make sure which were missing. Then he put his torch into his pocket, and with Kiki flyinground his head in excitement, he began to climb.
　　It certainly was a very old ladder! One of the rungs he trod on almost gave way. He hurriedlymissed it and put his foot up to the next. He was very thankful when at last he was at the top.
　　Now to pull himself on to the roof. He managed to get there with a scraped knee and satpanting. Now for the next step - to get to the window above, in the castle wall itself.
　　The roof of the wash house was flattish, and Jack was able to make his way on all fours. Hecame to the wall. He stood up cautiously, feeling it with his hands, and then used his torch again.
　　‘Blow! The window’s just too high for me to pull myself up,’ thought Jack, in deepdisappointment. ‘I can reach the sill with my hands - but can’t get enough hold to pull up mybody.’
　　He wondered if he could use the old ladder again. He crawled back to it. He put his hand downand felt the top-most rung. Then he pulled hard. The ladder seemed a great deal heavier to pull upthan it had been when he only carried it level. He tugged and tugged.
　　It was difficult to get it over the edge of the roof, but he managed it at last. He had to sit andhold the ladder by him for a while, because it had taken all his strength. He felt very pleased. Nowhe could put the ladder up to the window, and getting in would be child’s play!
　　He managed to get the ladder to the castle wall, though it was a very dangerous business, andtwice he nearly rolled off. But at last he was by the wall, and raised the ladder carefully. It wasdifficult to find a safe place to put it.
　　At last he thought he had got it as safe as he could manage. Now to go up. He hoped that theladder wouldn’t suddenly slip as he was climbing it. That wouldn’t be at all a pleasant thing tohappen!
　　He climbed up as quickly as he could, his heart thumping. Would the ladder hold? He got rightto the top, and was just clambering on to the window sill when the ladder slipped beneath him.
　　It slid sideways, fell on to the roof with an appalling noise and then crashed down into thecourtyard. NOW there would be people waking up and coming to see what the noise was!
　　Jack pulled himself right through the window. As he had thought, it had no glass, and probablynever had had. He jumped quietly down inside the window and crouched there, waiting.
　　He waited for three or four minutes, with Kiki nibbling his right ear, not making a sound. Thenhe stood up and stretched himself. He peered out of the window.
　　No - nobody was about. He could see no lantern or torch flashing, could hear no voices. Thisside of the castle must be uninhabited then, or surely someone would have heard such atremendous noise!
　　Dare he flash his torch to see where he was? He waited another minute and then, hearing nosound, flicked his torch on quickly and off again. But he had seen enough in that second.
　　He was in a small room, piled with chairs and benches set neatly on top of one another -nothing else was there at all.
　　‘Just a storeroom for extra furniture,’ thought Jack. ‘Come along, Kiki - we must rememberwe’ve got to find some other way of getting out of the castle - we can’t get out the way we camein! That ladder is certainly out of our reach!’
　　He went to the door and looked out into what seemed a corridor. Not a sound was to be heard. Itwas pitch dark here, so he flashed his torch on again. Yes - a long stone passage without even acarpet runner on it. No pictures about. No chairs. This certainly must be a part of the castle wherenobody slept.
　　He went down the long corridor, his rubber shoes making no sound. He came to the end, wherethere was a window - a round one, with glass in it. He turned the corner and saw another longcorridor, high-ceilinged, a little wider than the other, but still very bare.
　　Halfway down the corridor changed from bareness to comfort. A beautiful carpet ran down it,almost touching the walls each side. A big settee, covered in a golden damask, stood at one side.
　　Great pictures hung on the walls.
　　‘This is where I’ve got to be careful’, thought Jack. ‘There’s even a lamp alight on that roundtable over there - a dim one, it’s true - but still, enough for anyone to see me by!’
　　He went on. He passed an open door and looked cautiously inside. The light from another lampjust outside showed him what looked like a grand drawing-room. Tapestries hung all round thewalls. Mirrors hung there too. A great carved table stood in the middle, its polished surfacegleaming softly in the light of Jack’s torch.
　　He went out into the passage again, and considered what to do. First - in which direction wasthe tower that Hela had said the children were in? He must go in that direction if he could puzzle itout. He would have to find stairs too and climb them.
　　He decided to go on down the corridor. He must come to stairs soon, leading up into a tower!
　　He came to another door, wide open. He peeped inside. How grand this castle was! Whatmagnificent furnishings it had!
　　The room must be a library. It had books from floor to ceiling. Goodness - had anyone everread even a hundredth of them? Surely not!
　　A noise made Jack flick out his torch and stand absolutely still. It was a noise in the room hewas standing in - the library. It came from behind him - a whirring, groaning noise. Kiki gave asmall squawk. She was as startled as Jack. Whatever was it?
第18章 攀上城堡
　　第18章 攀上城堡
　　杰克悄悄地离开了营地。周围一片寂静。没有一辆篷车还亮着灯或者闪着烛光。因为之前的扎营，马戏团的人都很疲倦，早早就上了床，养足精神，迎接第二天的演出。
　　这是一个繁星满天的夜晚，没有月亮，所以没有太多的光。但它也不是全然的漆黑一片。杰克的眼睛适应了黑暗，所以他不需要用到手电筒。星星带来的昏暗光亮足够他避免被任何东西绊倒。
　　男孩爬上山坡，来到一堵低矮的城墙边上。杰克用手电筒四处照着察看情况，找到了一处石块格外粗糙不平的地方，他觉得可以从那里翻过去。
　　橡胶鞋帮了他很大的忙。他真希望手上也有一双橡胶手套，这样在他试图抓住那些石块的时候，手指就不会滑脱了！
　　最终他成功地翻过了矮墙。他小心地看了看四周，不敢打开手电筒。看起来他正在一个小院子里。杰克眯着眼睛，很轻易地分辨出了城堡的庞大轮廓。它高高地矗立在他面前，坚固、宏伟。他对如何进去——以及如何与菲利普和其他人联系上感到了一丝绝望！
　　男孩悄无声息地穿过院子，脚下时不时地被某块石头绊一下。突然有什么东西落到了他的身上，让他猛地吃了一惊，琪琪也发出了一声惊恐的尖叫。
　　一些东西罩住了他的头！是什么？杰克惊慌失措地向前跑去。但是又有更多的东西向他迎面扑来，蒙住了他的脸。杰克不顾一切地将手电筒打开了片刻，想看看到底是什么在攻击他。
　　当他看清那是什么的时候，不由得放松地笑了起来，觉得自己真是够蠢的。原来他冲进了一堆晾晒的衣物里！一件衬衫“袭击”了他，就是这样——蒙住他的脑袋的则是一件运动衫。
　　一件运动衫！杰克停下脚步。运动衫——特瑞赫西亚人并不穿这样的衣服。他后退了一步，再次用手电筒照了照。没错——它应该是露西安或者黛娜的，毫无疑问。所以他们一定是在这里。很好，很好，棒极了！他们就在附近，在离他不远的某处。只要，只要他能找到他们。
　　他站在原地，大脑快速地运转着。如果孩子们被秘密地关押起来，他们的衣服被这样洗晒出来就很奇怪。人们看到的话会惊讶的。除非这个院子是封闭的——一个除了塔蒂莎夫人，没有人来的秘密之地。她会洗衣服吗？如果她不想让任何人知道孩子们的存在，或许会去做。
　　也许赫拉的妈妈也被卷进了这桩秘密？或许是她在为孩子们洗衣煮饭？总要有人做这些事情。
　　从这个小院子一定有可以进入城堡的路——也许是某个进入厨房或者洗衣房的后门。
　　杰克沿着城墙走着，时不时打开手电筒察看着。他不得不这样冒着被人看到的风险！如果他不使用手电筒，就永远也发现不了什么东西。
　　正如他所预料的那样，那里有一间小洗衣房。他试着推了推门，但它被锁上了。他把手电筒的光透过窗户照进去，看到了里边的铜盆、水桶和洗衣篮。没错，这就是洗那些衣服的地方。真可惜洗衣妇并没有忘记锁门！
　　杰克察看着这间小洗衣房。它是依附着城堡的外墙建的。他用手电筒照了照洗衣房的屋顶，又把光柱往上挪了一点，突然看到了一些东西，他的心脏狂跳起来！
　　那是一扇窗，离洗衣房的屋顶很近——并且没有玻璃！它是那种十分古老的、狭窄的窗户，也许从来都没安过玻璃，杰克想。
　　“现在，让我仔细想想！”他自言自语道，“如果我能爬到洗衣房的屋顶上——再爬上那扇窗——我就可以进到城堡里了，然后就能去找其他人。但我要怎么爬到屋顶上？我真的不觉得自己能爬上去，虽然它不算特别高。”
　　他做不到。那对他来说还是太高了，即使他用力跳，也无法够到排水槽来钩住自己翻上去。那里也没有水管供他攀爬。没有任何能利用的东西。
　　“梯子，”杰克绝望地想，“只要我能找到一个梯子。”
　　他开始四处搜寻，虽然并没抱着太多希望。琪琪一动不动地蹲在他的肩头，困惑不已。她知道自己不能发出声音，但是她很渴望这么做，特别是当一只蝙蝠突然掠过的时候。
　　谢天谢地，最终他总算安全地到达了顶部。
　　杰克小心地绕着院子走着。这里不是很大。他发现了一个棚子，并没有上锁，只是用门闩挂上了而已。他小心翼翼地推开门，为它发出的吱嘎声心惊胆战，然后用手电筒向里边晃了晃。
　　奇迹中的奇迹！那里居然有一架梯子！杰克几乎不能相信自己的眼睛。他朝它走了过去。梯子非常老旧，有些地方还没有横木阶——但它或许还能用。只要它还能用！无论如何，杰克都会试一试。
　　他把它从棚子里拉出来，还不小心踢到了一个罐子。这意外弄出的响声在院子里回荡着，听起来十分刺耳。杰克僵住了，屏住了呼吸。有那么一瞬他觉得自己会看到每个窗口都亮起灯光。
　　但是没有。周围仍旧是一片寂静的漆黑。他松了口气。也许根本没人听到这个响声——或者只是人们不睡在城堡的这一侧。
　　他把梯子搬去洗衣房。它不是很长，所以也不是很沉。不过他可以确定，用来爬上屋顶是足够的了。
　　杰克把梯子架到洗衣房旁边。它的长度差不多刚好到达屋顶。他用手电筒照过那些横阶，以确定有哪些是缺掉的。接着他把手电筒放进口袋，开始往上爬。琪琪在他的头顶盘旋着，兴奋不已。
　　这确实是个很老旧的梯子！有一个他踩过的木阶几乎脱落了，他不得不赶紧移动到下一阶上去。谢天谢地，最终他总算安全地到达了顶部。
　　男孩设法将自己撑着翻上屋顶，代价是一个擦伤的膝盖。他气喘吁吁地坐着休息了一会儿。接下来的目标是爬上那扇城墙上的窗子。
　　洗衣房的屋顶是一个微斜的坡面。杰克匍匐到墙脚边，小心翼翼地站了起来，用手摸了摸墙，再次打开了手电筒。
　　“啧！窗户还是太高了，我没法翻上去，”杰克想着，感到非常失望，“我能用手够到窗台——但做不到把整个身体都拉上去。”
　　他想知道能不能再利用一次那个老旧的梯子。于是他匍匐回去，伸出手向下够到梯子最上边的横阶，用力把它拉起来。比起之前在平地上搬运它的时候，梯子似乎陡然沉了不少。他不断地往上拽着。
　　把它拖过屋檐的时候特别困难，但无论如何，杰克还是完成了这件事。男孩不得不抱着梯子坐下来，休息一会儿，因为他几乎用光了所有的力气。但是他非常开心。接下来他只要把梯子架到窗边，爬上去，进入城堡就是小事一桩！
　　他设法将梯子弄到城墙边。这事很危险，有两次他差点从屋顶上滑下去。但最终他成功了，并小心翼翼地架起了梯子。想找到一个相对稳固的地方放它真的很难。
　　最后他觉得，自己已经尽了最大努力让梯子尽可能地稳固安全了。现在是时候往上爬了。他希望自己爬上去的时候梯子不要突然滑下去。那可绝不会是什么愉快的事情！
　　男孩尽可能快地爬了上去，一路上心如擂鼓。梯子会一直稳当吗？他到达了顶部，而在他刚刚爬上窗台的时候，梯子就在他下边滑落了。
　　它先是滑到一边，落到屋顶上，发出一阵惊人的巨响，然后掉进了院子。现在一定会有什么人被吵醒了，过来看看这声音到底是怎么回事。
　　杰克穿过窗户。正如他想的一样，上边没有玻璃，可能从来都没有过。他悄无声息地跳下窗台，蹲伏在那里等待着。
　　他等了三四分钟。琪琪抚弄着他右边的耳朵，没有发出声音。他站起来伸展了一下身体，偷偷地向窗外望出去。
　　不——没有人过来。他没看到任何闪烁的手电筒或灯笼的光芒，也没听到什么声音。
　　所以城堡的这一侧一定是无人居住的，不然肯定会有人听到这么巨大的动静的。
　　他现在能打开手电筒搞清楚自己在哪里了吗？他又等了一分钟，还是没听到什么，于是飞快地将手电筒打开又关上。不过就这一下已经足够他看清楚周围了。
　　他站在一个小房间里，这里堆满了椅子和长凳，它们整齐地堆在一起——但除此以外，没有任何其他的东西。
　　“只是一个放多余家具的小储藏室。”杰克寻思道，“来吧，琪琪——看来之后得找找其他离开城堡的路了，我们得记住这事——已经没办法原路返回啦！现在我们肯定是够不到那个梯子了！”
　　他走到门口张望出去，外边似乎是条走廊。四周仍旧一片寂静。这里十分昏暗，所以他再次用手电筒晃了一下。没错——这是一条长长的光秃秃的石头走廊，地上甚至没有铺地毯，也没有挂画、椅子之类的东西。这肯定是城堡里无人居住的某个地方。
　　他沿着走廊走了下去，橡胶鞋底消去了脚步声。走廊的尽头有一扇窗——一扇圆形的、嵌着玻璃的窗户。他转过弯，看到了另一条长廊，有着高高的天花板，并且比之前那条稍微宽一些，但仍旧光秃秃的。
　　走到一半的时候，长廊开始变得舒适。一条美丽的地毯向前铺展开去，宽度差不多及至两侧的墙壁。一侧的墙边摆放着一张套着金色绸缎的长沙发。墙上则挂着巨幅的壁画。
　　“从这里开始我得小心了，”杰克想，“那边的圆桌上甚至还有一盏灯——虽然它实际上不是很亮——但仍足以让任何人看到我了！”
　　他继续往前走去。经过一道开着的门时，他小心地向里窥探。借助外侧另一盏灯的光线，他能看出来里面似乎是一间富丽堂皇的客厅。四周的墙上都是挂毯和镜子，中间摆放着一张巨大的雕花桌子。当杰克用手电筒晃过去的时候，它抛光的表面发射出点点闪光。
　　他重新退回走廊，思考着接下来该怎么办。首先——赫拉说的孩子们在的塔楼是在哪个方向？他必须朝那个方向走，只要他能搞清楚。他还得设法找到上楼的楼梯。
　　男孩决定沿着走廊走。他一定很快就能找到通往塔楼的楼梯！在路上，他进入了另外一扇大敞着的门，并在里边四处看了看。这座城堡真是宏伟！它竟然有那么多奢华的家具！
　　这房间一定是个图书馆。书架从地面一直顶到天花板。天哪——可曾有人读过哪怕其中的百分之一？肯定没有！
　　突然，一个声音传来，让杰克猛地关上了手电筒，他一动不动地僵立着。那个声音就是从他所在的这个图书馆里发出的。在他的身后——一个呼呼哼哼的声音。琪琪轻叫了一声，和杰克一样受到了惊吓。那是什么？
19 An adventure in the night
　　19
　　An adventure in the night
　　Whirrrrrr! Whirrrrrrrr!
　　‘Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong!
　　DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG !
　　Jack sat down suddenly on a nearby chair, his heart thumping. It was only a clock chiming andstriking! But what a start it gave him! Midnight - exactly midnight. Well - the people in the castleought to be asleep, that was one thing to be glad of.
　　He got up and went back to the door. He went down the corridor again, and then, facing himround the next turning, he saw a great flight of stairs - a marble stairway, almost covered by a finesweep of thick, beautifully patterned carpet.
　　‘I suppose that leads down to the hall,’ thought Jack. ‘Down to the entrance. Well, that gives mea guide - let me see - if the front entrance is down there - then the tower I want should be a bitfurther on. Come on, Kiki - down the corridor again!’
　　And down the endless corridor went the two of them. It was lighted by lamps, and was toobright for Jack’s liking. The doors he passed now were shut. Perhaps they were bedrooms. Hecertainly wasn’t going to look in and see!
　　He came to a sturdy oak door set in the inside wall. He paused. The tower ought to be abouthere. Would that door lead up to it? It looked different from the other doors he had passed. Hetried the handle gently. It was a thick ring of iron and as he turned it sideways the door opened.
　　Jack pushed it wide. Stone steps led upwards, lighted by a dim lamp. He stood and debated withhimself. Should he risk it and go up? Yes - he felt sure this was the way to the tower.
　　He tiptoed up and came to the top. He looked round in surprise. He was on another floor now,and the layout here was different from the one below. He was in what looked like a great hall,draped with magnificent curtains. A gallery overhung one end. There was a small platform at theother end, and on it stood music stands. The floor was highly polished, and Jack suddenly realizedwhat the hall was.
　　‘It’s a ballroom!’ he thought. ‘My word - what grand dances they must hold here! But now Iseem to have lost my way to the tower again. Perhaps there’s another stair somewhere!’
　　He went round the ballroom. On the other side, behind some curtains, he came to a door. Heopened it and found that it led to a kind of ante-chamber. Opening off this was a stone staircase - aspiral stair that wound upwards.
　　‘This is the tower staircase!’ thought Jack, excited. ‘It must be. Hallo - what’s that?’
　　He could hear the sound of nailed boots on stone! Quick as lightning he slid behind a nearbycurtain. The footsteps came nearer, stamped, turned and went back again. How extraordinary!
　　Jack put his head carefully round the curtain. Going down a stone passage opposite was asoldier, gun on shoulder. He must be on guard - guarding the tower! He disappeared down thepassage, his footsteps sounding farther and farther away till Jack could hear them no longer. Thenback he came again to the foot of the tower stairway.
　　Stamp-stamp! The sentry turned round once more and marched into the passage. Jack watchedhim again. He was dressed in Hessian uniform, very smart and decorative. Jack had seen many ofthese soldiers while he had been with the circus. Perhaps this soldier was Hela’s father?
　　He waited till the sound of footsteps had completely died away again, then made a dart for theentrance to the spiral staircase. He ran up it swiftly, knowing that he had about half a minutebefore the return of the sentry.
　　Round and round wound the stairway, and at the top it grew so steep that Jack could no longerrun up the steps, but had almost to climb!
　　He came to a little stone landing with a round window. A chest stood beneath the window, andan old chair stood beside it. Opposite Jack was a big, sturdy door, made of dark oak, and studdedwith great nails. He looked at it. Was Lucy-Ann behind that door? Dare he call her name?
　　He tiptoed to the door. He pushed. It was fast shut. He turned the great handle, but still it wouldnot open. There was a keyhole there, but no key. He bent down to look through the keyhole, butcould see nothing.
　　He could hear nothing either. Jack wished he knew what to do for the best. If he knocked on thedoor and called, he might find that the children were not there after all but that somebody else was.
　　And the somebody might not be at all pleased to see him! Also, the sentry downstairs might hearhim and come rushing up - and there was no way of escape up on this little landing!
　　And then he saw something in the light of his torch - something very surprising - somethingthat told him for certain that the children were inside that room on the other side of the oak door!
　　A tiny creature had slipped under the wide space at the bottom of the door, and sat there,looking up at Jack with large black eyes.
　　‘Philip’s dormouse!’ whispered Jack, and knelt down slowly. ‘Snoozy! You are Snoozy, aren’tyou! You’re Philip’s dormouse! Then Philip is in there!’
　　The dormouse was very tame. It had lived for some time with four children who adored it,petted it and had never once frightened it. Even Dinah had fallen under its spell, and loved it,though she would not let it run all about her as the others did.
　　And now here it was, on Jack’s hand, its whiskers twitching, its big eyes watching him andKiki. Kiki looked at it in surprise, but made no attempt to hurt it.
　　‘Did you hear me, outside the door?’ whispered Jack. ‘Did you leave Philip and come to seewho the midnight visitor was? How can I wake Philip? Tell me!’
　　An owl hooted somewhere outside the castle. The dormouse leapt from Jack’s hand in frightand scuttled under the door. The hoot of the owl gave Jack an idea. The sentry would take nonotice of an owl’s hoot - but if he, Jack, gave a hoot just under the crack of the door, it wouldcertainly wake up Philip. It would sound far away to the sentry, but very near to Philip! Far farbetter than banging on the door, which was a noise that might echo down the stairs and make thesentry come bounding up!
　　Jack lay down on his tummy. He put his face to the door, and placed his hands together to blowthrough his thumbs and hoot like an owl. This was the way to make a quavering hoot, so like anowl’s that no one, not even an owl, could tell the difference!
　　‘Hoooo! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!’ hooted Jack, and the noise went under the door and into the roombeyond.
　　Jack listened. Something creaked - was it a bed? Then a voice spoke - and it was Philip’s!
　　‘Gussy! Did you hear that owl? It might have been in the room!’
　　But Gussy, apparently, was asleep, for he made no answer. Jack got up and put his mouth to thedoor, trembling in his excitement.
　　‘Philip! Philip!’
　　There was an astonished exclamation. Then Philip’s voice came, amazed. ‘Who’s that? Who’scalling me?’
　　‘It’s me - Jack! Come to the door!’
　　There was a pattering of feet the other side and then an excited breathing at the keyhole.
　　‘Jack! Good gracious! How did you get here? Jack, how wonderful!’
　　‘No time to tell you my story,’ whispered Jack. ‘Are you all all right? How’s Lucy-Ann?’
　　‘We’re all well and cheerful,’ said Philip. ‘We flew here . . .’
　　‘I know,’ said Jack. ‘Go on - what happened?’
　　‘And we were taken here by car,’ said Philip, his mouth close to the keyhole. ‘And Gussy wassick, of course. Madame Tatiosa, who met us in the car, was furious with him. She’s here, in thecastle - and her brother too, Count Paritolen. We don’t know what’s happening, at all - have youheard? Gussy keeps worrying about his uncle.’
　　‘His uncle is still safely on his throne as far as I know,’ said Jack. ‘But I expect they’ll have abust-up soon - everyone’s expecting it. Then Gussy will find himself in the limelight!’
　　‘Jack - can you rescue us, do you think?’ asked Philip, hopefully. ‘How did you get here? Gosh,I’ve been thinking you were miles away, at Quarry Cottage! And here you are, outside the door ofour room. Pity it’s locked!’
　　‘Yes. If I only knew where the key was, it would be easy,’ whispered Jack. ‘Where does yourwindow face? East or north?’
　　‘North,’ said Philip. ‘It’s just opposite a peculiar tower built all by itself - a bell-tower, with abell in it. Gussy says it’s an alarm-tower - the bell used to be rung when enemies were sighted inthe old days. Our window is just opposite that. Now that we know you’re here we’ll keep lookingout.’
　　‘Give my love to Lucy-Ann,’ said Jack. ‘Is she in the same room as you?’
　　‘No - the girls have another room,’ said Philip. ‘Look - let me go and wake them. They’d be sothrilled to speak to you.’
　　‘All right,’ said Jack, and then he stiffened. Footsteps! Footsteps at the bottom of the spiralstairway. ‘Someone coming!’ he whispered, hurriedly. ‘Goodbye! I’ll try and come again andwe’ll make plans.’
　　He stood up, and listened. Yes - that sentry was coming up the stairway. Had he heardanything? Jack looked round desperately. How could he possibly hide on this small landing? Itwas impossible.
　　The chest! He ran to it and flashed his torch on it. He lifted the lid. There was nothing insideexcept an old rug. He stepped inside the chest, Kiki fluttered in too, and Jack shut down the lid.
　　Only just in time! A lantern flashed at the last turn of the stairs and the sentry came on to thelanding. He held up the lantern and looked round. All was in order. He clumped downstairs again,his nailed boots making a great noise. Jack’s heart slowed down and he heaved an enormous sigh.
　　He got out of the chest and listened.
　　Philip’s voice at the keyhole again made him jump. ‘He’s gone! He always comes up everyhour. Jack - I never asked you. Have you got old Kiki?’
　　‘Rather! She’s been with me all the time,’ said Jack, longing to tell Philip what a success Kikiwas at the circus. But Philip didn’t know about that either, of course. He didn’t even know howJack had got to Tauri-Hessia. What a lot there would be to tell him and the others!
　　Kiki began to whisper too. ‘Blow your nose, shut the door, ding-dong-bell, Polly’s got a cold.
　　God save the King!’
　　Philip chuckled. ‘It’s good to hear her again. Shall I get the girls now?’
　　‘No,’ said Jack. ‘I’d better go while it’s safe. Goodbye, Philip.’
　　He went very quietly down the spiral stairway. He stood and listened. Where was the sentry? Hemust have gone down the passage again, on his regular beat. Jack slipped across the ante-room,and into the great ballroom.
　　He stood there for a moment, looking round the dimly lighted room. And then something caughthis eye and he jumped.
　　On the far side was a great picture - and as Jack looked at it, it moved! It moved sidewaysacross the wall, and behind it appeared a black hole.
　　Good gracious! Whatever was happening now?
第19章 深夜的冒险
　　第19章 深夜的冒险
　　嗡嗡嗡嗡！嗡嗡嗡嗡！
　　“叮——咚——叮——咚！叮——咚——叮——咚！叮——咚——叮——咚！叮——咚——叮——咚！咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚，咚！”
　　杰克突然一屁股坐到旁边的椅子上，松了口气，心却仍如擂鼓般咚咚作响。这只是个引人注目的自鸣钟！但它简直把他吓个半死！那么现在是午夜——正正好好的午夜时分。
　　很好——城堡里的人应该都睡着了，这还是值得高兴的事情。
　　他起身回到门口，重新沿着走廊走下去，又遇见了一个拐弯。他看到一段富丽堂皇的楼梯——这是一段大理石阶梯，覆盖着一尘不染的、图案精美的厚地毯。
　　“我猜它通往下边的大厅，”杰克想着，“直通往大门。好吧，这给了我一个提示——让我想想——如果正门是在下边——那么塔楼应该是在另一边。来吧，琪琪——让我们继续沿着走廊走！”
　　他们两个沿着长到似乎没有尽头的走廊一直向前走着。一盏盏灯照亮着它，从杰克的感觉来说其实有些太亮了。他现在经过的每一扇门都是紧闭着的，也许这些房间都是卧室。不过，他当然不打算闯进去看！
　　他走到了一扇嵌在墙上的坚固的橡木门前，停了下来。前边应该就是塔楼。这扇门会通向那里吗？它看起来和前面经过的其他的门不太一样。他轻轻试了试门把手，那是一个厚重的铁环。他把它旋转了半圈，门被打开了。
　　杰克推开了它。里边是一条向上的石阶，有一盏昏暗的灯作为照明。他站着犹豫了一会儿。他应该冒险上去吗？没错——直觉告诉他这就是通往塔楼的路。
　　杰克蹑手蹑脚地往上走去，惊讶地看向周围。他现在上到了另一层楼，这里的布置与下边截然不同，看起来像是一个大厅，里面悬挂着华丽的帷幕。大厅的一端陈列着各种艺术品，另一头则有一个小小的舞台，上边放着些乐谱架子。地板光滑得能照出影子。杰克突然意识到了这里是什么地方。
　　“一个舞厅！”他想，“我敢肯定——他们一定在这里举办各种奢侈的舞会！不过现在看起来我又迷路了。也许什么地方还有其他楼梯吧！”
　　他绕过舞厅，在尽头的帷幕后面发现了一扇门。男孩打开了它，发现里边是个小前厅。穿过去则是另一段石阶——一条蜿蜒向上的螺旋楼梯。
　　“这是塔楼的楼梯！”杰克兴奋地想，“一定是。等等——那是什么？”
　　他听到了某种钉鞋踏过石头地面的声音。于是他立即闪身躲到最近的窗帘后边。脚步声渐近，然后顿住了，接着折了个弯，开始往回走。真是奇怪！
　　杰克小心地将头探出窗帘。对面的石廊里有一个扛枪的士兵。他一定是在巡逻——是守塔楼的警卫！他消失在了走廊里，脚步声越来越远，直到杰克听不到。之后，他又折了回来，一直走到塔楼的楼梯下边。
　　踢踏——踢踏！守卫再次转过了身，向走廊深处走去。杰克又看了看他。他穿的制服是特瑞赫西亚式的，一如既往地有着浮夸的装饰和鲜明的色彩。杰克在马戏团时已经见过了许多次这种士兵。也许这个人就是赫拉的爸爸？
　　他一直等到脚步声再次完全消失，才向螺旋楼梯冲了过去。男孩飞快地向上跑去，心里知道在守卫折回来之前他大概有半分钟的时间。
　　楼梯绕了一圈又一圈，到最上边时已经变得非常陡峭，以至于杰克都跑不动了，他几乎是爬上去的！
　　他来到了一处石头小平台，这里有一扇圆窗。窗下是一个箱子，旁边放了一把旧椅子。对着杰克的则是一扇结实的巨门，由黑色的橡木制成，并镶嵌着大铜钉。他看着它。
　　露西安是否就在这扇门的后面？他敢冒险叫叫她的名字吗？
　　他踮着脚走到门口，推了推。门纹丝不动。他拧了拧巨大的门把手，还是打不开。门上有一个锁孔，但是没有钥匙。他弯下腰透过锁孔往里窥视，然而什么都看不到。
　　他也听不到任何声音。杰克真希望自己知道该怎么办才好。有可能在里边的不是孩子们而是其他的什么人，如果他敲门、呼喊，结果或许会吵醒某些非常不高兴看到他在这里的人。呼唤声也可能会被楼下的警卫听到，然后他就会冲上来——在这个小小的平台上，没有任何可以让男孩逃脱的地方。
　　接着，借助手电筒的光，杰克看到了一个东西——一个非常令人意外的东西——这个东西告诉了他孩子们确确实实就是在门后边的房间里。
　　一只小小的动物从门下边宽宽的底缝中溜了出来，坐在那里，用大大的黑眼睛看着杰克。
　　“菲利普的榛睡鼠！”杰克低语道，慢慢地跪到地上，“斯诺兹！你是斯诺兹，对不对！
　　菲利普的榛睡鼠！所以菲利普一定就在那边！”
　　榛睡鼠很温顺。它曾经和四个孩子一起生活过一段时间，这些孩子喜欢它，爱抚它，从没让它害怕过。甚至连黛娜都被它迷住了，并且爱上了这个小东西，尽管她没像其他人那样完全被它牵着鼻子走。
　　而现在，它就坐在杰克的手上，抽动着胡须，大大的眼睛看着他和琪琪。琪琪也惊讶地看着它，但并没有打算伤害它。
　　“你是听到我在外边了吧？”杰克小声地说，“所以你离开了菲利普，来看看午夜的访客是谁？我怎么才能叫醒菲利普？告诉我！”
　　忽然，城堡外的某处响起了一只鸮的号叫。榛睡鼠惊恐地从杰克的手掌里跳了出去，从门下边嗖地钻了进去。鸮的叫声启发了杰克。警卫不会注意到这个——但是如果他，杰克，就从门缝这里发出叫声，肯定会唤醒菲利普。因为从警卫那边听来会像是远方传来的呼号，在菲利普听来会仿佛就在身边。远远好过敲门，那种响动可能会回荡在楼梯之间，把卫兵给招过来！
　　杰克趴了下来，把脸贴到门上，双手合拢，透过拇指的缝隙用力吹气，发出鸮似的号叫。通过这种方式，他可以发出那种带着颤音的呼呼声，跟鸮一模一样，任何人，甚至连鸮都分辨不出真假！
　　“嚯！咕——咕——咕——咕！”杰克呼鸣着，声音从门缝传进了房间里。
　　他侧耳聆听着。有什么东西在吱嘎作响——是床吗？一个声音说话了——是菲利普！
　　“古斯！你听到那只鸮了吗？它可能进了房间！”
　　不过，古斯显然睡得很死，并没有回应他。杰克站了起来，把嘴凑到门旁边，声音因为兴奋而有些发颤。
　　“菲利普！菲利普！”
　　传来一声惊愕的低呼。菲利普充满惊讶的声音靠过来了：“是谁？谁在叫我？”
　　“是我——杰克！到门这儿来！”
　　踢踢踏踏的脚步声从门的另一侧传来，然后锁孔处响起了激动的吸气声。
　　“杰克！老天！你怎么到这里来的？杰克，太棒了！”
　　“没时间细说了，”杰克悄声道，“你还好吗？露西安怎么样？”
　　“我们都还不错，”菲利普说，“我们是坐飞机过来的……”
　　“我知道，”杰克说，“继续——然后发生了什么？”
　　“一辆车把我们送到了这里，”菲利普贴近锁孔说道，“当然，古斯很不舒服。我们在车上见到了塔蒂莎夫人，她冲着古斯大发雷霆。她就在这里，在城堡里——她的兄弟帕瑞托兰伯爵也在。我们完全不知道发生了什么——你知道什么消息吗？古斯一直担心着他的叔叔。”
　　“就我所知，他的叔叔还在王座上安然无恙，”杰克说，“但我想他们很快就会有所动作了——大家都这么想。然后古斯就会发现他自己站在风口浪尖上！”
　　“杰克——你觉得你能把我们救出去吗？”菲利普问，“你是怎么到这里来的？天哪，我一直以为你在几千英里之外，还在石场农舍！结果现在你就在这里，在我们的房间门外。
　　真可惜它被锁住了！”
　　“没错。只要我知道钥匙在哪儿，一切就都不是问题。”杰克小声地说，“你们的窗户朝向是哪边？东还是北？”
　　“北。”菲利普说，“它正对着一座单独的塔楼——那是座钟塔。古斯说它是个警报塔——以前当敌人来袭的时候，钟就会被敲响。我们的窗户正好对着它。现在我们知道你在这里了，我们会一直注意往外看的。”
　　“替我向露西安问好，”杰克说，“她也在这个房间里吗？”
　　“不——女孩们在另一个房间。”菲利普说，“等一下——我去叫醒她们。她们会很高兴和你说说话的。”
　　“好的。”杰克答应道。但随即他就全身僵硬了。脚步声！有脚步声从楼梯底部传来了。“有人来了！”他急忙低声道，“再见！我会设法再来，到时再商量计划。”
　　他站起来聆听着。没错——那个守卫正往楼梯上走。他听到什么了吗？杰克拼命地环顾着四周。自己怎么才能在这个小平台上藏起来？根本不可能。
　　对了，箱子！他跑过去，用手电筒照了一下，然后打开盖子。里边除了一条旧毯子并没有什么别的东西。杰克带着也很紧张不安的琪琪钻了进去，然后盖上了盖子。时间勉强赶上！一盏灯笼从楼梯的末阶闪过，警卫走了上来。他举着灯笼四处看了看，一切如常。
　　于是他又下楼去了，钉鞋发出了清脆的响声。杰克的心跳缓了下来，松了口气。他从箱子里爬了出来，继续听着。
　　菲利普的声音再次从锁孔传来，把他吓了一跳。“他走了！每个小时他都会上来一趟。
　　杰克——我还没问你，你带了老琪琪一起来吗？”
　　“她一直都跟我在一起。”杰克说。他很希望能告诉菲利普琪琪在马戏团里的巨大成功。但是菲利普还什么都不知道。他甚至都不知道杰克是怎么来的特瑞赫西亚。有多少事情需要告诉他和其他人啊！
　　琪琪也开始悄悄低语：“擤擤你的鼻子，关好门，叮咚铃儿响，波莉感冒了，天佑吾王！”
　　菲利普笑了起来：“真高兴又听到她说话。需要我现在去叫女孩们起来吗？”
　　“不了，”杰克说，“我最好趁着还安全的时候离开。回头见，菲利普。”
　　他顺着螺旋楼梯悄悄地下去，然后站住听着周围的动静。警卫在哪里？他一定是又照规矩走到长廊里去了。杰克偷偷溜过前厅，重新进入了大舞厅。
　　他在那里停留了片刻，环顾着这个光线昏暗的房间。有什么吸引了他的视线，让他差点跳了起来。
　　在大厅的另一头有一幅巨大的画像——当杰克看着它的时候，它滑动了！它移到了一边，墙上露出了一个黑洞。
　　天哪！这又是发生了什么？
20 The way out
　　20
　　The way out
　　A man’s face suddenly appeared in the hole. Jack would not have been able to recognize it but forone thing - the man wore an eyeglass in one eye!
　　‘The Count!’ thought Jack. ‘My word - what’s he doing, popping up in secret places in themiddle of the night?’
　　The man jumped down to the floor. A door at once opened near him and a woman came out.
　　Jack recognized her, too. Madame Tatiosa, the pretty woman who had pretended to be ill atQuarry Cottage - the wife of the Prime Minister!
　　This was evidently a secret meeting between her and her brother. Where had he come from?
　　Why was he so excited? The two of them spoke rapidly together and Madame Tatiosa seemedvery pleased. She kissed her brother on both cheeks and patted him on the back.
　　‘Her plans seem to be going well, whatever they are!’ thought Jack. ‘I bet it’s something to dowith the King. They’ve probably arranged to capture him soon. That means that Gussy will behauled out of that room and made to sit on the throne. I don’t like the look of Count Paritolen.
　　He’s a nasty bit of work - and it’s quite plain he’s been up to something tonight!’
　　The brother and sister, still talking excitedly, went into the room from which Madame Tatiosahad appeared. The door shut. Jack heard the clink of glasses. They were going to celebratesomething, perhaps? Things were obviously moving.
　　Jack wished fervently that Bill was there with him. But Bill probably didn’t even guess that thefive of them were in Tauri-Hessia. He had no means of knowing that they had come over by plane.
　　He was probably hunting for them all over the place in England!
　　Jack looked at the hole in the wall. Where did it lead to? He felt impelled to go and look at it.
　　He could still hear clinking and talking in the room nearby. He ran across to the hole, clamberedon a chair and looked inside. He could see nothing, so he felt for his torch.
　　Then he saw the door of the room opening! There was only one thing to do - he must tumbleinside that hole and hope for the best!
　　So in went Jack, almost falling over himself in his hurry. He found that there were steps there,and he slid down them, landing with a bump at the bottom. He sat there and listened, full of alarm.
　　But it seemed as if the Count and his sister hadn’t heard anything. He heard their voices in thedistance. And then he heard something else! He heard a slight scraping noise, and the light thatcame into the hole where he was hiding was abruptly cut off.
　　‘Gosh - the picture’s gone back into place. I’m trapped!’ said Jack, in alarm. He went up thesteps and felt about at the back of the picture. The back was of stout wood, and fitted tightly overthe hole. It wouldn’t move even when he pushed it. He didn’t like to do anything violent in casethe Count heard him.
　　He put on his torch. He looked down the steps and saw a passage at the bottom. Well - it mustlead to somewhere! It might even lead out of the castle! The only thing to do was to try it and see.
　　So Jack went down the steps again, and into a narrow little passage. He came to the conclusionthat the passage must run just inside the walls of the room, at a little below the level of the floor. Itwent round at right angles quite suddenly - then there were more steps, very steep indeed.
　　Down them climbed Jack, thankful for his torch. It was very musty in the passage. He came to aplace where there seemed to be a little light shining behind the left-hand wall. What was it?
　　Jack soon discovered! It was a small hole made in the wooden panelling there, and through it hecould see into a dimly lit room - a room where people apparently met to discuss things, for therewas a round table with chairs pulled up to it, and blotting pads and papers were set out neatly.
　　‘Hm - a nice little spy hole,’ thought Jack. ‘Well - on we go. Wherever does this lead to, Kiki?’
　　Kiki didn’t know - she only knew she was getting rather tired of this trip. She clung to Jack’sshoulder and grumbled in his ear.
　　The passage went downwards again, not by steps this time, but in a steep slope. Jack foundhimself in a much narrower, lower passage now - he had to bend his head down. Two peoplewould have found it difficult to pass one another. Kiki protested, because the ceiling kept brushingthe top of her head.
　　‘I wish I knew where this is all leading to, Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘I don’t like it any more than youdo! Hallo - here’s a cellar, or something!’
　　The passage suddenly ended in a round cellar-like place, full of old junk. The entrance to thiswas only a round hole, through which Jack climbed, glad he wasn’t as fat as the old ‘Boss’ of thecircus.
　　‘Now where do we go from here?’ he thought. He flashed his torch all round. Nothing much tosee but junk. Then he flashed his torch on the ceiling above his head - it was only about twoinches higher than he was.
　　‘A trap door! Surely that’s a trap door! If only I can open it!’ thought Jack.
　　He pushed hard - and it opened! It swung right back and landed flat with a tremendous crash. Itstartled Jack horribly and made Kiki screech like a barn owl!
　　Nobody came rushing up. Nobody shouted ‘Who’s there?’ Jack waited a minute and thenclambered out. Where was he now? He began to feel he must be in a kind of nightmare, wherenothing really led anywhere - only just on and on, steps, passages, holes, cellars, trapdoors - whatnext?
　　Again he shone his torch round. He was in a very tall, very narrow building of stone. Greatropes hung round him. He turned his torch upwards, and then he knew where he was!
　　‘The bell tower! The tower that is just opposite Philip’s room! That passage I’ve come downmust be a secret way into the castle. Well - what a discovery!’
　　He went to the doorway of the bell tower. There was no door there, merely an archway. Theplace was apparently built just to hold the great bell and nothing else.
　　And then Jack discovered something that filled him with relief and joy. The bell tower was builtoutside the castle wall and not inside! He could run down the slope of the hill to the circus withnothing to prevent him - no walls to climb - no windows to jump from - there he was, outside thecastle, walls and all.
　　‘That’s a bit of luck!’ thought the boy. ‘Come on, Kiki. We’re out. Now we’ll go back and get abit of sleep!’
　　It wasn’t long before Jack was creeping into Pedro’s caravan. The floor creaked loudly, butPedro did not awake. Jack stripped off his things, thinking hard.
　　He felt pleased. Lucy-Ann and the others were safe. They had come to no harm. They were safeas long as Gussy wasn’t King - then they might be held as hostages if the British Governmentsided with the present King, and demanded that he be put back on the throne. Jack could quitewell imagine that Count Paritolen and Madame Tatiosa would delight in threatening all kinds ofdreadful things where the children were concerned, if the British Government made things toouncomfortable for them.
　　‘The thing to do is to rescue them quickly before Gussy’s uncle is captured and Gussy’s put onthe throne,’ thought Jack. ‘I really must try and get in touch with Bill. But it will be difficult,because probably the people in this part of the country are on the side of the Count - and if I try toget news through to Bill, I’ll be captured myself!’
　　He fell asleep thinking of it all. He had had a night of real adventure and he was tired out. Hedidn’t even wake when Mr Fank’s bears created a great disturbance in the early morning, and triedto break their cage down!
　　Pedro told him about it at breakfast time. ‘Nobody dares to go near them,’ he said. ‘Theyhaven’t come to fighting each other yet, but they will. And then they won’t be any use in thecircus.’
　　‘Isn’t Mr Fank better then?’ asked Jack.
　　‘No. Worse,’ said Pedro. ‘The Boss is really worried. Pity that friend of yours you told meabout isn’t anywhere near here. If he’s as clever as you say, he might be able to quieten the bearsand manage them!’
　　Pedro was joking, of course - but Jack sat up straight, and began considering the matter at once.
　　He was sure that Philip could manage the bears, of course. Could he possibly tell Pedro wherePhilip was - and say that if Pedro would help him to rescue the children, Philip would try to do hisbest for the bears?
　　‘What’s the matter?’ said Pedro, looking at him curiously. ‘You seem excited about something.’
　　‘Well - I could get hold of my friend, but only with help,’ said Jack. ‘He’s - well, he’s notreally very far away.’
　　‘Really? Why didn’t you tell me?’ said Pedro. ‘Where is he?’
　　Jack hesitated. Could he trust Pedro? He asked him a question. ‘Pedro - tell me truthfully - areyou on anybody’s side in this business about the King and the Prince Aloysius? I mean - what doyou think about it?’
　　‘Nothing,’ said Pedro, promptly. ‘I don’t care which of them is King. Let them get on with it!
　　The only thing I don’t want is civil war here - we’d have to clear out of the country quickly then.
　　Circuses and war don’t go together! Why do you ask me that?’
　　‘I might tell you later on,’ said Jack, suddenly feeling that he had told Pedro too much. ‘But I’lljust say this - if I could get my friend here - with his friends too - we’d prevent civil war - Fank’sbears would soon be under control and . . .’
　　‘What rubbish you talk!’ said Pedro, looking astonished. ‘Stop pulling my leg. I don’t believe aword of it.’
　　Jack said no more. But, as the day wore on, and Fank got no better, and the bears’ behaviour gotmuch worse, he felt inclined to tell Pedro a good deal more. It would be really marvellous if hecould get Philip and the rest into the circus - what a wonderful hiding place for them all! Gussywould be too noticeable, of course. How could they disguise him?
　　‘Of course! With that long hair of his and those thick eyelashes and big eyes, he could bedressed as a girl!’ thought Jack. ‘What a brainwave! I think I will tell Pedro everything. I’ll tellhim after the show tonight.’
　　The circus gave its first show at Borken that evening. It opened with the usual fanfare oftrumpets and drums and the people of the town streamed up excitedly.
　　The bears, of course, were not on show, but otherwise everything went well. There was a gooddeal of grumbling from the townsfolk about the bears, because they had been well advertised, andsome people demanded their money back.
　　‘We must get those bears going somehow,’ grumbled the Boss. ‘We must pull Fank out of bed!
　　We must get somebody else in. We must do this, we must do that! Where is Fank? Those bearswill maul each other to death soon!’
　　After supper Jack spoke to Pedro. ‘I want to tell you a lot of things,’ he said. ‘I want to get yourhelp, Pedro. Will you listen? It is very important - very important indeed!’
　　‘I am listening,’ said Pedro, looking startled. ‘Tell me all you want to. I will help you, Jack - Ipromise you that!’
第20章 离开的路
　　第20章 离开的路
　　一张男人的脸突然出现在洞口。杰克立刻认出了他——就是那个戴着单片眼镜的男人！
　　“伯爵！”杰克想，“天哪——他在这做什么，大半夜的从一个秘密通道里冒出来？”
　　男人跳下来，落到地板上。随即，旁边的一扇门打开了，一名女子走了出来。杰克也认出了她。塔蒂莎夫人，在石场农舍假装生病的漂亮女人——首相的妻子！
　　这显然是她和她兄弟之间的秘密会议。他从哪里来？他为什么这么激动？这两人快速地交谈着，塔蒂莎夫人看起来很高兴。她亲吻了哥哥的双颊，并拍了拍他的背。
　　“无论她的计划的具体内容是什么，似乎进展得很顺利！”杰克想，“我敢打赌一定和国王有关。他们可能很快就会安排绑架国王了。这意味着古斯将被拽出那个房间，按到王位上。我不喜欢帕瑞托兰伯爵的表情。他真是个讨厌的家伙——很显然，他今夜已经为一些事做好了准备！”
　　那对兄妹还在兴奋地交谈着，随后进入了塔蒂莎夫人出来的那个房间。门关上了。杰克听到了玻璃的碰撞声。也许他们在庆祝什么？显然，有些事情取得了进展。
　　此时此刻，杰克特别希望比尔和他在一起。但比尔甚至都猜不到他们五个人已经在特瑞赫西亚了。他没法知道他们是坐飞机过来的，可能还在英格兰寻找着他们！
　　杰克看着墙上的洞。它通往哪儿？他觉得有必要去看看。旁边房间里的碰杯声和交谈声仍在持续着。他跑到洞口旁边，爬上椅子，向里面望去。什么都看不到，于是他打开了手电筒。
　　就在这时，房间的门打开了！现在只能做一件事——他必须马上翻进这个洞里，祈祷会有最好的结果！
　　于是杰克钻了进去，因为太过匆忙差点摔倒。他发现里边有台阶，便滑了下去，撞了一下在底部停住了。他坐在那里，警惕地听着。
　　不过伯爵和他的妹妹似乎什么都没听到。杰克听见他们的交谈声从洞外不断传来。突然，他听到了别的声音。随着轻微的刮擦声，投进洞里的光线突然被切断了。
　　“天哪——画像滑回去了。我被困住了！”杰克惊恐地说。他走上台阶，摸了摸画像背面。那里是粗壮的木头，与洞壁紧密贴合。哪怕他去推也纹丝不动。不过男孩不打算对它做任何粗暴的行为，以防被伯爵听到。
　　杰克打开了手电筒，往台阶下望去。底部有一条通道。好吧，它必然会通往某个地方！甚至可能会通到城堡外边！那么唯一要做的事情就是试试看。
　　于是杰克又走了下去，进入了一条狭窄的通道。他推测这条通道应该是藏在城堡房间之间的墙壁里，并且略低于楼层的地面。它突然向右急转弯，然后是更多的陡峭的台阶。
　　杰克爬下去，庆幸自己还好有个手电筒。过道的空气中充满了霉味。他来到一个地方，似乎有光从左侧的墙后透过来。那是什么？
　　杰克很快就发现了！在木制镶板上有一个小洞，透过它可以看到一个光线昏暗的房间——明显是一个人们用来讨论事情的会议室，因为那里有一张被椅子环绕的圆桌，还有铅笔和手写板，都整齐地摆在一旁。
　　“哦——一个不错的小偷窥孔。”杰克寻思道，“好吧——让我们走吧。你觉得这会通往哪里，琪琪？”
　　琪琪不知道——她只知道自己已经对这趟旅途感到厌倦了。她紧紧地抓着杰克的肩膀，在他耳畔咕哝抱怨着。
　　通道再次向下延伸，但这次不是台阶了，而是一个陡峭的斜坡。杰克发觉自己进入了一条更窄、更低矮的过道——他不得不低着头走路。如果有两个人在这条过道里相遇，几乎不可能错身而过。琪琪抗议着，因为过道的顶一直在刮着她的冠羽。
　　“我希望知道这到底通向哪儿，琪琪。”杰克说，“我比你更不喜欢它！嘿——这应该是个地窖之类的地方！”
　　通道突然终止在一个圆形的地窖般的地方，里边塞满了各种废旧物品。通道的出口只是一个圆形的洞。杰克爬了出去，很高兴自己没有马戏团老板那么胖。
　　“现在我们该往哪儿走？”他想着，打开手电筒，观察了一下四周。除了那些破烂，这里并没有什么其他的东西。他用手电筒照了照棚顶——那里只比他高出两英寸。
　　“活板门！这肯定是一扇活板门！只要我能打开它！”杰克想。
　　他用力地一推——它打开了！它晃了一下，向后翻了过去，发出了巨大的响声。杰克被吓坏了，琪琪则像一只仓鸮似的惊叫了起来！
　　没有人冲过来，没有人喊“谁在那里”。杰克等了一会儿就爬了出去。他现在在哪里？
　　他开始觉得自己一定是处在某种噩梦之中，一个不通向任何地方的地方——只是无尽地循环着，台阶、通道、洞、地窖、活板门——接下来是什么？
　　他再次打开手电筒，发现自己现在身处于一座非常高且狭窄的石头建筑之中。巨大的绳索垂在他的周围。他将手电筒向上照去，突然明白自己在哪里了！
　　“钟塔！对着菲利普房间的那个！我出来的这条路肯定是进入城堡的秘密通道。好吧，这是一个重大的发现！”
　　他往钟塔的出口走去，那里没有门，只有一条拱廊。显然，这个地方只被用来放那座大钟，并没有什么别的用途。
　　这时，杰克发现了一件令人高兴的事情，让他松了一口气。钟塔建在城墙外边，不在里边！他可以直接从山坡上跑下去，冲向马戏团，中间没有任何阻碍——不用爬墙——不用跳窗户——他已经在城堡、城墙和那一切乱七八糟的东西的外边了。
　　“总算有点运气！”男孩想，“来吧，琪琪。我们出来了。现在让我们回去睡一觉！”
　　杰克没有花很多时间就回到了佩德罗的篷车里，佩德罗并没有醒来。他脱掉衣服，努力想着。
　　他很高兴。露西安和其他人都还安全着。他们没有受到什么伤害。只要古斯还没成为国王，他们就是安全的——但如果英国政府支持现任国王、想要他返回王位，他们就有可能被扣为人质。杰克非常能够想象，如果英国政府让帕瑞托兰伯爵和塔蒂莎夫人没法得逞，他们会很高兴做出各种关于孩子们的可怕威胁。
　　“现在需要做的就是尽快解救他们，在古斯的叔叔被抓捕和古斯被送上王位之前。”杰克想着，“我真的必须试一试联系比尔了。但是很难，因为这里的本地人可能都是支持伯爵的——那样的话，一旦我试图向比尔发消息，就会被抓住！”
　　他想着这些事情，沉沉睡去。经过了一个真正的冒险之夜，他确实累了。甚至连清晨时，范克先生的熊因为试图冲出笼子而搞出的巨大骚乱都没能惊醒他。
　　早餐时，佩德罗告诉了他这件事。“没人敢靠近它们，”他说，“它们还没有开始互相掐架，但是很快就会了。事一旦发生的话，对马戏团来说它们就会变得毫无用处了。”
　　“范克先生没好转吗？”杰克问。
　　“没有。而且更糟了，”佩德罗说，“老板真的很担心。可惜你提到的朋友不在这附近。
　　如果他真的像你说的那么聪明，或许他会有办法让熊平静下来并控制住它们！”
　　佩德罗当然只是随便说说——但是杰克坐直了，立即开始考虑这件事。当然，他肯定菲利普能够控制那些熊。他可以告诉佩德罗菲利普在哪里吗——并且提议如果佩德罗能帮他解救出孩子们，菲利普就会尽最大努力去搞定熊？
　　“怎么了？”佩德罗好奇地看着他，“你看起来好像在为什么事情激动。”
　　“好吧——我可以找来我朋友，但是需要一些帮助，”杰克说，“他——呃，他并没有真的离得很远。”
　　“真的？你怎么没告诉我？”佩德罗说，“他在哪里？”
　　杰克犹豫了一下。他能信任佩德罗吗？于是他问了一个问题，“佩德罗——你跟我实话实说——阿洛伊修斯王子和国王的事，你支持哪一边？我是说——你是怎么想的？”
　　“我没什么想法，”佩德罗立刻答道，“我不在乎谁是国王。让他们继续那么下去就行！
　　我唯一不想看到的就是内战——一旦发生的话，我们就不得不尽快离开这个国家。马戏团和战争可没法共处！你为啥问这个？”
　　“我大概稍晚点再跟你解释。”杰克说，突然觉得自己已经告诉佩德罗太多了，“我只能这么说——如果我能把我的朋友带来——还有他的朋友们——我们就会阻止内战——范克先生的熊也会很快被控制住，还有……”
　　“你在胡说些什么！”佩德罗吃惊地说，“别逗我了。你说的我一个字都不信。”
　　杰克不再继续了。然而，随着这一天过去，范克的情况一点都没有好转，而熊的表现变得更加糟糕了。他越来越觉得有必要再告诉佩德罗一些事情。如果他能把菲利普和其他人弄进马戏团，那就真的太棒了——对他们来说这是个多好的藏身之地啊！虽然古斯还是太过显眼。他们怎么才能伪装他？
　　“对了！想想他那头长发和女孩子似的睫毛和大眼睛，他可以装扮成女孩！”杰克寻思着，“这可真机智！我想我会告诉佩德罗所有的事情。今晚的表演结束后就告诉他。”
　　马戏团当晚在博肯举行了首场演出，一如既往地以号角和鼓声作为开场。镇上的人们兴奋地蜂拥而至。
　　当然，熊没参与表演。不过其他部分都很顺利。但镇上还是传出了关于熊的诸多抱怨，因为之前的广告一直在卖力宣传它们。一些人要求退款。
　　“我们必须对那些熊想点办法，”老板抱怨着，“我们必须把范克从床上拽下来！或者再招募点什么人。我们必须这么做，我们必须那么做！范克在哪里？那些熊很快就要把对方咬死了！”
　　晚饭后，杰克去找佩德罗聊天。“我想告诉你很多事情，”他说，“我希望得到你的帮助，佩德罗。你会听吗？这非常重要——非常重要！”
　　“我在听，”佩德罗说，看起来有些诧异，“告诉我所有你想说的事情。我会帮你的，杰克——我保证！”
21 A daring plan
　　21
　　A daring plan
　　‘Where shall we go?’ said Jack. ‘In your van? Nobody can overhear us there, can they?’
　　They went inside the little van and shut the door. Pedro looked puzzled - what was all thisabout?
　　Jack began to tell him. He told him about Gussy staying with them at Quarry Cottage and howhe turned out to be the Prince. Pedro’s eyes almost fell out of his head at that! He told him of thekidnapping, and how he, Jack, had stowed away first at the back of the car, and then in theaeroplane, in order to follow the others.
　　‘You’re a wonder, you are!’ said Pedro, staring at Jack in the greatest admiration. ‘You’re . . .’
　　Jack wouldn’t let him say any more. He went on rapidly with his story, and brought it right upto date, telling Pedro of his adventure of the night before.
　　‘I never heard anything like this in my life!’ said Pedro, amazed. ‘Why didn’t you ask me tocome with you? You knew I would. It was a dangerous thing you did, all by yourself.’
　　‘Well - I’m used to adventures,’ said Jack. ‘I just had to find out about my sister, anyway - andthe others too, of course. Now, Pedro - this is where I want your help. I MUST rescue the four ofthem before the King is kidnapped or killed, and Gussy is put on the throne. You see, if Gussy ismissing, there wouldn’t be much point in doing away with his uncle. They must have Gussy to putin his place, because they want a kid there, so that they can make him rule as they like. CountParitolen and his sister, Madame Tatiosa, and the Prime Minister will be in power then. Do youunderstand?’
　　‘Yes, I understand,’ said Pedro. ‘But I’m not used to seeing history happening before my eyeslike this. I can’t think it’s real, somehow’
　　‘It is real,’ said Jack, urgently. ‘Very very real. And, Pedro, if we can get Philip here, in thecircus, he could manage those bears as easily as Fank. I tell you, he’s a wizard with animals - itdoesn’t matter what they are. Why, once, in an adventure we had, a crowd of Alsatian dogs chasedus - we thought they were wolves, actually - and Philip turned them all into his friends as soon asthey came up to him!’
　　Pedro listened to all this with a solemn face. He was much impressed. He had guessed, ofcourse, that there was something unusual about Jack - but the story he had to tell was soextraordinary that he could hardly believe it all. He did believe it, though. He was sure that Jackwould never lie about anything.
　　‘Well - what do you want me to do?’ he asked at last. ‘I’ll do anything, of course. But honestly,Jack, I don’t see how we can rescue your four friends from the tower room of Borken Castle -locked in, with a sentry at the foot of the stairs! It’s impossible!’
　　Jack sat and frowned. He was beginning to think it was impossible too. Plans had gone roundand round in his head for hours - but none of them was any good.
　　He couldn’t get in through that window over the wash house again, he was sure. The ladderwould have been discovered by now, and taken away. Also - even if he did get in that way, howcould he let Philip and the others out of that locked room? He didn’t even know where the keywas!
　　‘And to go in the other way wouldn’t be any good either,’ he thought. ‘Down that trap door andall through those passages - I’d only come up against the back of that big picture, and I’ve no ideahow to make it move away from its place! And then again I’m no better off if I do - I still don’tknow where the key to that tower room is!’
　　Pedro sat and frowned too. To think that he and Jack could perhaps save the starting-up of ahorrible civil war - and they couldn’t think of even one sensible thing to do!
　　‘Jack,’ he said at last, ‘do you mind if we tell someone else about this? My two best friends hereare Toni and Bingo, the acrobats - they might be able to think of some plan. It’s their job to thinkof good ideas!’
　　Jack looked doubtful. ‘Would they give my secrets away, though?’ he said. ‘It’s important thatnobody else should know what we know - once the Count suspected that anyone was trying torescue the four prisoners he holds, he would spirit them away somewhere else, and probably hurryhis plans on so that we couldn’t possibly stop them.’
　　‘You needn’t worry about Toni and Bingo,’ said Pedro. ‘They’re the best pals I ever had, andready for anything. This is the kind of job they’d jump at - it’s right up their street. I’ll go andfetch them now.’
　　He went off across the field, and Jack sat and worried. He wasn’t happy about telling anyoneelse. Soon the van door opened and in came Pedro with Toni and Bingo. They didn’t look in theleast like acrobats, in their ordinary clothes. They were slim, lithe young men, with shocks of hairand cheerful faces.
　　‘What for you want us?’ said Toni, the rope-walker, in broken English. ‘It is trouble with theBoss?’
　　‘No,’ said Pedro. ‘Look here, Jack - shall I tell them? - I can speak to them in Italian, whichthey know best, and it’ll be quicker.’
　　‘Right,’ said Jack, wishing that he could use half a dozen languages as easily as this much-travelled circus boy.
　　He didn’t understand a word of what followed. Pedro spoke rapidly, using his hands excitedlyjust as all the Spaniards, French and Italian people did in the circus. Bingo and Toni listened, theireyes almost falling out of their heads. What a story!
　　Then they too began to chatter in excitement, and Jack could hardly contain himself in hisimpatience to find out what they were saying. Pedro turned to him at last, grinning broadly.
　　‘I have told them everything,’ he said. ‘And it pleases them! They have an idea for rescue - asurprising idea, Jack - but a very very good one!’
　　‘What?’ asked Jack, thrilled. ‘Not too impossible a one, I hope!’
　　‘Shall I tell him?’ said Pedro, turning to Toni, ‘I can tell him more quickly than you.’
　　‘Tell him,’ said Toni, nodding his head.
　　‘Well,’ said Pedro, ‘they got the idea when I told them how you escaped out of that trap door inthe tall bell tower. I told them it was exactly opposite the window of the tower room - and theysaid it would be easy to throw a rope across from the top of the tower, to the window!’
　　‘Yes - but I don’t see what good that would be,’ said Jack, puzzled. ‘I mean - the otherscouldn’t get across it - they’d fall.’
　　‘Listen!’ said Pedro. ‘You have seen the trapeze swings that Toni and Bingo use in theiracrobatic tricks, haven’t you? Well, those swings can be attached to the wire rope by pulleywheels, and run to and fro. Would your friends agree to sit on a swing in turn, and be pulledacross, hanging from the wire rope? It would be easy!’
　　‘Good gracious!’ said Jack, startled. ‘My word! What an idea! It’s not workable!’
　　‘Si, si! It is wukkable!’ said Toni, excitedly. ‘We go up the bell tower. We get rope across toyour friends - I walk across - easy! I pull swing behind me, hanging on rope. I place each boy orgirl safe on swing - and I run back on rope dragging swing by wire - one, two, three, four times,and everyone is safe! Good idea, no?’
　　‘Is it really possible?’ said Jack. ‘It sounds very dangerous.’
　　‘Ah, no, no - it is simple, this way,’ said Toni. ‘I do it all, I, Toni!’
　　Bingo nodded his head. He apparently agreed with Toni that it was a good and perfectlypossible idea. It would certainly only have been thought of by wire walkers or acrobats, Jack wassure.
　　‘And then, zis boy - how you call him - Feelip - he will take Fank’s bears and make themgood?’ said Toni. ‘Everybody plizzed!’
　　‘Everybody pleased,’ agreed Jack, getting excited too. After all - these acrobats were used tothings of this kind. It seemed nothing to them - though to ordinary people it appeared to be a verydangerous and quite impossible feat.
　　‘Tonight we go,’ said Toni. ‘We have all things ready. We tell the Boss - no?’
　　‘No - not yet,’ said Pedro, considering. ‘And not very much, when we do tell him. Nothingabout the Prince or anything like that - only just that we’ve got a friend of Jack’s to help with thebears. I’ll have to think up some way of explaining the other three - but I’m not worrying aboutthat yet.’
　　Toni and Bingo went off to their van, talking nineteen to the dozen. This was evidentlysomething they were going to enjoy very much!
　　Jack could hardly keep still now. He kept on and on thinking about Toni’s plan. Would it be allright? Would Lucy-Ann be too afraid to swing across on a trapeze-perch, and be caught at theother end of the rope by Bingo? What about Gussy? His hair would stand on end! And yet whatbetter way was there? There wasn’t any other way at all!
　　The circus opened as usual, and again there were grumbles about the non-appearance of thebears. Fank tried to get up, but it was no use. He couldn’t even stand. The bears, hearing the circusbeginning, and the shouts of the side-shows, became restless and excited. They had allowed noone in their cage that day, not even to clean it, and their food had been hurriedly poked betweenthe bars.
　　They wouldn’t even eat that! It lay in their cage untouched. They padded up and down the floor,heads down, grunting and growling all the time.
　　The show was over at last, and the townsfolk wentback to Borken, chattering and laughing. Jack helped Pedro to clear up the litter, pick up thefallen benches, and sweep the big circus ring.
　　‘Thinking about tonight?’ whispered Pedro as he passed him. ‘I bet Toni and Bingo are! I sawToni taking one of the trapeze swings out to shorten the rope, so that he could use it tonight.’
　　They had a late supper, and then Ma yawned. ‘Bed!’ she said, and creaked up into her caravan.
　　The two boys went into theirs, and sat waiting for the acrobats to come and say they were ready.
　　There came a tap at the door. Pedro opened it. ‘Come!’ said Toni’s voice, and Pedro and Jackslipped like shadows out of their van. The four of them made their way in the darkness up theslope of the hill. Above them towered the great castle, its shadowy bulk looking sinister andmysterious.
　　They came to the bell tower. Toni and Bingo had already had a good look at it in the daylight.
　　‘In we go,’ said Pedro, in a low voice. He flashed on his torch as soon as they were safely inside.
　　The torch lighted up the strong wire rope that Bingo carried, and the trapeze swing that Toniheld. They all looked up into the roof of the bell tower. How were they to get up by the great bell?
　　‘There are iron rungs up the wall,’ said Toni. ‘I go first! Follow me!’
第21章 一个大胆的计划
　　第21章 一个大胆的计划
　　“我们去哪儿说？”杰克问，“你的篷车？在那里应该没有谁会听到我们说话，对吧？”
　　他们钻进小篷车，关上门。佩德罗看起来有些迷惑——这到底是怎么回事？
　　杰克开始将一切对佩德罗娓娓道来。他说了古斯如何和他们一起在石场农舍度假，又如何暴露了王子的身份。听到这些，佩德罗的眼珠几乎都要掉出来了！男孩又说起了绑架的事情，以及他，杰克，为了跟着其他人是如何偷偷挂在汽车的尾部，如何躲在飞机里。
　　“你真是个天才，绝对是！”佩德罗说，以钦佩的目光望着杰克，“你是……”
　　杰克阻止了他称赞下去，继续飞快地讲述着自己的故事，一直讲到昨天晚上的冒险经历为止。
　　“我这辈子还从没听过这样的事！”佩德罗惊叹道，“你为什么没让我和你一起去？你知道我会的。你做了多危险的事啊，就你自己。”
　　“嗯——我习惯冒险了，”杰克说，“无论如何，我只是必须找到我妹妹——当然还有其他人。现在，佩德罗——这就是我需要你帮忙的地方。我必须在国王被劫持或者被杀死之前、在古斯被拽到王位上之前救出他们四个。你看，如果古斯失踪了，把他叔叔搞下台就没多少意义了。他们必须得把古斯推到那个位置上。因为他们想要个孩子在那儿，这样才能随心所欲地操纵他。帕瑞托兰伯爵、他妹妹塔蒂莎夫人，还有哈提乌斯伯爵才能真正掌握实权。你明白了吗？”
　　“是的，我明白。”佩德罗说，“我只是还没有习惯这样亲眼看着历史在我面前发生。不知怎么的，我总感觉不那么真实。”
　　“它是真实的。”杰克焦急地说，“非常非常真实。而且，佩德罗，如果我们能够把菲利普带到这里，带到马戏团来，他就能像范克一样轻松地控制住那些熊。我可以告诉你，他就是个动物巫师——不管是什么动物。嗨，有一次，在之前的一次冒险里，我们被一群阿尔萨斯狼犬追赶——实际上，我们觉得它们是狼——但当它们靠近菲利普时，一眨眼的工夫就全被他变成了他的朋友！”
　　佩德罗一脸认真地听着这一切。他被深深地震撼了。当然，之前他也曾猜测过，杰克身上有些不同寻常——但是他说出的故事实在太过离奇了，以至于自己很难完全相信。不过他确实相信它。他确信杰克绝不会说谎。
　　“好吧——你想要我做什么？”他最后问道，“当然，我会做任何事情。但说实话，杰克，我看不出我们怎么能从博肯城堡的塔楼里救出你的四个朋友——锁着的门，楼梯下的守卫！做不到的！”
　　杰克坐着，皱起了眉头。他也开始觉得这是无法做到的事情了。之前各种计划已经在他脑海里盘旋了好几个小时——但是没有一个看起来特别可行。
　　他确信他不可能再从洗衣房进入那个窗口。梯子现在应该已经被发现并被拿走了。还有——就算他从那条路进去了，他又怎么才能把菲利普和其他人从那间上锁的屋子里带出来？他甚至不知道钥匙在哪里！
　　“从另一条路进去也不妥。”他想，“从活板门下去，穿过那些秘道——我只能走到那幅大画像的背面，但我完全不知道怎么让它滑开！就算我能打开它，结果也不会更好——我还是不知道塔楼房间的钥匙在哪儿！”
　　佩德罗也坐了起来，皱起眉头。想想看，他和杰克或许能阻止一场可怕的内战——然而他们却想不出一个实际可行的办法！
　　“杰克，”他终于开口道，“你是否介意我把这件事再告诉其他人？我在这里最好的两个朋友是托尼和宾果，杂技搭档——他们或许可以想到什么计划。他们平常的工作之一就是想出好点子！”
　　杰克看起来有些顾虑。“但是他们不会泄密吗？”他问，“重点是其他人不应该知道我们知道的事情——一旦伯爵怀疑有人试图营救他的四个囚犯，他可能就会把他们秘密转移到别的地方，并加速实施计划，以便我们无法再阻止他们。”
　　“你不用担心托尼和宾果。”佩德罗说，“他们是我迄今为止最好的朋友，而且做得来任何事情。这是会让他们蹦起来的那种活计——正是他们最擅长的。我现在就去找他们。”
　　他走了出去，穿过野地，留下忧心忡忡的杰克坐在那里。他不是很乐意告诉更多的人。很快，篷车的门被打开了，佩德罗和托尼、宾果一起钻了进来。他们穿着自己日常的衣服，看上去至少不像杂技演员。托尼和宾果是两个身材修长、行动灵活的年轻小伙，留着蓬蓬的爆炸头，都有着一张讨人喜爱的脸庞。
　　“你叫我们来做什么？”走钢丝的托尼用蹩脚的英语说，“是老板找了什么麻烦吗？”
　　“不是，”佩德罗说，“看这儿，杰克——我能告诉他们吗？——我可以用意大利语和他们讲，这样他们会更明白，并且说起来更快一些。”
　　“好。”杰克说。他很希望自己也能像这个旅行经验丰富的马戏男孩一样可以轻轻松松地使用六种语言。
　　接下来的交谈他一个字都没听懂。佩德罗飞快地说着，不断地用手激动地比画着，就像马戏团里所有的西班牙人、法国人和意大利人一样。宾果和托尼听着，眼珠瞪到差点掉出眼眶。一个多么匪夷所思的故事啊！
　　然后他们也开始兴奋地喋喋不休，杰克越来越按捺不住想知道他们到底在说什么。佩德罗最后终于转向他，咧嘴露出一个大大的笑容。
　　“我告诉了他们一切，”他说，“这事让他们开心极了！关于营救，他们有了一个主意——一个出人意料的主意，杰克——但是是个特别特别棒的主意！”
　　“是什么？”杰克激动地问，“我希望不是一个完全无法实现的主意！”
　　“可以让我和他讲吗？”佩德罗转向托尼问道，“我可以比你更快地告诉他。”
　　“告诉他。”托尼点点头说。
　　“那么，”佩德罗说，“当我和他们讲到你是如何从钟塔的活板门里逃出来的时候，他们就想到了那个主意。我跟他们说了钟塔是正对着塔楼房间的窗户——他们说，可以很容易从钟塔顶向窗户扔一条绳子，让它把两边连上！”
　　“没错——不过我没看出来它好在哪儿，”杰克困惑地说，“我是说——其他人没法越过它——他们会掉下去。”
　　“听着！”佩德罗说，“你见过托尼和宾果在表演高空飞人杂技时用的秋千吊架，对吧？
　　嗯，这些吊架可以用滑轮固定到钢索上来回滑动。你能不能说服你的朋友们坐在秋千吊架上，然后被挂在钢索上拉过去？那会很容易！”
　　“老天！”杰克震惊地说，“天哪！什么主意！这行不通的！”
　　“嗨，嗨！它兴（行）得通！”托尼激动地说，“我们爬上钟塔。我们把绳索扔给你的朋友们——我走过去——很容易！我把秋千吊架挂到钢索上，拽过去。我把每一个孩子都安全地放到吊架上——再从钢索上用金属线拽着吊架跑回去——一、二、三、四次，然后所有人就都安全了！这是个好主意，不是吗？”
　　“真的行吗？”杰克说，“它听起来非常危险。”
　　“啊，不，不——很简单，这个办法，”托尼说，“我完全能做到，我，托尼！”
　　宾果点着头，显然也赞同托尼，认为这是个完美可行的好主意。杰克可以肯定，这办法真的只有杂技演员或者走钢索的人才想得出来。
　　“然后，内（那）个男孩——你怎么叫他——费力普（菲利普）——他能控制住范克的熊，让它们平静下来？”托尼说，“每个人都开心了！”
　　“每个人都会开心。”杰克同意道，也开始兴奋起来了。毕竟——这些杂技演员早就习惯这类事情了。看起来对他们来说根本就不算什么事——虽然对于普通人来说，这就是个非常危险的无法实现的壮举。
　　“今晚我们就去，”托尼说，“我们会准备好所有事。我们要不要告诉老板？”
　　“不——先别说，”佩德罗思忖着说，“等到时机成熟的时候，我们再告诉他。不要说任何关于王子的事情——就说我们找到了杰克的一个朋友，可以帮忙解决熊的问题。我会尽量想出一些别的理由来解释其他三个人的身份——但是现在还不用担心这个。”
　　托尼和宾果离开了，一边走回他们的篷车，一边滔滔不绝地讨论着。显然，他们对于某些即将进行的事情兴奋不已。
　　杰克现在几乎要坐不住了。他翻来覆去地想着托尼的计划。它会顺利吗？被宾果从钢索的另一端拽着、坐着吊架摆荡过高空，露西安会不会非常害怕？还有古斯？他可能会被吓得头发都竖立起来！但还有什么更好的办法呢？根本没有任何其他可行的办法！
　　马戏团照常开演了，并且再一次收到了许多关于没有露面的熊的抱怨和投诉。范克试图挣扎着起床，然而失败了。他甚至都站不起来。而熊们听到了马戏团开场的声音和表演传来的欢呼喝彩之后，变得更加焦躁不安、亢奋不已。这天，它们不让任何人靠近它们的笼子，哪怕是打扫也不行。它们的食物只能被仓促地塞进栏杆之间。
　　它们甚至不愿意进食！食物放在笼底，碰都没碰。三头熊只是在不停地爬上爬下，不时低下头，发出咕噜和咆哮的声音。
　　表演最终结束了。散场后的镇民们纷纷向各自的家中走去，一路上仍在兴奋地交谈着、笑着。杰克帮佩德罗清理着垃圾，扶起倒下的长椅，清扫马戏团的圆形大表演场。
　　“在想今晚的事情吗？”佩德罗经过时小声地说，“我敢打赌托尼和宾果也是！我看到托尼拿走了一个秋千吊架，还有绳索，这样今晚他就能用了！”
　　他们很晚才吃了晚饭，玛打了个哈欠。“睡觉！”她说着钻进了她的大篷车里，脚下发出吱嘎作响的声音。两个男孩也回到了他们的篷车，坐着等待杂技演员们过来，告诉他们一切都准备好了。
　　门被轻轻地敲了一下。佩德罗打开了它。“出来！”传来了托尼的声音。于是，佩德罗和杰克如影子般悄无声息地溜出了篷车。他们四个摸黑走上山坡。宏伟的城堡就矗立在前方，投下的巨大阴影看起来险恶又神秘。
　　他们到了钟塔前。白天的时候托尼和宾果就已经好好地观察过它了。“我们进去。”佩德罗低声说。等到所有人都安全地进入后，他打开了手电筒。
　　手电筒照亮了宾果带来的坚固的钢索，还有托尼手中的秋千吊架。他们抬头望向高高的钟塔棚顶。怎么才能上去？
　　“墙上有铁梯，”托尼说，“我先上！跟着我！”
22 Escape!
　　22
　　Escape!
　　It was not difficult to climb up the iron rungs. Toni was soon up in the roof of the tower. Kiki wasfirst though! She flew up from Jack’s shoulder, and perched on the big bell, making a slightclanging noise that startled her considerably!
　　The iron ladder went right above the bell, which hung from a great beam. Above it was a stoneplatform, with an opening in it at one side for the iron ladder to pass through. Toni climbed up tothe bell, and then through the opening above it, and passed on to the stone platform. Jack camenext and then Pedro. Bingo was last.
　　There were arched openings like windows in the top of the tower opening off the stoneplatform, one arch facing each way - north, south, east and west. Toni peered out of the arch thatfaced the window in the castle opposite.
　　He considered the distance carefully. Jack peered out too. It seemed a long way to him in thedarkness! He shivered. He didn’t at all want to go on with this idea, now that he was up so high,and could see what a drop it was to the ground.
　　But Toni and Bingo treated it in a very casual, matter-of-fact manner. They talked to oneanother, and discussed it very thoroughly and with great interest. They apparently had no doubt atall but that they could do what they had planned.
　　Toni said something to Pedro, and he repeated it to Jack in English. ‘Toni says he is ready. Hesays how can we attract the attention of your friends in the room opposite? They will have to helpat the beginning.’
　　‘If we flash a torch on and off - or perhaps hoot like an owl - Philip will come,’ said Jack.
　　‘We try the owl,’ said Toni, and Jack put his cupped hands to his mouth and blew virogouslybetween his two thumbs.
　　‘Hooo! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!’ came quaveringly on the night air. Jack hooted again.
　　They waited, their eyes on the shadowy window opposite. Then, from the window, a lightflashed on and off.
　　‘Philip’s there,’ said Jack, joyfully, and flashed his own torch. ‘Philip!’ he called, in a lowvoice. ‘Can you hear me?’
　　‘Yes! Where are you? Not over there, surely!’ said Philip, in an amazed voice.
　　‘Tell him Toni is coming over on a rope,’ said Pedro. ‘But we’ve got to get the rope across first- so will he look out for a stone, tied on to a bit of string - and pull on it, so that the thicker ropecan come across?’
　　‘I know a better way than that!’ said Jack, suddenly excited. ‘Let Kiki take the rope across - notthe thick heavy wire one, of course - but the first rope - the one that’s fixed to the wire! She cantake it in her beak.’
　　‘Ah - that is good!’ said Toni, understanding and approving at once. ‘It will save time.’
　　‘Philip - Kiki’s coming across with a rope,’ called Jack, cautiously. ‘Look out for her. Take therope and pull hard. It will bring across a wire rope. Can you find something to loop it to? It has astrong ring at the end - see that it is made fast.’
　　‘Right. But how will . . . I say, I don’t understand,’ said Philip, bewildered.
　　‘Call Kiki!’ said Jack. Kiki had now been given the end of the rope in her beak. She was pullingat it with interest. ‘Take it to Philip,’ said Jack.
　　‘Kiki!’ called Philip. ‘Kiki!’
　　Kiki flew straight across to him, carrying the end of the rope in her strong beak. She knew shehad to take it to Philip, of course, but she had no idea that behind her came a whole length, paidout quickly by Toni!
　　She landed on Philip’s shoulder, and let go the rope to nibble his ear. Philip just caught it intime. He wasted no time, but pulled on it hard. More and more rope came in - and then, joined tothe ordinary rope, came the strong wire rope, heavy but flexible.
　　Philip hauled on that too until a tug warned him to stop. Now he had to fasten it securely tosomething. But what?
　　He had a lamp in his room and he lighted it, to see better. He kept it turned low, and held it upto see where he could fasten the ring that was on the end of the wire rope.
　　His bed had strong iron feet. Philip dragged the bed to the window, waking Gussy up with ajump as he did so, and then slipped the iron ring under one foot, pulling it up about twelve inches.
　　Now it should be held fast! The bed was by the window, the iron foot against the stone wall.
　　Neither bed nor foot could move. The rope should be safe for anyone to use!
　　‘What is it? What’s happening?’ said Gussy, sitting up in bed in surprise, unable to see much inthe dim light of the lamp.
　　‘Be quiet,’ said Philip, who was now almost too excited to speak. ‘Jack’s out there. Go andwake the girls - but for goodness’ sake don’t make a noise!’
　　Over in the bell tower Toni pulled on his end of the wire rope. He pulled as hard as he could,and Bingo pulled with him. Was the other end quite fast - safe enough for Toni to walk across onit? He had to be quite certain of that before he tried to walk the rope.
　　‘It’s fast enough,’ said Bingo, in his own language. ‘It will hold you!’
　　Toni wasted no time. He got out of the stone archway, and stood upright on the narrow sill.
　　Bingo held a torch to light up the wire stretching in front, from the bell tower to the window awayopposite.
　　Toni tested the wire with his foot - and then Jack gasped in astonishment. Toni had run straightacross the wire at top speed! There were his legs and feet, clearly lighted in the beam of the torch,running easily over the taut wire!
　　Toni reached the opposite window, and stood on the sill for a moment. Then he bent his headand climbed in, finding the bed just below the sill. Philip gripped hold of him, looking white.
　　‘I say! What a thing to do! You might have fallen!’
　　The girls were now in the boys’ room, having been awakened by Gussy. Kiki was with them,making a great fuss of them both. ‘Who’s this?’ said Lucy-Ann, startled to see Toni jumping downto the bed. ‘Philip - what’s happening?’
　　‘No time to talk yet,’ said Philip, who wasn’t really sure himself what was happening. ‘We’rebeing rescued, that’s all!’
　　Toni was now busy pulling on a rope that he had brought across with him. He was haulingsteadily on it - and along the wire, hanging neatly down from it, came a small trapeze swing - theone that Toni used each night when he swung high up in the circus tent, doing his tricks!
　　It clicked against the stone wall. Toni turned to Philip. ‘You sit there,’ he said, pointing to theswing below the rope. ‘Sit still, see? And I will pull you over to Jack.’
　　Philip was startled. He looked at the trapeze swinging below the wire rope, running along it on apulley wheel. So that was the idea! They were each in turn to sit on that peculiar swing, and bepulled across to the bell tower! Well!
　　‘Hurry!’ said Toni, impatiently. ‘You first?’
　　Yes,’ said Philip, thinking perhaps that if the others saw him going across quite easily theywouldn’t be afraid. He turned to Gussy and the startled girls.
　　‘I’ll go first and you watch me,’ he said. ‘Then Lucy-Ann - then you, Gussy - and you last,Dinah.’
　　He stood on the bed, and then swung himself up on the stone window sill. He held on to therope outside, and suddenly felt Toni’s strong hands under his armpits. It really wasn’t verydifficult to sit on the trapeze.
　　‘I come!’ said Toni, to the anxious watchers opposite, and he ran over the wire once more,pulling the trapeze back to the bell tower. Philip arrived there on the swing almost before he knewit! He was pulled off and dragged into the tower in safety. Jack found his hand and shook it hard.
　　He found that he suddenly couldn’t say a word! Neither could Philip.
　　Toni ran across again, pulling back the trapeze. Lucy-Ann was scared almost stiff with fright,but she was brave and managed to get on to the swing quite well, with Toni’s help. Away shewent, giving a little gasp as she thought of the great distance to the ground below her.
　　Back came Toni with the swing, and Gussy was pushed forward to get on it. He was sofrightened that Toni began to wonder whether he would fall off in the middle of his trip across thewire! But Gussy held on grimly, his teeth chattering - and almost burst into tears of relief when hegot safely to the bell tower.
　　Dinah had no trouble. She wasn’t afraid, and if she had been she wouldn’t have shown it! Sheshot across easily, with Toni pulling her, as sure-footed as a cat.
　　Everyone suddenly felt very cheerful. Lucy-Ann hugged Jack without stopping. There was nowsuch a crowd on the little stone platform at the top of the tower that poor Toni could hardly findroom for himself!
　　‘What about this wire rope?’ said Pedro. ‘How can we get it back?’
　　‘We leave it,’ said Toni. ‘It is not possible to get it away. I have another.’
　　‘Let’s get down to the ground,’ said Jack, half afraid that now things had gone so well,something might suddenly happen to make them go wrong. ‘I’ll go first.’
　　Soon they were all at the bottom of the tower. ‘Silent, now,’ whispered Jack, and they began towalk cautiously down the slope of the hill to the circus.
　　Lucy-Ann kept close to Jack, and he put his arm round her. He was very glad to know that hissister was safe. Gussy stumbled along, scared and puzzled. He didn’t really seem to know quitewhat was happening!
　　‘The girls can have our van,’ said Pedro to Jack. ‘You and I and Gussy can sleep beneath it.’
　　But before they could get to the van, a great clamour came on the air, and startled them so muchthat they all stood still in panic. Whatever was that tremendous noise?
　　‘It’s a bell - it’s bells!’ said Jack, putting his hands to his ears. ‘The bell in the bell tower - andthe bell in the church - and another bell somewhere else! Whatever’s happening? Have theymissed Gussy already?’
　　The circus folk all awoke and rushed out of their vans, marvelling at the pandemonium of noisemade by the bells. Clang, clang, jangle, jangle, clang, clang! It went on all the time!
　　And then there came shouting from the town. Lights shone out, and still the bells went on andon. ‘There are some ringing from the next village too,’ said Jack, marvelling. ‘It’s to warn thepeople about something. What can it be? They can’t know yet about Gussy escaping - why,except for Count Paritolen and his sister nobody knew Gussy was a prisoner.’
　　No - the bells were not ringing for Gussy. They were giving other news - serious news.
　　‘The King! The King is gone! He has disappeared! He is nowhere to be found. The King isgone!’
　　The townsfolk shouted the news to one another in foreboding. What had happened to theirKing? Had he been killed? All the bells in the country rang out the news. Enemies had taken theirKing! Who? Why? Clang, clang, clang, jangle, jangle!
　　‘My word!’ said Jack, when he heard the news. ‘We only JUST got Gussy out in time. Only just!
　　Another half-hour and it would have been too late.’
　　‘Yes,’ said Philip. And I’d like to see Count Paritolen’s face when he rushes to the tower roomto get Gussy out of bed and put him on the throne - and Gussy’s not there! The King gone - andno one to put in his place!’
　　Gussy howled. ‘What’s happened to my uncle?’ he cried. ‘Where is he? I don’t want to beKing!’
　　‘Shut up!’ said Jack, fiercely. ‘Do you want every single person here to know you’re the Prince?
　　If someone gives you away, you’ll be captured by the Count immediately! Go into that caravanand don’t dare to make a sound!’
第22章 脱险
　　第22章 脱险
　　攀上铁梯并不难。托尼很快就爬到了钟塔的顶部。不过琪琪才是第一名！她从杰克的肩膀上飞上去，停在了大钟上，还被自己落下时发出的轻轻的声响吓了一大跳。
　　铁梯一直通到大钟的上边。大钟被悬挂在一根巨梁上，它的上方是一个石头平台，铁梯的尽头就是平台一侧的一个开口。托尼一直爬到和钟差不多高，再通过它上方的开口来到了平台上。杰克紧随其后，下一个是佩德罗。宾果则负责殿后。
　　在塔顶的这个石台上，有一些如窗户般的拱形开口，东、南、西、北四个方向各有一座拱门。托尼透过那扇正对着塔楼窗户的拱门向对面望着。
　　他小心地估算着距离。杰克也望着对面。在黑暗中，对面看起来似乎特别遥远。他有些发抖，完全不想继续执行这个计划了。现在，他在如此高的地方，能够很清楚看到这里离地面有多远。
　　但托尼和宾果全都见怪不怪了，只是抱着一种解决问题的态度对待这件事。他们相互交谈，认真地讨论，看上去一副兴致很高的样子。看起来他们对完成计划完全没有怀疑。
　　托尼对佩德罗说了些什么，后者用英语对杰克重复了一遍：“托尼说他已经准备好了。
　　他问我们怎么才能引起对面房间里你的朋友们的注意，他们必须在开始时帮个忙。”
　　“如果我们不断开关手电筒——或者学鸮叫——菲利普就会过来。”杰克说。
　　“让我们试试鸮。”托尼说。于是杰克用手拢住自己的嘴，透过两个拇指的缝隙用力吹了起来。
　　“嚯！咕——咕——咕——咕！”颤音在夜间的空气中散了出去。然后杰克又学了一次。
　　他们等待着，眼睛盯着对面黑漆漆的窗口。突然，一盏灯在那扇窗后一闪而过。
　　“菲利普在那儿，”杰克高兴地说，也闪动了一下自己的手电筒。“菲利普！”他压着声音呼唤着，“你能听到我吗？”
　　“能！你们在哪里？不是在那边吧！”菲利普用惊讶的声音回道。
　　“告诉他托尼会从钢索上过去。”佩德罗说，“但我们首先得把绳子弄过去——他能找到一块石头之类的东西吗？绑到一根细绳上——把它扔过来再拽回去，这样更粗的钢索就能拉过去了。”
　　“我知道一个更好的办法！”杰克突然兴奋地说，“让琪琪把绳子带过去——当然，不是粗重的那条钢索——是第一条，做引线的那条！她可以把绳子叼在嘴里。”
　　“啊——这主意不错！”托尼说，理解了他的意思后立即表示赞成，“这会节省时间。”
　　“菲利普——琪琪会带着一条绳子过去，”杰克小心地唤着，“注意她。拿到绳子后用力拉。它会把钢索带过去。你能找到什么东西固定住它吗？它的末端有一个坚固的铁环——看，它们系在一起了。”
　　“好。但是怎么……我是说，我不是很明白。”菲利普困惑地说。
　　“叫琪琪！”杰克说。琪琪现在已经把绳子末端叼在嘴里了。她很有兴趣地拉着它。“把它带过去给菲利普。”杰克对她说。
　　“琪琪！”菲利普呼唤道，“琪琪！”
　　琪琪用强壮的鸟喙衔着绳子的一端，直直地朝他飞了过去。当然，她知道自己必须把这个东西带给菲利普。她只是不知道在它身后还有长长的一整条绳子。托尼不断地将绳子快速放了出去。
　　鹦鹉落到菲利普的肩膀上，放开嘴里的东西，轻轻地啄着他的耳朵。菲利普及时抓住了绳子。他没有浪费时间，开始拼命地拉它。越来越多的绳子过来了——然后是和这根普通的绳子绑在一起的牢固的钢索。它很沉，但很柔韧。
　　菲利普继续拉，直到另一端猛地一拽钢索，示意他停止。现在他必须把钢索牢牢地固定到什么东西上。但是固定在哪里好呢？
　　为了看得更清楚，他打开了房间里的一盏灯。他把灯光调暗，然后举着它四处查看，看看哪里可以用来固定钢索末端的环。
　　他的床脚是铁制的，非常坚固。于是菲利普把床推到窗户边，把铁环套到一只床脚上，又向上拉了约十二英寸高。古斯被他制造出的动静惊醒了，吓得跳了起来。
　　“那是什么？发生了什么事？”古斯问道。他惊讶地从床上坐起来，因为光线过于昏暗一时无法看清楚。
　　“保持安静。”菲利普说，他现在因为过于兴奋，说话都有点不利索了，“杰克在那边。
　　去叫醒女孩们——但是看在老天的分上，别弄出什么动静！”
　　钟塔上，托尼用力拽了拽钢索的另一端。他使出全力地往后拉，宾果也在一旁帮忙。
　　另一端是否系得足够紧了——足够安全到让托尼走过它？在走钢索之前他必须充分地确认。
　　“够紧了。”宾果用他的母语说道，“它能担住你！”
　　托尼没有浪费时间。他走出石拱门，站上狭窄的边沿。宾果用手电光照亮了前方从钟塔一直伸展到对面窗户的钢索。
　　托尼用脚试探了一下——在杰克惊愕的抽气声中，他以最快的速度径直走了过去。在手电光的照射下，杰克能清楚地看到他快步走过了那条紧绷的钢索。腿脚都显得那么轻盈！
　　他到达了对面的窗户，站在窗沿上停了片刻，然后低下头，钻了进去，落到紧靠着窗台的床上。菲利普脸色发白地伸手扶住他。
　　“我说，你干了什么啊！你很可能会掉下去！”
　　女孩们已经被古斯叫醒，来到了男孩们的房间。琪琪正在和她们表达着自己的激动。“他是谁？”露西安问，惊讶地看着托尼跳下床，“菲利普——发生了什么？”
　　“没时间细说了，”菲利普说，其实他自己也不是很确定到底发生了什么，“我们正在被营救，就是这样！”
　　托尼现在在忙着拽他带过来的绳子。他以固定的速度拉着它——直到一个悬挂在钢索下方的秋千吊架滑了过来——就是那个每天晚上在马戏团里，托尼用来耍他的高空把戏的吊架。
　　它停靠到石墙上。托尼转向菲利普，“你坐到那里，”他指着绳索下边的秋千说，“坐稳了，知道吗？然后我会把你拉到杰克那边去。”
　　菲利普吃了一惊。他看了看在钢索下面摆动的吊架，它依靠一个滑轮在钢索上移动。
　　这就是营救计划！他们挨个儿坐到那个奇特的秋千上，然后轮流被拉到钟塔上。好极了！
　　“快点！”托尼不耐烦地说，“你第一个？”
　　“好。”菲利普说，揣测着如果其他人看到他轻松地滑过钢索，或许就不会太害怕。他转向古斯和一脸震惊的女孩们。
　　“我先过去，你们看着我怎么做，”他说，“接下去是露西安——然后是你，古斯——你最后一个，黛娜。”
　　菲利普站到床上，然后整个人翻到石头窗台上，紧紧地抓住外边的钢索。突然，托尼有力的双手扶住了他的腋下。总的来说，坐到吊架上真的不是件很困难的事情。
　　“我来了！”托尼冲着对面紧张地望着这边的人们说。很快，他再次快速通过钢索，将秋千吊架拉回钟塔。菲利普几乎还没明白怎么回事，就已经到了！他被从秋千吊架上拉起来，安全地拖进塔里。杰克抓住他的手用力地摇晃。他发现自己突然说不出一个字，菲利普也是。
　　“我来了！”托尼冲着对面紧张地望着这边的人们说。很快，他再次快速通过钢索，将吊架拉回钟塔。
　　托尼再次穿过钢索，把秋千吊架拉回塔楼。露西安吓得要命，几乎僵住了，但最后还是鼓起勇气，在托尼的帮助下成功地坐了上去。当她开始滑离的时候，几乎无法控制自己不去想离地面有多高，不由得抽吸了一下。
　　托尼再次带着秋千吊架回来了，这次是古斯被推了上去。他是如此的害怕，以至于托尼忍不住怀疑他会不会在中途掉下去。但是古斯顽强地撑住了，他的牙齿打着战——当安全抵达钟塔里的时候，长长地松了口气，差点哭了出来。
　　黛娜却并没有太纠结。她没有害怕，也许就算有她也不会表现出来！她轻松地滑过了铁索，托尼拉着她，脚步像猫一样轻巧灵活。
　　所有人都突然高兴起来。露西安拥抱着杰克不肯放手。现在，塔顶的石头平台上一下子挤了一大群人，可怜的托尼几乎找不到落脚的地方了。
　　“这根钢索怎么办？”佩德罗说，“我们怎么取回它？”
　　“我们留下它，”托尼说，“拿不走的。不过我还有另一根。”
　　“让我们下到地面去。”杰克说，因为事情一直都很顺利反而有点害怕随时会有意外发生，给他们引来麻烦，“我先。”
　　没过多久，他们就都在塔底了。“现在，保持安静。”杰克低声说。他们开始小心翼翼地沿着山坡向马戏团走去。
　　露西安靠近杰克，他搂住她。他很高兴自己的妹妹现在安全了。古斯磕磕绊绊地走着，既害怕又迷惑。他看起来似乎并没真的意识到刚才发生了什么。
　　“女孩们可以住我们的篷车，”佩德罗对杰克说，“古斯、你和我可以睡在它的下边。”
　　但是就在他们抵达篷车之前，空中突然传来巨大的响声。他们大吃一惊，惊恐地停住了脚步。见鬼，这个震耳欲聋的声音到底是什么？
　　“是钟——是钟声！”杰克把手拢在耳朵上，说，“钟塔里的钟——教堂里的钟——还有其他地方的钟，发生了什么？他们已经发现古斯失踪了吗？”
　　马戏团的成员们都被惊醒了，纷纷冲出篷车，惊讶地议论着这钟声带来的喧杂。当，当，咣，咣，当，当！钟声一直持续着！
　　这时，从镇子的方向传来叫喊声。灯纷纷亮了起来，钟声仍在继续着。“有一些钟声是从隔壁的村子传来的，”杰克讶异地说，“它肯定是在警告人们一些什么事情。会是什么？
　　他们不可能已经知道古斯逃了——嗨，除了帕瑞托兰伯爵和他妹妹，甚至都没人知道古斯被囚禁了。”
　　不——钟声并不是因为古斯。它们是为了另外的消息——一个严重的新闻。
　　“国王！国王不见了！他失踪了！任何地方都找不到他，国王不见了！”
　　镇民们相互喊着，带着不祥的预感传递着这个消息。他们的国王发生了什么？他被杀了吗？王国境内的所有钟都因为这个消息而被敲响了。敌人带走了他们的国王！谁？因为什么？当，当，当，咣，咣！
　　“我得说！”当听到这个新闻时，杰克说，“我们把古斯带出来得正是时候。刚刚好！哪怕再过半小时都晚了。”
　　“没错。”菲利普说，“我真想看看帕瑞托兰伯爵的脸，想想看，当他冲进塔楼房间、打算把古斯拽起来送到王位上时——却发现古斯不在那儿！国王不见了——却没人能替代他！”
　　古斯号啕大哭起来。“我叔叔发生了什么？”他痛哭道，“他在哪里？我不想当国王！”
　　“闭嘴！”杰克狠狠地说，“你想让这里的每个人都知道你是王子吗？如果被人出卖，你将会再被帕瑞托兰伯爵俘虏！快去那辆大篷车里，别发出任何该死的声音！”
23 Beware the bears!
　　23
　　Beware the bears!
　　Jack hurried the girls and Gussy to Pedro’s van. He hadn’t reckoned on arriving back with them inthe middle of a disturbance like this! All the circus folk were out of their vans; they were dressedin all kinds of shawls, coats and macs, hastily pulled over their night things, and were gatheringtogether in frightened groups to talk.
　　It was just about the very worst time to bring Gussy to the camp. Suppose anyone recognizedhim? He would certainly have to be disguised at once.
　　Pedro realized this too. He knew, much better than Jack, what trouble the circus folk would getinto if it was discovered that they were harbouring the Prince himself! They would all be clappedinto prison at once. Pedro was very very worried.
　　‘Jack! I’ll have to tell Ma,’ he said, desperately. ‘I’ll have to! She can hide Gussy better thananyone. Let me tell her. She’ll help us.’
　　There was nothing for it but to say yes. Jack watched Pedro go up to his mother and saysomething urgently. Then they disappeared up the steps of Ma’s caravan, and shut the door. Jacklooked at Philip, who was feeling bewildered at this sudden transition from confinement in thetower room to the excited turmoil of the circus camp.
　　The girls and Gussy were now safely in Pedro’s own caravan - trying to peer out of thewindows to see what was going on. Kiki had gone with them. Lucy-Ann almost wished she wasback in the peace of the tower room! She couldn’t understand exactly what was happening. Wherewas Jack? Why didn’t he come and tell her?
　　Pedro came out of his mother’s caravan and went straight over to Jack. ‘It’s all right,’ he said.
　　‘Ma’s taken command! She’s not a bit afraid of hiding the Prince - actually she rather enjoyssomething like this. She’ll get him some girl’s clothes, put a ribbon on that long hair of his, andkeep him close to her. She says she’ll tell everyone he’s her little granddaughter, come to stay fora few days.’
　　Jack gave a chuckle at the thought of Gussy as a girl. ‘He’ll hate it,’ he said. ‘He’ll kick up noend of a fuss.’
　　‘Ma won’t take any notice,’ said Pedro, with a grin. ‘She’s quite likely to give him a few hardslaps, and my word, she’s got a bony hand! I’ll get him and take him to her. No one will recognizePrince Aloyisus when she’s finished with him.’
　　Pedro went off, and Jack turned to Philip, who grinned at him. ‘Poor old Gussy! That’s awonderful idea though - Gussy will make a BEAUTIFUL girl!’
　　There came a sudden shouting from the other end of the camp - then screams. People began tostream away towards the two boys, shouting in fear.
　　‘The bears! The bears! They’re out!’
　　Toni came bounding up to Jack. ‘Where’s that friend of yours you said could manage animals?
　　Oh, there he is. The bears are loose - they’ve broken three of the bars of their cage. See if yourfriend can help. Fank can’t even get out of bed.’
　　Philip knew nothing about the bears, of course, and Jack hurriedly told him the details as theyran to the other end of the field. ‘I hope you can do something with them, Philip. Toni helped meto rescue you on the chance that you could help. It will be a terrible loss to the circus if the bearsget loose and have to be shot.’
　　One bear was still in the broken cage, afraid to go out because of the crowds. He was making aterrible noise. No one dared to go near. In a nearby cage Feefo and Fum, the two chimpanzees,were wailing in fright. Madame Fifi made sure they were safely locked in and ran over to Jack.
　　‘Don’t go near that bear, you two boys. He’s dangerous. And look out for the others. They’reloose.’
　　‘Can’t someone block up those broken bars?’ said Philip. ‘He’ll be out soon.’
　　‘Nobody dares,’ said Toni. But little Madame Fifi dared! She ran to a brilliant flaring torch,stuck in a holder nearby, plucked it out and ran back to the cage. She thrust the pointed bottom endof the torch into the ground, just in front of the cage. The bear shrank back at the bright light andcrouched down in a corner. He was afraid of the brilliance.
　　‘That settles him,’ said Philip, pleased. ‘He won’t attempt to come out while that light is there.
　　Now - where are the others?’
　　‘Over there - sniffing round the Boss’s caravan,’ said Jack, pointing to two dark shapes. ‘I betthe Boss is shivering in his shoes inside the van!’
　　‘Where can I get some meat?’ panted Philip as they ran across the field towards the bears. ‘Orbetter still, can I get honey anywhere - or treacle?’
　　‘Treacle! Yes, Ma’s got a whole jar of it,’ said Jack, remembering. ‘I’ll get it.’
　　He raced off to Ma’s caravan, burst in and demanded the treacle. Gussy was there, standing insilken vest and pants, protesting loudly. Ma was evidently getting to work on him! She didn’tseem to be at all surprised at Jack bursting in to ask for treacle.
　　‘On the shelf,’ she said, and went on brushing out Gussy’s hair.
　　Jack found the big stone jar and fled back to Philip with it. Philip had now gone close to thebears, who turned to look at him suspiciously.
　　‘They’ve already injured one man,’ said Jack, in a low voice. ‘Look out, won’t you, Philip?’
　　‘I’ll be all right,’ said Philip. ‘Keep out of sight, Jack.’ He took the jar of treacle, dipped hishands in it and smeared them up to the wrists with the thick, sweet syrup.
　　Then he walked towards the bears, pouring a little of the syrup out on the grass as he went. Thebears growled warningly. Philip turned and went back again. He sat down with the jar of treacleand waited.
　　By now many people were watching. Who was this boy? What was he doing, meddling withtwo dangerous bears? They watched in fearful curiosity, ready to run at any moment.
　　Jack stood out of sight - but near enough to run to Philip’s help if necessary! He didn’t think itwould be necessary; he had absolute faith in Philip’s ability to manage any animal.
　　The bears soon smelt the syrup that Philip had spilt here and there on the grass. They loved thesweetness of treacle. Fank sometimes gave it to them for a treat - and there was nothing they likedbetter than to have an empty syrup tin given to them, and to be allowed to lick it, and put theirgreat paws inside.
　　They sniffed, and went towards the first spots of treacle on the ground. One bear found themand licked eagerly. The second bear growled at him and tried to push him aside - but suddenlysmelt another few spots of treacle further on! He lumbered on clumsily and licked eagerly.
　　As soon as the bears realized that there was treacle about, they began to grunt excitedly. Theyhad refused food for two days now, and they were hungry. They sniffed eagerly for more treacle.
　　The watching people held their breath as they saw the two great clumsy creatures getting nearerand nearer to the boy sitting on the ground. Surely he was in danger?
　　‘Who is he? He ought to be warned!’ they said. But Toni and Bingo hushed them.
　　‘Be quiet! He is Jack’s friend, a wonder with animals! Give him a chance! He can run if thebears threaten him!’
　　The first bear was now quite near Philip, his head close to the ground as he sniffed about formore treacle. Philip put his hand into the jar he held, and took it out, waving it slowly in the air sothat the bear could get the full scent of it.
　　The bear raised his head and saw Philip. He backed away a little and gave an angry grunt. Whowas that sitting on the ground? His eyes gleamed an angry red in the light from a nearby lamp. Alittle sigh of fear went through the anxious crowd.
　　And then Philip spoke. He spoke in what Jack called his ‘special’ voice - the voice he alwayskept for animals. It was a low, monotonous voice, a gentle, kindly voice, but somehow it was avoice that had to be listened to. ‘A sort of hypnotizing voice,’ thought Jack, as he stood watching.
　　The bear listened. He grunted again, and backed away, bumping into the second bear. But stillPhilip’s voice went on. What was he saying? Jack couldn’t hear. How did he know how to talk toanimals like this? And why did they all listen? The watching circus folk knew that most animaltrainers used a special tone of voice when they petted their animals - but here was a strange boytalking to frightened and suspicious bears - and yet they listened.
　　The second bear came a little nearer, his ears pricked. He sniffed. He sniffed not only thetreacle, but Philip’s own particular smell. He liked it. It was a friendly smell. The bears alwayssorted out people into two kinds - those whose smell they liked and those they didn’t.
　　He lumbered right up to Philip and sniffed at him, ready to strike if the boy moved. A littlescream came from someone in the crowd, but the bear took no notice.
　　Philip went on talking, and now his voice was so honeyed and persuasive that even the crowdbegan to feel his spell. The bear licked Philip’s hand, which was covered in treacle. Philip did notmove. The bear went on licking, quite unafraid.
　　The other bear came up, and, seeing how unafraid his brother was, he took a quick lick atPhilip’s other hand. In two or three seconds both bears were grunting in delight at so much treacle.
　　This boy was a friend! They didn’t know who he was, but they were quite sure he was a friend.
　　Philip talked all the time, monotonously and kindly. He thought he could now dare to move, sohe lifted one hand slowly, put it into the jar beside him, and then took it out covered with treacleagain.
　　One bear lay down beside him to lick in comfort. Another sigh at once went through the tensecrowd. Philip gave the jar to the other bear, and then with his free hand began to fondle the bearlying beside him. It grunted in pleasure.
　　Now the bears were happy and at peace. They had found someone they liked and trusted. Philipknew that he had them under control - if only the crowd didn’t do something silly - make asudden noise, or come surging towards him. But the circus folk knew better than that. They wereused to animals.
　　Philip stood up, doing nothing quickly - all his movements were smooth and slow. He pickedup the jar, and with his other hand on one bear’s neck, began to walk to the cage. The bearsfollowed, shambling along quietly, licking their lips.
　　Philip took them right to the cage, undid the door and let them shuffle in. He put the treacle jarinside, shut the door, and went quietly outside.
　　And then how the people cheered! ‘He’s a wonder! Who is he? Tell Fank the bears are safe.
　　Who is this boy?’
第23章 当心熊
　　第23章 当心熊
　　杰克匆匆地将女孩们和古斯推进了佩德罗的篷车里。他原本可没想与他们在这样的骚乱中一起回来。马戏团的所有人都离开了他们的篷车，在睡衣外仓促地披上各种披肩、外套和大衣，三五成群地交流着，惊惧不已。
　　就把古斯带来营地而言，这是一个最糟糕的时间。如果有人认出了他怎么办？毫无疑问，他需要立刻被伪装起来。
　　佩德罗也意识到了这一点。他比杰克更清楚地了解，如果被发现藏匿王子的话马戏团的人将会有什么样的麻烦！他们所有的人都会立即被丢进监狱。佩德罗显得忧心忡忡。
　　“杰克！我必须告诉玛，”他绝望地说，“我必须这么做！她可以比其他任何人都更好地把他藏起来。让我告诉她，她会帮我们的。”
　　除了答应他，并没有别的选择。杰克看着他走到妈妈身边，急促地说了些什么。然后他们走上玛的大篷车的步梯，关上门消失了。杰克看向菲利普，后者对周围的环境突然从塔楼的囚室变成了马戏团营地以及身处于这样的混乱之中感到有些迷惘。
　　女孩们和古斯已经安全地躲在佩德罗的篷车里了——同时试图透过窗户窥探外边的事态发展。琪琪和他们在一起。露西安几乎希望自己能回到塔楼房间的宁静之中！她无法理解到底发生了什么。杰克在哪里？为什么他不过来和她讲讲清楚？
　　佩德罗从他母亲的大篷车里钻了出来，直接奔向杰克。“没问题，”他说，“玛会安排！
　　她对把王子藏起来这事可一点都不怵——实际上，她还挺享受这类事情的。她会给他一些女孩子的衣服，把他的长发用丝带绑起来，让他待在自己身边。她会告诉所有的人他是自己的小孙女，过来玩几天。”
　　杰克想象古斯成为女孩的样子，忍不住窃笑起来。“他会讨厌它的，”他说，“他会不停地发牢骚。”
　　“玛不会在意的。”佩德罗笑着说，“她可能只会狠狠地拍他几下。要我说，她的手可是很硬的！我会把他带过去。当她给他打扮完以后，就没人能认得出阿洛伊修斯王子了。”
　　佩德罗离开了。杰克转向菲利普，笑了起来：“可怜的老古斯！这可真是个好主意——让古斯扮成一个美丽的女孩！”
　　突然从营地另一端传来一声喊叫——然后是一阵尖叫。人们开始朝着两个男孩的方向逃过来，惊恐地大喊着。
　　“熊！熊！它们出来了！”
　　托尼来到杰克的身旁：“你说的能控制住动物的那个朋友在哪里？哦，他在那里。熊失控了——它们弄坏了笼子的三根栏杆。看看你的朋友能不能帮上忙。范克根本就爬不起来了。”
　　当然，菲利普对于熊的事情还一无所知。于是他们一边向营地的另一端跑去，杰克一边匆匆地把详情告诉了他：“我希望你能对它们想些办法，菲利普。托尼帮我把你们救出来，就是为了换取你能帮忙的机会。如果熊因为失控而不得不被射杀，那对于马戏团来说会是个可怕的损失。”
　　有一头熊仍在坏掉的笼子里，因为周围的人群而不敢出来。它正发出可怕的噪音。没人敢靠近。在旁边的笼子里，菲弗和福姆——那两只黑猩猩，被吓得号啕大哭。菲菲女士确认了它们的笼子是安全地锁着的之后，便向杰克跑来。
　　“别靠近那头熊，你们两个。它太危险了。去找其他的熊。它们失控了。”
　　“有人可以修好那些弄坏的栏杆吗？”菲利普说，“它马上就要出来了。”
　　“没人敢去。”托尼说。但是菲菲女士敢，她跑向附近一个立架，上边插着一支熊熊燃烧的火把。她将它拔了下来，然后跑回去，将尖锥状的火把插进笼子前方的地面。熊在明亮的火光前缩了回去，蹲到一个角落里。它害怕这种亮光。
　　“控制住它了。”菲利普高兴地说，“只要火还在那儿，它就不会试图出来。现在——其他熊在哪里？”
　　“在那边——正围着老板的大篷车转圈儿闻，”杰克说着指向两团黑影，“我敢打赌，老板在篷车里正双腿打战呢！”
　　“我可以从哪儿拿到肉？”他们再次穿过营地向熊跑去，菲利普一边喘着气问，“蜂蜜更好，如果我能搞到一些的话——或者糖浆？”
　　“糖浆！对了，玛有一罐，”杰克想起来了，“我去拿。”
　　他冲向玛的大篷车，闯进去索要糖浆。古斯站在那里，穿着丝织的女式马甲和紧腿裤，正大声抗议着。玛显然已经开始打扮他了！她似乎对杰克突然冲进来要糖浆并没有感到太过惊讶。
　　“在架子上。”她说着，继续梳着古斯的头发。
　　杰克找到了那个大石罐，抱着它奔回菲利普的身边。菲利普现在正尝试向熊靠近。熊转过身来，怀疑地盯着他。
　　“它们已经伤了一个人。”杰克低声说，“小心点，菲利普，知道吧？”
　　“我会没事的。”菲利普说，“离远点，杰克。”他拿过罐子，将手伸进去蘸了一些醇厚、香甜的糖浆，涂抹到手腕上。
　　接着他向熊走去，一边走一边将糖浆一点点地倒在草地上。熊发出警告的咆哮声。菲利普转过身，走了回来。他抱着糖浆罐子坐下，等待着。
　　现在很多人都在围观。这个男孩是谁？他在干什么，居然逗弄那两头危险的熊？他们好奇又担心地看着，随时准备逃开。
　　杰克站到了一定距离之外——但仍足够近到可以随时跑上去帮菲利普的忙，如果有必要的话。他并不认为真的会轮到自己帮忙，他百分百相信菲利普的能力可以控制住任何动物。
　　熊很快就嗅到了菲利普滴落到草地上的糖浆。它们喜欢糖浆的甜味。范克有时候会给它们一些作为奖励——对它们来说，没有什么比得到一个空的糖浆罐，并被允许舔它、将大爪子伸进去更开心的事情了。
　　它们嗅着，走向地上的第一个糖浆点。一头熊率先发现了这些甜甜的点并急切地舔了舔。第二头熊咆哮着，试图把它推到一旁——但它突然嗅到了更远的几个糖浆点。它笨拙地摇晃着身子走了过去，急不可待地开始舔舐。
　　当两头熊意识到那是糖浆时，就开始发出兴奋的咕噜声。它们已经绝食两天了，现在已是饥肠辘辘。它们急促地嗅着，寻找着更多的糖浆。
　　围观的人群屏住了呼吸，看着两头猛兽步履蹒跚地离地上坐着的男孩越来越近。毫无疑问，他已经身处危险之中了！
　　“他是谁？应该提醒他一下！”他们说。但是托尼和宾果阻止了他们。
　　“安静！他是杰克的朋友，一个动物奇人！给他一个机会！如果熊威胁到他，他能跑开的！”
　　第一头熊现在已经很接近菲利普了，它的头靠近地面，不停地嗅着，寻找更多的糖浆。菲利普将手伸进罐子里拿出来，在空气里慢慢地挥着，确保熊能嗅到足够的气味。
　　熊抬起头看向菲利普。它后退了一点，生气地咕哝了一声。坐在地上的这个家伙是谁？它的眼睛在旁边灯火的映射下，闪出愤怒的红光。焦急围观的人群中传出一阵恐惧的吸气声。
　　熊舔了舔菲利普覆盖着糖浆的手。菲利普没有动。熊继续舔着，不再害怕。
　　菲利普开口了。他用杰克称之为“特殊的声音”——那种他一直为动物保留的声调说着话。那是一种低沉单调的声音，一种温柔友善的声音，但不知何故，也是一种无法不去聆听的声音。“一种催眠的声音。”杰克站在那里注视着，想着。
　　熊听到了。它又咕哝了一声，向后退去，撞上了第二头熊。菲利普的声音还在继续。
　　他在说什么？杰克听不到。他是怎么知道像这样和动物交谈的方式的？为什么它们都会听从他？围观的马戏团成员知道多数驯兽者会使用某种特殊的音调来抚慰他们的动物——但这可是一个陌生的男孩对着两头惊恐的、满心疑虑的熊说话——而它们居然真的在听。
　　第二头熊靠得更近了一点，抖了一下耳朵。它嗅着。它不只在闻糖浆的气息，也在闻菲利普独特的气味。它喜欢这种气味。这是一种友好的气息。熊总是把人们分成两种——喜欢的，不喜欢的。
　　它笨拙地挪到菲利普身前，嗅了嗅他，做好了如果男孩乱动就攻击他的准备。围观的人群中有人发出一声短促的尖叫，但熊没有注意到。
　　菲利普继续说着话，他的声音是如此亲切而有说服力，甚至连人群也开始感受到他的咒语。熊舔了舔菲利普覆盖着糖浆的手。菲利普没有动。熊继续舔着，不再害怕。
　　另一头熊也过来了，看到自己的兄弟并不害怕眼前的这个人，它也快速地舔了一下菲利普的另一只手。过了片刻，两头熊都惊喜地咕哝起来，因为糖浆是如此之多。这个男孩是朋友！它们不知道他是谁，但它们很确定他是朋友。
　　菲利普一直在讲着话，单调地、友善地。他认为现在自己可以稍微动一动了，于是他慢慢举起一只手，伸进旁边的罐子里，然后再拿出来，让上边重新覆盖满糖浆。
　　一头熊惬意地躺到了他旁边舔着。紧张的人群立刻传出一声惊叹。菲利普将罐子给了另一头熊，再用空出来的双手开始抚摸躺在他身边的熊。它愉悦地咕哝着。
　　现在两头熊的神态都变得愉快而平静。它们找到了自己喜欢和信任的某个人。菲利普知道它们已经被控制住了——只要周围的人群不做一些傻事，比如突然弄出动静，或者向他猛冲过来——就不会再有什么问题。不过马戏团成员们显然很清楚该如何做。他们早就习惯于动物的存在了。
　　菲利普站了起来，但起身的动作没有太快——他所有的举动都是平稳缓慢的。他一手拿起那个罐子，另一手则放在一头熊的脖子上，开始向笼子走去。两头熊紧随其后，安静地蹒跚着，舔着嘴唇。
　　菲利普把它们带到笼子前，把门打开，让它们踱进去。他把糖浆罐子也放进笼子里，然后关上门，安静地走了出来。
　　人们随即爆发出欢呼声：“他是个奇迹！他是谁？去告诉范克熊安全了。这个男孩是谁？”
24 Morning comes!
　　24
　　Morning comes!
　　Philip called to Jack. ‘Jack - see if you can get some meat - plenty of it - and bring it to me.’
　　‘I’ll get some,’ said Toni, and raced off. He came back with a basket containing great slabs ofhorse meat. Philip took it. He opened the cage door and threw in the meat, talking cheerfully to thehungry bears.
　　Now they were ready for their meal. They were no longer sulky, scared or angry. They werejust three very hungry bears, and they fell on the meat and gulped it down.
　　‘Let them have as much as they will eat,’ said Philip. ‘Then they will go to sleep. While they areasleep, someone must mend their cage bars. Keep that light in front now - none of them willventure out of the broken bars while that light is there.’
　　Everyone gathered round Philip. ‘He’s a friend of Jack,’ they said to one another. ‘He fetchedhim here because he is good with bears. He must have come from another circus. Look - the Bosswants him.’
　　The Boss had watched everything from his caravan window. He was most impressed andextremely thankful. Pedro told Philip that the Boss had sent for him, and he and Jack and Philipwent up the steps of the Boss’s big caravan.
　　The Boss poured out praise and thanks in a mixture of several languages. Pedro interpreted witha grin. ‘He says, what can he do for you? He says you’ve saved the bears from being shot. Hesays, ask anything you like and you can have it, if he can give it to you!’
　　Jack answered quickly. ‘There’s only one thing we want. Now that there is this upset in Borken,can we all stay with the circus? Philip will be glad to look after the bears, as long as Fank is ill -but he has girls with him, our sisters - can they stay too? We don’t like to let them go off bythemselves, in case civil war starts up in Tauri-Hessia.’
　　Pedro interpreted. The Boss quite thought that these ‘sisters’ were circus performers too. Henodded his head. ‘Yes - you may let them stay. If they have tricks or shows of their own, theymay get a chance here. But we must strike camp tomorrow - it will be dangerous to stay here inBorken any longer. The Count Paritolen owns this land, and as it is probably he who hassomething to do with the King’s disappearance, it would be best for us to leave before troublestarts.’
　　‘What does he say?’ asked Jack, anxiously. Pedro translated all this into English, and the twoboys were much relieved. Good! They could all stay with the circus, and would leave almostimmediately with the circus folk! They would soon be out of the danger zone - and then perhapsthey could get a message to Bill.
　　The boys went down the steps of the van with Pedro. They made their way to Pedro’s own littlevan, feeling that they simply must have a good long talk. It was about two o’clock in the morningnow, but none of the three boys felt tired - they were far too strung up with the happenings of thenight.
　　The circus folk as they passed clapped Philip on the back. He smiled and nodded, and then atlast all three were in the little van with the two girls and Kiki.
　　‘Shut the door,’ said Kiki at once. ‘Wipe your feet. Fetch the King!’
　　‘I wish we could, Kiki,’ said Jack, with a laugh, as the parrot flew on to his shoulder. ‘But don’tyou start talking about the King. Oh - Lucy-Ann - you nearly had me over! What a hug! Itreminds me of the bears!’
　　‘I can’t help it!’ said Lucy-Ann, and gave Philip a hug too. ‘I was so anxious about you andPhilip, with those bears. It all seems like a horrid dream. I was longing for you to come back to us.
　　Gussy’s gone too. Is he really going to be a girl?’
　　‘He is,’ said Jack, sitting down on the mattress. ‘Now, we’ve got to talk and make plans. First ofall, because of Philip’s grand performance with the bears, the Boss has said that we can all staywith the circus. We couldn’t have a better hiding place!’
　　‘That’s true,’ said Dinah. ‘But suppose the Count makes a search for us - and his men are senthere to look, among other places. Gussy might not be recognized if he’s dressed up as a girl - butwhat about me and Lucy-Ann and Philip? We’re all dressed in the English way - we’d soon benoticed.’
　　‘Yes. I hadn’t thought of that,’ said Jack. ‘I’m too English, as well. Pedro - I’ve got somemoney saved up that I made out of Kiki’s performances - could you buy some Hessian clothes forus early today?’
　　‘Ma will fix you all up,’ said Pedro. ‘She’s a wonder with her needle! She’ll get some clothfrom old Lucia, the woman who’s in charge of the circus clothes. And we’ll borrow some greasepaint from Toni and give you all tanned Tauri-Hessian faces! But don’t go speaking English!’
　　‘No, we won’t. We’ll talk a wonderful gibberish of our own!’ said Philip, with a laugh. ‘We’llcome from Jabberwocky, and talk the Jabberwock language! It goes like this -Goonalillypondicherrytapularkawoonatee!’
　　Everyone laughed. ‘Good!’ said Pedro. ‘I’ll tell any searchers that you are Jabberwockians, andthen you can talk like that if they ask you anything. By the way, where is Jabberwocky?’
　　Kiki suddenly launched with delight into the Jabberwockian language. They all listened to herand roared. ‘You’re a very fine specimen of a Jabberwockian parrot!’ said Jack, stroking her. ‘Goto the top of the class!’
　　Dinah gave an enormous yawn, at once copied by Kiki. It made everyone begin to feel terriblysleepy. ‘Come on - we’ll be striking camp fairly early,’ said Pedro, getting up. ‘Sleep in peace,girls. We three boys will be just under the van, on a couple of rugs. As for Gussy, I expect he’ssnoring in Ma’s extra bunk, looking like a beautiful little girl!’
　　Gussy was not asleep, however. He lay in the small bunk, listening to Ma’s deep breathing andsudden snorts. He was very angry and very humiliated. Ma had seen to him properly! She hadtried his hair this way and that, and had finally decided that he looked more like a girl with a smallbow at each side rather than with one big one on top.
　　She had also looked out some clothes - a longish skirt, rather large, very highly coloured, anddecidedly ragged - and a small red blouse with a green scarf tied skittishly round the waist. Gussycould have cried with shame.
　　It wasn’t the slightest bit of good arguing with Ma. In fact, when Gussy refused to stand stillwhile his bows were being tied, Ma had given him a hefty slap on a very tender place, which hadgiven Gussy such a tremendous shock that he couldn’t even yell.
　　‘You know I’m a Prince, don’t you?’ he said, fiercely, under his breath.
　　‘Pah!’ said Ma. ‘You’re just a boy. I’ve no time for Princes.’ And she hadn’t.
　　Now Gussy was trying to go to sleep, his hair still tied with bows, and a peculiar sort of garmenton him that looked half like a night gown and half like a long coat. He went over the excitingescape in his mind, and shuddered. No - he wouldn’t think about that awful rope and the trapezeswing. He wondered about his uncle and shuddered again. Was he killed? Poor Gussy’s thoughtswere not pleasant ones at all.
　　The morning came all too soon for the five tired children. Philip went across at once to thebears’ cage to see how they were. The bars had been mended and strengthened. The bears, lookingextremely well fed, were half asleep - but as soon as they saw Philip they padded to the bars andgrunted amiably. One bear tried to reach him with his paw.
　　‘Good - they’re quite all right,’ said Philip, and gave them a little talk to which they listenedentranced, as if they understood every word!
　　Fank was better - but still could not stand up. Philip went to see him, and the little man took hishand and poured out a stream of completely unintelligible words. Philip knew what he was saying,though! Here was a grateful man if ever there was one! Fank loved his bears as if they were hisbrothers, and he had been almost mad with anxiety the night before, when he heard they hadescaped.
　　‘I’ll take them on till you’re well,’ said Philip, and Fank understood, and shook Philip’s handfervently.
　　The next thing was clothes. The camp was to set off in three hours, so Ma had got to hurry if shewas going to get the four of them clothes that would disguise the fact that they were English.
　　She went to Lucia, an old bent woman who kept the clothes of the circus folk in order - not theordinary ones they wore every day, but their fine ones, worn in the ring - their glittering capes andskirts, their silken shirts and magnificent cloaks. These were valuable, and old Lucia’s needle wasalways busy. So was her iron. Nobody could press fine clothes as well or as carefully as Lucia.
　　By the time the circus folk were ready to strike camp, nobody would have recognized Dinah,Lucy-Ann, Philip and Jack! Toni had lent them grease paint and each of them was tanned andlooked like a Tauri-Hessian - face, neck, legs, and hands! The girls wore the Tauri-Hessian dress- long skirts and shawls, and bright ribbons in their hair.
　　The boys looked just like normally brought up boys of the country, and seemed to have grownolder all of a sudden. Lucy-Ann stared at Jack in surprise, hardly recognizing this brown youth,whose teeth gleamed suddenly white in his tanned face.
　　Ma was pleased with her efforts, but most of all she was delighted with Gussy. Nobody, nobodycould possibly think that Gussy was anything but a girl. He looked really pretty! All five of them,Pedro too, roared with laughter when poor Gussy came down Mas caravan steps, looking very redin the face, very angry, and very ashamed.
　　‘Dis is my little grandchild, Anna-Maria!’ said Ma, with a broad smile. ‘Be kind to her, plizz!’
　　Gussy looked as if he was about to burst into tears. ‘Yes, go on, cry!’ said Philip, teasing him.
　　‘That’ll show people you aren’t Anna-Maria!’
　　Dinah gave him a punch. ‘Some girls do cry!’ she said. ‘Oh dear - doesn’t Gussy - I meanAnna-Maria - look priceless?’
　　‘Smashing!’ said Jack. ‘Honestly, he’s as pretty as a picture. Thank goodness for his long hair -that’s what helps him look like a girl more than anything!’
　　‘I cut it short soon, soon, soon,’ said poor Gussy, furiously. ‘Snip-snip - like that!’
　　‘You can’t. You told us that Princes of this country have to wear it long, like you do,’ saidDinah.
　　‘I will not be a Prince then,’ said Gussy. He looked suddenly very forlorn, and gazed at Lucy-Ann beseechingly, feeling that she had the kindest heart of the lot.
　　‘Do not tizz me,’ he begged. ‘I hate zis. I am full of shamefulness.’
　　‘All right, Gussy, er - Anna-Maria,’ said Jack. ‘We won’t tizz you. Cheer up - you’ll be aPrince again before long, I’m sure.’
　　‘If my uncle is alive, I will be,’ said Gussy, soberly. ‘If he is dead - I must be King!’
　　‘God save the King,’ said Kiki, devoutly, and raised her crest impressively. ‘Fetch the doctorand save the King!’
第24章 早晨来临了
　　第24章 早晨来临了
　　菲利普对着杰克喊道：“杰克——你看看能不能搞些肉来——最好多一些——拿给我。”
　　“我去弄一些来。”托尼说着跑了出去。他带回了一大篮马肉。菲利普接过去，打开笼门，将肉扔进去，用轻松的语气鼓励那些饥饿的熊。
　　现在，它们准备用餐了。三头熊不再愠怒、恐惧或生气，只剩下了饥肠辘辘。它们扑到肉上狼吞虎咽起来。
　　“让它们想吃多少就吃多少，”菲利普说，“然后它们就会去睡觉了。等它们睡着的时候，必须有人去把笼子的栏杆修好。现在，先让笼子前的火把保持燃烧——当火在那儿的时候，没有哪头熊敢从坏掉的栏杆那里出来的。”
　　所有的人都聚集在菲利普的周围。“他是杰克的朋友。”他们交头接耳道，“杰克接他过来，因为他很会和熊打交道。他一定是从其他什么马戏团来的。看——老板想要他。”
　　老板早已在大篷车的窗口目睹了发生的一切。他对刚才的事情印象深刻，同时非常感激。佩德罗告诉菲利普老板请他过去，于是他们三个人踏上了大篷车的步梯。
　　老板用了好几种语言来表达他的感激和赞美之情。佩德罗笑着解释道：“他问，他能为你做什么？他说你让熊避免了被射杀的命运。他说，只要自己能提供的，你喜欢的东西，你提出来他都可以满足你！”
　　杰克飞快地回答：“我们只请求一件事。现在博肯这么动荡，我们能否都留在马戏团里？在范克还病着的期间，菲利普很乐意照看熊——但是他还带了一些女孩，我们的姐妹——她们能不能也留在这里？我们不想让她们单独离开，因为特瑞赫西亚随时都会爆发内战。”
　　佩德罗翻译着。老板想当然地以为这些“姐妹”也是马戏表演者。他点点头：“好——你可以让她们留下来。如果她们有什么擅长的戏法或节目，她们也可以在这里得到演出的机会。但我们明天必须拔营了——继续留在博肯太过危险。帕瑞托兰伯爵拥有这片土地，而他很可能与国王的失踪有关。我们最好在麻烦还没出现之前就离开。”
　　“他说什么？”杰克焦急地问。佩德罗把所有的话都翻译成英文，两个男孩放下心来。
　　很好！他们所有的人都可以留在马戏团里了，并且马上就会跟着团里的其他人一起离开。
　　他们很快就会脱离危险地带——或许还能给比尔发个消息。
　　男孩们跟着佩德罗走下大篷车的步梯。他们向佩德罗自己的小篷车走去，觉得实在有必要好好地聊一聊。现在已经凌晨两点钟了，但三个男孩都没有感觉到疲倦——整个夜晚发生的事情让他们太亢奋了。
　　马戏团的人们经过的时候，都会拍一拍菲利普的背。他一一微笑着点头回礼。最后，三个男孩和两个女孩还有琪琪都坐在小篷车里了。
　　“关上门，”琪琪立刻说，“擦干净脚，迎接国王！”
　　“我希望我们能，琪琪。”杰克说，当鹦鹉飞到他的肩膀上时，他笑了起来，“但是现在先别提到国王。噢——露西安——你要把我勒死了！抱得这么用力！让我想起那些熊了！”
　　“我忍不住了！”露西安说着，也给了菲利普一个拥抱，“我超级担心你和菲利普，和那些熊在一起。那简直像个噩梦。我真希望你们马上就回到我们身边。古斯也离开了。他真的会被打扮成一个女孩吗？”
　　“是的。”杰克坐在床垫上说，“现在，我们必须谈谈，制订一个计划。首先，因为菲利普面对那些熊时的出色表现，老板说我们都可以留在马戏团里。没有什么比这更好的藏身之处了！”
　　“没错，”黛娜说，“但是，如果伯爵开始搜寻我们——他派了人到这里察看，就像去其他地方一样。古斯或许还能因为伪装成女孩不被认出来——但我、露西安和菲利普怎么办？我们都穿着英式的衣服——这很快就会被注意到。”
　　“确实，我没想过这个。”杰克说，“我也穿着英式的衣服。佩德罗——我已经用琪琪的表演存了一些钱——你明早能去帮我们买一些特瑞赫西亚式的衣服吗？”
　　“玛会帮你们解决的，”佩德罗说，“她的针线活是个奇迹！玛可以从老露西亚那里弄些衣服来，她管着马戏团所有的服装。我们再从托尼那里借些油膏涂料，把你们都弄成特瑞赫西亚式的深色面孔就行了，但是别说英语。”
　　“好，我们不会说。我们会用一种自己编的奇妙语言聊天！”菲利普笑着说，“我们来自杰伯沃基 [1] ，说的是杰伯沃基语。它就像这样——古纳利利波迪查瑞塔普拉卡沃纳特！”
　　所有的人都笑了。“好！”佩德罗说，“如果有任何搜查者问起，我就会说你们是杰伯沃基人。无论他们想知道什么，你们都可以像那样说话。顺便问一下，杰伯沃基在哪？”
　　琪琪突然兴高采烈地进入了杰伯沃基语言模式。他们听着她胡言乱语，狂笑起来。“你是一个非常好的杰伯沃基鹦鹉典范！”杰克抚摸着她说，“全班最优秀的！”
　　黛娜打了一个非常大的哈欠，琪琪立刻也学了一个。这让每个人都开始感觉到困倦。“来吧——我们会很早就拔营。”佩德罗说着站起身来，“好好睡一觉，女孩们。我们三个就在车底下的毯子上睡。至于古斯，我估计他正在玛那边的额外床位上打鼾呢，看起来就像个漂亮的小姑娘一样！”
　　然而，古斯其实并没有睡着。他躺在小床上，听着玛绵长的呼吸和偶然的喷鼻声。他非常生气，也非常羞耻。玛好好地把他折腾了一番！她把他的头发这样那样地摆弄着，并最终决定给他两侧各编一个戴小蝴蝶结的辫子——这会让他看起来更像个女孩，而不是在头顶绑一个大的。
　　此外，她还找出了一些衣服——一条长长的、脏脏的裙子，色彩艳丽，破破烂烂——还有一件红色小马甲，用一条绿丝巾紧紧地系住腰间。古斯简直要为此羞耻地哭出来。
　　和玛的争执并没有半点好结果。实际上，当古斯拒绝好好站着让玛绑蝴蝶结时，玛在他身体的脆弱部位用力地给了他一巴掌。古斯一下子震惊不已，甚至都忘了叫出来。
　　“你知道我是王子，是吧？”他狠狠地低声说。
　　“噗！”玛说，“你就是个小子。我可没时间招待王子。”她确实也没那么做。
　　现在古斯试图让自己入睡，他的头发仍然绑着蝴蝶结，身上还穿着一件半像睡衣半像长外套的怪异的衣服。之前刺激的逃脱历程在他的脑海里滚动，使他颤抖了一下。不，他不会再去回想那可怕的钢索和秋千吊架。接着，他又不由得揣测起叔叔的去向，再次浑身颤抖起来。他是被杀了吗？可怜的古斯满脑子都是各种完全无法让人愉快的想法。
　　对五个孩子来说，早晨来得实在太快了。菲利普一起床就去了熊的笼子那里，看看它们的情况。所幸栏杆已经被修好并加固了。那些熊看起来吃得非常饱，一副半梦半醒的样子——但当菲利普出现的时候，它们立刻贴到栏杆上，发出亲昵的呼噜声。一头熊还试图用爪子去够他。
　　“很好——看起来都还不错。”菲利普说，又对熊说了几句话。它们出神地听着，仿佛能明白每个字似的。
　　范克恢复了一些——但仍没法站起来。菲利普过去探望他，这个小个子男人握住他的手，倒出了一大串他完全听不懂的话。但菲利普知道他在说什么，他在真情实意地表达着感激之情。范克就像对待兄弟一样爱着他的熊，所以前一天晚上听到熊逃出来的消息时，他几乎急疯了。
　　“我会照顾它们，直到你好起来。”菲利普说。范克理解了，热诚地握着他的手摇了摇。
　　接下来是衣服的事情。整个营地的人要在三小时内收拾好，准备动身，所以玛如果想拿到适合四个孩子的衣服，并为他们伪装、掩饰掉那些英国的特征的话，就必须抓紧时间。
　　她去找了露西亚，一个管理着马戏团演员所有衣服的古怪的老女人——不是他们穿的日常衣服，而是那些在表演场上穿的好衣服——他们绚烂的披肩和裙子，他们的丝绸衬衫和华丽的斗篷。这些都很值钱，而老露西亚的针线永远都在忙。她的熨斗也是。没人能够像露西亚那样细心地熨烫那些精美的服装。
　　到马戏团准备拔营的时候，已经没人能认出黛娜、露西安、菲利普和杰克了！托尼借了油膏给他们，现在每个人都有着特瑞赫西亚式的深色皮肤了——从脸、脖子一直到手和腿。女孩们穿上了特瑞赫西亚式的长裙和披肩，头发上也绑起了明艳的发带。
　　而男孩们看起来就跟这个国家里长大的那些男孩一模一样，而且突然成熟了许多。露西安惊讶地看着杰克，几乎认不出这个有棕色皮肤、深色脸庞和闪耀的洁白牙齿的年轻人是谁。
　　玛很满意自己的劳动成果，但所有的“作品”里她最得意的还是古斯。没有人会想到古斯实际上不是个女孩。他看起来真的很漂亮！当可怜的古斯顶着因为极度羞愤而涨红的脸走下玛的大篷车的步梯时，五个孩子——包括佩德罗在内——全都爆发出一阵大笑。
　　“这系（是）我的小孙女，安娜•玛利亚！”玛带着大大的笑容说，“请好好相处！”
　　古斯看起来像是快要哭了。“好极了，继续，哭吧！”菲利普硬起心肠，“这样你就会更像一个女孩了，安娜•玛利亚！”
　　黛娜给了他一拳。“只有软弱的女孩子才会哭！”她说，“哦，天哪——古斯——哦，我是说安娜•玛利亚——看起来难道不是特别棒吗？”
　　“妙极了！”杰克说，“实话实说，他就像一幅画一样美。真是要多谢他的长发——那让他看起来特别像一个女孩！”
　　“我很快就把它剪短，很快，马上，”可怜的古斯愤愤地说，“咔嚓咔嚓——就那样！”
　　“你不能。你告诉过我们这个国家的王子必须留长发，就像你这样。”黛娜说。
　　“那我就不做王子。”古斯说。他突然看起来非常沮丧，恳求地望着露西安，觉得她在所有的人里是心肠最软的。
　　“别抓（捉）弄我了，”他恳求道，“我讨厌杂（这）个。我已经丢脸死了。”
　　“好吧，古斯，呃——安娜•玛利亚，”杰克说，“我们不抓（捉）弄你了。振作点——不需要多久你就会重新成为王子的，我敢肯定。”
　　“如果我叔叔还活着，我就会是，”古斯冷静地说，“如果他死了——我就必须是国王了。”
　　“天佑吾王，”琪琪虔诚地说着，猛地扬起了她的冠羽，“叫医生来，救国王！”
　　[1]原文为Jabberwocky，意为“无意义的话”。
25 The camp is searched
　　25
　　The camp is searched
　　Soon a long procession of vans was going down the winding road that led away from Borken. Thetwo girls and Gussy were in Pedro’s little van, and he was driving the small skewbald horse thatbelonged to him.
　　Jack was driving Mas van for her, and the old lady looked really happy. She loved a bit ofexcitement, and she roared with laughter whenever she caught sight of poor Gussy.
　　Philip, of course, was driving the van in which the bears’ cage was built. Toni was drivingFank’s little living-van, whistling cheerfully. Fank lay on his mattress inside, glad to feel better,and to know that ‘that wonder boy’ Philip had got his bears in charge. He felt full of gratitude toPhilip - and to Toni too for so cheerfully driving his van for him. The circus folk were alwaysready to help one another. That was one of the nicest things about them.
　　The vans rumbled along the road, going very slowly, for neither the bears nor the chimpanzeesliked going fast. They were all excited at being on the move again. Feefo and Fum chattered awaytogether, looking through the window of their van.
　　‘Where are we going?’ Dinah asked Pedro, through the open window of the van. Pedroshrugged his shoulders. He had no idea.
　　‘We must get away from Borken, where a lot of trouble may start,’ he said, ‘and try to findsomewhere more peaceful. We shall probably make for some country road, and keep away fromall the main roads. Soldiers will use those, if trouble starts.’
　　Dinah went back into the van. The Tauri-Hessian dress suited her well, and she looked exactlyright in it. ‘We’re making for some country road,’ she told Lucy-Ann. ‘It’s a pity we still can’t getin touch with Mother or Bill. They really will be dreadfully worried about us by now.’
　　‘I suppose the police will have been told and will be hunting everywhere for us - but in Englandinstead of here!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Well, anyway, we’re safe for the moment, and out of that towerroom. I was getting tired of that! Nothing to do all day but to play games with those funny cardsthey brought us!’
　　They all stopped for a meal at about one o’clock. The vans stood at one side of the road, and thecircus folk sat beside them and ate. It was like summer, although it was only April. The sun wasvery hot, and masses of brilliant flowers were out everywhere.
　　Philip’s little dormouse came out to share the meal with him. He had had it with him all thetime. It was scared by the noisy talk of the circus folk, and only appeared when things were quiet.
　　It sat on the palm of Philip’s hand, enjoying a nut, its big black eyes now and again glancing up atthe boy.
　　‘I don’t know what we’d have done without you, Snoozy, when we were shut up in that towerroom,’ said Philip, softly. ‘You kept us all amused with your little games and antics, didn’t you?
　　And you told Jack where we were, the other night - you ran under the door to him!’
　　Soon they were on the way again. The bears settled down to sleep, happy to know that Philipwas driving them. He had fed them himself again when the procession halted for a meal, and thebears grunted at him happily. Fank heard them and was happy too.
　　The procession wound down the road, came out into a main road, and went down that, intendingto turn off at a country road about two miles on. But halfway down something happened.
　　Three powerful military cars swept by the procession, and drove right up to the head of it. Thenthey stopped, and soldiers leapt down from the cars, with a captain in command.
　　‘Halt!’ he said to the front driver, and the whole procession came to a stop. The circus folklooked worried. What was this? Soldiers already? And why were they being halted? They haddone nothing wrong!
　　They jumped down from their vans, and gathered together in little knots, waiting. Jack pokedhis head back into Ma’s van, which he was driving. ‘This is it, Ma,’ he said. ‘I think the vans aregoing to be searched. Give Gussy something to do, and scold him as if he was your grandchild.
　　Gussy, you’re a girl, remember - so don’t answer back, or even say a word, when the men comealong. Look shy if you can.’
　　Pedro also knew what was about to happen. He called to the two girls, ‘Come out, and mix withthe circus folk. Go with Toni and Bingo. I’ll come too. I’ll put my arms round you both as if youwere my sisters or my friends.’
　　Philip, however, didn’t move. He decided that he was in a very good place, driving the bears’
　　van! The men would be sure to upset the bears and he would have to pacify them. He wouldappear to the men to be a bear trainer!
　　The captain found the Boss. Pedro heard him talking to him in sharp tones.
　　‘We are going to search your vans. We suspect you have someone here we want. It will be theworse for you, if you have. I warn you to give him up now, at once, because when we find himyou will be severely punished.’
　　The Boss looked surprised. He was sitting in his great chair inside his van. ‘I do not know whatyou mean,’ he said. ‘Search my vans! You are welcome!’
　　The Boss thought that the soldiers were looking for a deserter, a young man, perhaps. He didnot know they were hunting for a small boy, and certainly had no idea they were after the littlePrince Aloysius!
　　The captain gave a sharp command. His soldiers marched down the sides of the vans, keeping awatch for anyone who might try to hide in the wayside bushes. Then they began to searchcarefully, probing each van, lifting up piles of rugs or clothes to see if anyone could be hiddenthere.
　　They stopped at the sight of Philip. They had been told that although they must at all costs findGussy, there were three other children, too, to look for. Children whose presence in the campwould tell them the Prince was somewhere about too.
　　They came up to the bears’ van, their heels clicking sharply. Their loud voices angered the threebears, and they growled and flung themselves at the bars.
　　Toni came up and spoke to them, telling them to keep out of sight of the bears.
　　‘We had trouble with them yesterday,’ he said, ‘and this boy, who helps the trainer, only justmanaged to keep them under control. As you see, the bars of the cage were broken and had to bemended. Keep out of sight, please, or they will break the bars again.’
　　Philip didn’t understand what Toni was saying, but guessed. He decided that the best thing hecould do to avoid being questioned was to get inside the bears’ cage, and pretend to quieten them.
　　So in he went, and the bears fawned round him in delight.
　　The soldiers watched from a safe distance. The captain was satisfied. Obviously this boybelonged to the circus, and travelled as a helper with the bears. He could not be one of the boysthey had been told to look out for. They went on to the next van, and Toni winked at Philip.
　　‘Good!’ he said. ‘Keep there. You are safer with the bears than anywhere else!’
　　The soldiers went from van to van. They hardly glanced at Dinah or Lucy-Ann, who, withPedro’s arms round them, were standing watching the two chimpanzees. Madame Fifi had takenthe opportunity of giving them a little airing.
　　The captain, however, glanced sharply at Pedro. Could he be one of the boys they sought? Hebeckoned to him. Pedro came over, still with the girls, smiling, and at ease.
　　The captain snapped something at him in Tauri-Hessian. Pedro answered smoothly, pointing tohis mother’s van. He was saying that he travelled with his mother, and his little cousin, Anna-Maria.
　　‘And these two girls?’ said the captain, sharply.
　　‘They are with the circus too,’ said Pedro. ‘They belong to the boy who manages the bears -you have seen him. They are Jabberwockians, and speak very little Hessian. But they speak Frenchif you would like to ask them anything.’
　　Dinah heard Pedro say the word ‘Jabberwockians’ and guessed that he was saying that she andLucy-Ann belonged to Jabberwocky! Dinah immediately poured out a string of utter gibberish tothe captain, waving her hands about, and smiling broadly. Lucy nodded her head now and again asif she agreed with her sister!
　　‘All right, all right,’ said the captain, in his own language. ‘It’s all nonsense to me, this. I can’tunderstand a word! What is she saying?’
　　Pedro grinned. He told the captain that Dinah thought him very magnificent, much grander thancaptains in Jabberwocky. He was pleased. He saluted the two smiling girls smartly, and wentaway, satisfied that they were certainly not English. He really must find out where the Land ofJabberwocky was - he didn’t seem to have heard of it. These circus folk came from queer places!
　　And now the soldiers had reached Ma’s caravan. Jack was still sitting in the driver’s seat, Kikion his shoulder. He had warned her not to talk, because he was afraid her English words mightgive them away. ‘But you can make noises,’ he told her, and Kiki understood perfectly.
　　She raised her crest as the men came near and coughed loudly. The soldiers looked at her insurprise.
　　‘Powke,’ said Jack, patting Kiki. ‘Powke, arka powke.’ He knew that this meant ‘Clever parrot,’
　　because the people who had come to marvel at Kiki when she had been on show, had so often saidthose two words. ‘Arka powke!’ Clever parrot!
　　Kiki gave a loud hiccup, and then another. The soldiers were tickled, and roared with laughter.
　　Then Kiki clucked like a hen laying eggs, and that amused them even more.
　　This was the kind of thing Kiki liked. It gave her a wonderful opportunity for showing off. Sheput down her head, looked wickedly at the soldiers, and gave them the full benefit of heraeroplane-in-trouble noise.
　　They were extremely startled, and stepped back at once. Kiki cackled idiotically, laughing tillthe soldiers and Jack were laughing helplessly too!
　　A sharp voice came from hehind them. It was their captain. They jumped to attention at once.
　　‘Why waste time on this boy?’ said the captain. ‘You can see he is a circus boy, with a parrotlike that! Search the van!’
　　Jack knew enough of the Hessian language now to understand roughly what the captain hadsaid. He wasn’t suspected then - and it was obvious that none of the soldiers suspected Philip orthe girls. Now there was only Gussy left. Would he play up and be sensible?
　　Two soldiers went into Ma’s van. They saw Gussy at once, sitting beside Ma. ‘Who’s this?’
　　they said, sharply. ‘What’s her name?’
第25章 营地被搜查了
　　第25章 营地被搜查了
　　很快，长长的一串篷车就离开了博肯，驶上了一条蜿蜒的道路。两个女孩和古斯坐在佩德罗的小篷车里，他骑着属于他的小花斑马走在前面。
　　杰克为玛驾驶着她的篷车，这位老太太看起来十分开心。她喜欢那些令人兴奋的事，每次瞥到可怜的古斯，都会爆发出一阵大笑。
　　至于菲利普，当然是在驾着装载熊笼的篷车。托尼则驾着范克住的小篷车，快活地吹着口哨。范克躺在里边的床垫上，知道那个“奇迹男孩”菲利普正在看顾着他的熊，他也高兴地发觉自己又好转一些了。他对菲利普充满了感激——对乐意为他驾篷车的托尼也是。
　　马戏团成员总是时刻准备着帮助彼此。这是他们最美好的品质之一。
　　这队篷车沿着大道辘辘地前行着，速度非常缓慢，无论是熊还是黑猩猩都不喜欢太快的车速。它们很兴奋能够再次踏上路途。菲弗和福姆在一起不停地叽咕着，从它们的车窗向外望着。
　　“我们要去哪儿？”黛娜透过篷车开着的窗户问佩德罗。佩德罗耸耸肩，他也不知道。
　　“我们必须离开博肯，那里可能很快就会出现一大堆乱子，”他说，“去找个更和平些的地方。我们可能会走一些小路，远离大道。因为一旦骚乱爆发，那些路就会被军队征用。”
　　黛娜缩回篷车里。特瑞赫西亚式衣服很适合她，让她看上去就像是个当地的女孩。“我们会往一些乡间土路上走，”她告诉露西安，“可惜我们还是没办法联系妈妈或比尔。他们现在一定非常担心我们。”
　　“我估计警察应该已经得到消息了，正在四处寻找我们——只不过是在英国，而不是在这里！”露西安说，“好吧，不管怎样，我们现在暂时是安全的，并且已经离开那个塔楼牢房了。我真是受够那样的日子了！一整天一整天地什么事都做不了，只能玩那些他们送来的纸牌游戏。”
　　大概一点钟的时候，他们停下来吃午饭。所有的车都停靠到路的一侧，马戏团的人则坐在车旁边吃东西。虽然才四月，天气却感觉像夏天一样炎热。炽烈的阳光下，四周遍布着团簇的美丽鲜花。
　　菲利普的榛睡鼠爬了出来，分享着他的午餐。他一直都带着它。马戏团的人嘈杂的聊天声让它很惊恐，所以只有在周围安静的时候才敢出现。它坐在菲利普的手掌上，享受着一枚坚果，时不时地抬起黑色的大眼睛，瞥向男孩。
　　“我真不知道没你的话，我们会怎样，斯诺兹。当我们被关在那个塔楼房间里的时候，”菲利普轻柔地说，“你一直在用你的小把戏和滑稽动作给我们解闷，对不对？在那个晚上，你还告诉了杰克我们在哪儿——你从门缝下边钻过去看见了他！”
　　不久他们又上路了。三头熊已经安稳地入睡，它们很高兴是菲利普在帮自己驾车。之前车队停下来吃饭时，菲利普也亲自给它们喂了食。这些熊对他开心地咕噜着。范克听到了，也很开心。
　　车队离开了之前的路，转上了一条主道。马戏团原本的计划是沿着这条路走两英里左右，再转到一条乡间小路上去。但是行进到一半的时候，却发生了意外。
　　三辆全副武装的军车经过了车队，并迅速开到车队的前面停下。在一名队长的指挥下，士兵们从车上跳了下来。
　　“停车！”士兵队长对着马戏团为首的驾车者喊道。整个车队都停了下来。马戏团的成员们露出了担忧的神情。这是怎么回事？士兵们已经开始行动了吗？为什么他们会被拦住？他们并没做错什么事情啊！
　　他们纷纷从篷车上跳下来，三三两两聚在一起等待着。杰克将头探进他所驾的玛的篷车里。“麻烦来了，玛。”他说，“我觉得篷车会被搜查。请让古斯做点什么，然后像对待您自己的孙女一样责备他。古斯，记住，你是个女孩——所以当那些男人过来的时候，不要回答任何事情，不要开口说一个字。让你自己看起来能多害羞就多害羞。”
　　佩德罗也知道将要发生什么。他对两个女孩唤道：“出来，和马戏团的人混在一起。去找托尼和宾果吧，我也过去。我会搂着你俩，装作你们是我的姐妹或者朋友。”
　　不过菲利普并没有动。他认为自己现在的位置非常好，驾着载熊的篷车。这些人肯定会让熊不安，而他必须安抚它们。对那些男人来说，这样的他看起来就是个驯熊师！
　　士兵队长找到马戏团老板。佩德罗听到他用尖厉的语气同他谈着话。
　　“我们要搜查你们的篷车。我们怀疑你这里有我们要找的人。如果有，那对你来说将会非常糟糕。我警告你现在就立刻把他交出来，否则等我们搜出来，你必将会受到严厉的处罚。”
　　老板看起来很惊愕。他坐在篷车上的大椅子里，“我不明白你指什么，”他说，“去搜我的车队吧！请便！”
　　老板以为士兵们在搜寻的是一个逃兵，或许是一个年轻男人。他不知道他们在追寻的是一个小男孩，更不知道他们在找的其实就是阿洛伊修斯王子！
　　队长发出了严厉的指令。士兵们一边沿着车队两侧散开，一边注意着防止任何人试图躲进路边的灌木丛里。他们开始仔细地搜寻，检查了每一辆篷车，掀起所有的地毯和衣服，以确认是否有人藏在下边。
　　他们在看到菲利普时停了下来。之前他们被告知虽然重点是不惜一切代价找到古斯，但另外三个孩子也要找到。马戏团里的孩子说不定会告诉他们王子在哪里。
　　他们爬上了载着熊的篷车，靴跟踏过地面，发出咔嗒咔嗒的响声。这响声激怒了三头熊，它们咆哮着扑到栏杆上。
　　托尼马上走过去，警告他们离熊远一点。
　　“它们昨天已经给我们搞出了一堆麻烦，”他说，“这个男孩是驯熊师的助手，他只是设法控制住了它们。就像你们看到的，笼子的栏杆被弄坏过，又被补好了。请离远一点，拜托，不然它们会再次弄坏栏杆的。”
　　虽然菲利普听不懂托尼在说什么，但是他猜到了。他觉得如果自己想避开被检查，那么最好的选择就是进到熊的笼子里去，装作去安抚它们。所以他进去了，而三头熊高兴地围过来，亲热地蹭着他。
　　士兵们站到足够安全的距离之外，注视着。队长很满意。显然，这个男孩是马戏团的一员，作为驯熊师的助手一起旅行。他不可能是他们被告知需要寻找的那几个孩子中的一个。他们离开了，去搜查下一辆篷车。托尼向菲利普眨了眨眼。
　　“很好！”他说，“留在那儿吧。比起其他地方，你和熊待在一起会更安全！”
　　士兵们搜索了一辆又一辆篷车。他们几乎没看见露西安和黛娜。她们被佩德罗的胳膊环着，正站在那里看着两只黑猩猩。菲菲女士趁着这个停车的机会让它们出来散散步。
　　然而，士兵队长锐利的眼神瞥到了佩德罗。他会是他们要找的男孩中的一个吗？他向佩德罗招手。佩德罗带着两个女孩走了过来，微笑着，非常放松的样子。
　　队长用特瑞赫西亚语对他厉声说了一些话。佩德罗平静地回答着，并指向了他妈妈的篷车。他说自己和母亲还有小表妹安娜•玛利亚一起旅行。
　　“那么这两个女孩？”队长尖锐地问道。
　　“她们也是和马戏团在一起的，”佩德罗说，“她们和管熊的男孩是一起的——你见过他。她们是杰伯沃基人，只会讲很少的特瑞赫西亚语。但如果你想问任何问题，她们会说法语。”
　　黛娜听到了佩德罗说“杰伯沃基人”这个单词，并猜到他可能是在说自己和露西安来自杰伯沃基！于是黛娜立即向士兵队长说了一大串完全瞎编的胡言乱语，挥舞着双手，露出一个大大的笑容。露西安则不断地点着头，好像在同意她姐姐的话一样。
　　“好吧，好吧，”队长用他自己的语言说道，“这毫无意义。我听不懂一个字！她在说什么？”
　　佩德罗咧嘴一笑。他告诉队长黛娜觉得他非常地高大，比杰伯沃基的那些士兵队长更加英俊伟岸。他听了很高兴，于是也说了些称赞两个女孩的话便走开了。她们显然不是英国人，这让他很满意。他回去必须得查查看杰伯沃基到底在哪里——他都没听说过它。这些马戏团的人真是来自各种古怪的地方！
　　现在士兵们开始搜查玛的篷车了。杰克仍旧坐在驾车的位置上，琪琪蹲在他肩膀上。
　　他已经警告了她不要讲话，因为担心她的英语或许会暴露他们。“但你可以制造各种声响。”他告诉她，琪琪完全理解。
　　当男人们走近的时候，她扬起冠羽，大声地咳嗽起来。士兵们惊讶地望向她。
　　“Powke,”杰克说着拍了拍琪琪，“Powke,arka powke.”他知道这句话意思是“聪明的鹦鹉”，因为之前在演出时，对琪琪感到惊叹的人们经常说这两个词。“Arka powke!”聪明的鹦鹉！
　　琪琪打了一个响亮的嗝，又一个。士兵们被逗乐了，爆发出一阵大笑。接着她弯下腰，模仿起了孵蛋的母鸡。士兵们这下笑得更厉害了。
　　这是琪琪喜欢的那类事情，一个让她卖弄自己的绝佳机会。她压低脑袋，淘气地注视着士兵们，冲着他们表演了一整套“飞机遇到麻烦时发出的声响”。
　　他们吃了一惊，立刻后退了几步。琪琪咯咯地发出白痴般的笑声，杰克和士兵们随即也无法抑制地大笑起来。
　　一个严厉的声音从他们身后传来，是他们的队长。士兵们连忙收敛起心神。
　　“为什么要在这个男孩身上浪费时间？”队长说，“有那么一只鹦鹉，瞎子都能看出来他就是个马戏男孩！搜索篷车！”
　　杰克现在能听懂的特瑞赫西亚语已经足以让他大致理解队长所说的话。他们没有怀疑他——显然也没有哪个士兵怀疑菲利普和女孩们。现在只剩古斯了。他能打起精神，保持足够警惕吗？
　　两名士兵进入了玛的篷车。他们立刻看到了坐在玛身旁的古斯。“她是谁？”他们严厉地问道，“她叫什么名字？”
26 The pedlar’s van
　　26
　　The pedlar’s van
　　Gussy looked shyly up at them, and then hid his face in Ma’s lap, as if very overcome. That hadbeen Mas idea, of course!
　　‘Now, now!’ said Ma, in Tauri-Hessian, tapping Gussy. ‘Sit up and answer the gentlemen, mylittle Anna-Maria!’ She turned to the soldiers.
　　‘You must pardon her,’ she said. ‘She is a silly little girl, and cannot say boo to a goose! Sit up,my pet, and show these kind gentlemen what you are making.
　　Gussy sat up, and held out a piece of embroidery to the two soldiers, keeping his head down asif very shy indeed. Jack, looking in through the window, was amazed at Gussy’s acting. And thatembroidery! How very very clever of Ma to give Gussy that to show to the soldiers! He had seenMa working on it herself, night after night!
　　‘She is my favourite grandchild,’ Ma prattled on. ‘The prettiest little thing and so good. Talk tothe kind gentlemen, Anna-Maria! Say how do you do.’
　　‘I cannot,’ said Gussy, and hid his face in Mas lap again.
　　‘Don’t bother her,’ said one soldier. ‘I have a little girl at home as shy as she is. It’s better tohave them that way than bold and cheeky. How pretty her hair is! You must be proud of her, oldwoman.’
　　‘She is such a good little needlewoman,’ said Ma, proudly, and patted Gussy’s head. ‘Sit up, mypet - the gentlemen won’t eat you!’
　　‘We’re going,’ said the first soldier. ‘Here, give her this to spend. She really does remind me ofmy little girl at home.’
　　He threw a coin to Ma and she caught it deftly and pocketed it at once. Jack heaved anenormous sigh of relief when he saw the two men walking away. He poked his head in at thewindow.
　　‘It’s all right. They’ve gone. Gussy, you were absolutely marvellous! Talk about an actor! Why,you’re a born actor! A shy little girl to the life.’
　　Gussy lifted his head from Ma’s lap. His eyes were bright and his face was red. He waslaughing.
　　‘It was Ma’s idea, to behave like that,’ he said. ‘She said I must not show my face at all, I mustbe shy and put it into her lap.’
　　‘A really good idea,’ said Jack, and grinned at Ma’s smiling face. ‘Honestly, Gussy, Icongratulate you - I never imagined you could act like that.’
　　‘I like acting,’ said Gussy. ‘But not in girls’ clothes. I feel silly. Still - it was a very good idea.
　　Now - I am safe, is it not so?’
　　‘I think so,’ said Jack, looking up the road. ‘The men are going back to their cars. They aregetting into them. Yes - the first car is going off. Whew! I was in a stew when those two fellowswalked into your van.’
　　As soon as three military cars had shot off down the road, Philip left the bears’ van, and camerunning over to the others, grinning. They all collected round Ma’s van, and heard Jack’s recital ofGussy’s marvellous performance.
　　Gussy was pleased. He was not often praised by the others, and it was very pleasant to havethem admiring him for once in a way. Then he caught sight of himself in Ma’s mirror, ribbons andall, and his face clouded.
　　‘I do not like myself,’ he said, staring in the mirror. ‘I will now dress in my own things again.’
　　‘Oh no - not yet!’ said Jack, quickly. ‘You don’t know who might recognize you suddenly ifyou did. You’ll have to be a girl until we get you to safety somewhere. Go on, now, Gussy - youlike acting. You’ll give a marvellous performance!’
　　The vans went on again. The excitement quickly died down, and everyone grew silent. Theywere tired with their short night and the disturbances they had had. They stopped for a snack aboutsix o’clock and then went on again.
　　They were now on a lonely country road. The surface was bad, and the vans had to go slowly.
　　Nobody minded that. Circus folk were never in a hurry except when their show was about tobegin. Then everyone fell into a tremendous rush, and raced about in excitement.
　　They camped that night in the hills. They all slept very soundly to make up for the lack of sleepthe night before. Then they set out again, jogging on slowly, not really very certain where theywere going.
　　The Boss suddenly decided that they had taken a wrong turning a few miles back. The vanswere turned round and back they all went, grumbling hard. They passed few people on the road,for they were now in a very lonely part.
　　‘I want shops,’ grumbled Ma. ‘I need to buy things. We all need to buy things. We must go tosome place where there are shops. I will go to tell the Boss.’
　　But she didn’t, because she was afraid of him. She just went on grumbling. She wanted newcotton reels. She wanted some tinned fruit. She wanted hairpins.
　　‘Cheer up, Ma - we may meet a travelling pedlar van,’ said Pedro, getting tired of Ma’sgrumbling.
　　‘What’s that?’ asked Jack.
　　‘Oh - a van that takes all kinds of things to lonely villages,’ said Pedro. ‘I don’t expect we shallmeet one - but I’ve got to say something to keep Ma quiet!’
　　The Boss gave the order to camp early that night, and everyone was thankful. Soon fires wereburning by the roadside and good smells came on the air.
　　Just as it was getting dusk, a small van came labouring up the hill on the slope of which thecamp had been pitched. Madame Fifi saw it first and gave a shout.
　　Everyone looked up. ‘Ma! You’re in luck!’ called Pedro. ‘Here’s a pedlar’s van!’
　　The little black van drew up at the sight of the circus camp. Two men sat in the front of it, in theusual Tauri-Hessian clothes, sunburnt fellows, one small, one big and burly.
　　‘Better keep out of sight, Gussy,’ said Jack, suddenly. ‘You never know - this might be mensent to check over the camp again.’
　　‘Oh dear!’ sighed Lucy-Ann. ‘Don’t say they’re going to search all over again.’
　　The small man jumped out, went to the side of the van, and swung down half the wooden side,making a kind of counter. Inside the van, on shelves, were goods of every conceivable kind! Tinsof meat, sardines and fruit. Tins of salmon and milk. Skeins of wool, reels of cotton, rolls of lace,bales of cheap cotton cloth. Safety-pins and hairpins. Combs of all kinds. Soap. Sweets. Really, itwas just like a little general shop seen in so many villages.
　　‘It sells everything!’ said Pedro. ‘Ma, do you want me to buy half the things for you?’
　　‘No. I’ll come myself,’ said Ma, who enjoyed a bit of shopping. ‘Stay here, Anna-Maria!’
　　‘Can we go and have a look at the shop, do you think?’ asked Dinah. ‘You’ve got some Hessianmoney, haven’t you, Jack? I do really want to buy some soap, and a few other things. Surely thatvan is genuine - those men can’t be spies, sent to search the camp again!’
　　‘No. I don’t think they can be,’ said Jack. ‘The van does seem quite genuine, as you say. Allright - we’ll go and buy a few things. Not Gussy, though.’
　　So, while the others strolled off in the dusk to the little travelling shop, poor Gussy was leftbehind in Ma’s van. He was very cross.
　　The small man sold all the goods. The big man merely helped, handing down this and that, andwrapping up anything that needed it. He said nothing at all. The other man was a real talker. Hechattered all the time, chaffed the women, and passed on little bits of news.
　　‘And what news have you got?’ he asked Ma and old Lucia, as he sold them hairpins andcombs. ‘You’ve come from the direction of Borken, haven’t you? Any news of the King there?
　　He’s not been found yet, you know!’
　　Ma gave him her news, and described the clamour of the bells in the night. Old Lucia chimed inwith a few remarks too.
　　‘Where’s little Prince Aloysius?’ she wanted to know. ‘They say he was sent to school inEngland. If the King is dead, the little Prince will have to be brought back, won’t he?’
　　‘We had soldiers searching our camp today,’ said Madame Fifi. ‘Though what they expected tofind, I don’t know. The King perhaps!’
　　Everyone laughed. The chattering and buying went on for some time, and the pedlars did verywell. Jack went up to buy some sweets for the girls, Kiki on his shoulder.
　　‘Good morning, good night, good gracious!’ said Kiki, conversationally, to the pedlar who wasserving. He laughed. But the other man didn’t. He turned round and looked very sharply at Kikiindeed. Jack felt uncomfortable. Why did the second man look round like that? He tried to seewhat he was like, but it was now dark, and difficult to see inside the little van.
　　Lucy-Ann pointed to some toffee. ‘I’d like some of that,’ she said, in English. Jack saw the manat the back of the van stiffen. He seemed to be listening for what Lucy-Ann might say next. Hereached up to a shelf, took down a tin, and then stood still again, as Lucy-Ann spoke once more.
　　‘Let’s have a tin of pineapple. Kiki likes that.’
　　The man swung round. Jack hurriedly pushed Lucy-Ann back into the darkness. This fellowwas a spy! He was sure of it! He took another look at him, but could not make out very much. Ahead of black, curly hair, such as all the Tauri-Hessians had - a small black moustache - that wasabout all Jack could see.
　　‘What’s up, Jack?’ said Lucy-Ann, in astonishment as he hurried her away from the van, pullingDinah and Philip with him too.
　　He told them hurriedly what he thought and they were very worried. They rushed back to Ma’svan to see if Gussy was all right. To their great relief, he was there, looking very cross. ‘Thoughwhy we should think he wouldn’t be there, I don’t know,’ said Jack. ‘Gussy, get out yourembroidery. We’ve seen somebody suspicious. He heard Lucy-Ann talking in English, and Kikitoo, and he was much too interested!’
　　‘Well - we’ll hope he clears off soon,’ said Philip. ‘I’ll go and watch, and tell you when they’regone.’
　　But the pedlar’s van didn’t go! The two men shut up the side of the van, safely locking up alltheir goods, and then sat outside with a little camp fire, cooking some kind of meal.
　　‘They’re staying the night,’ reported Philip. ‘Not too good, is it? And Madame Fifi told me thatthe small man has been asking questions about Kiki - if the boy who owns her belongs to thecamp - and where his caravan is!’
　　‘Blow!’ said Jack. ‘What can we do? We can’t possibly run away. I’ve no idea at all where weare - miles away from anywhere, that’s certain! Well - we can only hope for the best. We’ll sleepas usual under the girls’ van, and Gussy can be with Ma. After all, he’s the important one - we’renot really important, except that Gussy escaped with us, and presumably the Count will think thatwherever we are, Gussy will be too!’
　　The girls went to their van and undressed to go to sleep. Gussy was safely with Ma. The threeboys lay on the rugs below the girls’ van as usual. Pedro soon fell asleep, but Jack and Philip wereworried, and lay awake, whispering.
　　Suddenly Jack clutched Philip. ‘I can hear someone,’ he whispered, in his ear. ‘Someonecrawling near this van.’
　　Jack sat up cautiously and felt for his torch. Yes - someone was near the van, crawling quietlyon all fours. Jack flicked on his torch at once.
　　A surprised face was caught in the light. A man was on hands and knees nearby. It was the bigpedlar from the little van! His black hair showed up plainly in the beam of the torch.
　　‘What do you want?’ said Jack, fiercely. ‘What do you mean by crawling around like this? I’llraise the camp, and have them all after you!’
第26章 流动商贩的货车
　　第26章 流动商贩的货车
　　古斯害羞地抬头看了他们一眼，便把脸埋进玛的双膝里，好像已经不堪重负了一般。
　　这是玛的主意，当然！
　　“哎呀，哎呀！”玛用特瑞赫西亚语说，轻拍着古斯，“坐起来，好好回答，我的小安娜•玛利亚！”她转向士兵们。
　　“请务必原谅她，”她说，“她只是个傻乎乎的小姑娘，连把鹅赶走都做不到！坐起来，我的小乖乖，给这些好先生看看你正在做的东西。”
　　古斯坐了起来，对着两个士兵举起了一块刺绣，但仍旧低着头，好像真的很害羞的样子。正透过窗户偷看的杰克简直要被古斯的演技震惊了。那块刺绣！玛让古斯向士兵展示它，这个想法真的是太机智了！他之前就看到了玛独自一夜一夜地编织它！
　　“她是我最喜欢的孙辈，”玛继续东拉西扯，“最漂亮的小东西，最好的孩子。对这些善良的先生说话，安娜•玛利亚！说你——好。”
　　“我做不到。”古斯说着，又把脸埋到了玛的腿上。
　　“别逼她了，”一名士兵说，“我家里也有个小闺女，就和她一样害羞。她们这样总好过鲁莽和无礼。她的头发多美啊！你一定很为她骄傲，婆婆。”
　　“她是个非常棒的小缝纫工，”玛自豪地说，拍了拍古斯的头，“坐起来，我的小东西——先生们不会吃了你的！”
　　“我们得走了，”那个士兵说，“喏，这个给她买点东西吧。她真的让我想起自己家的小姑娘了。”
　　他丢给玛一个硬币，她敏捷地接住了它，立刻收进口袋里。目送着两个男人离开后，杰克长舒了口气，把头探进窗户。
　　“好了。他们已经走了。古斯，你真是太不可思议了！就像一个演员那样说话！喔，你简直是个天生的演员！一个惟妙惟肖的害羞小女孩！”
　　古斯从玛的膝盖上抬起头来。他的眼睛发亮，脸色泛红，笑了起来。
　　“是玛的主意，让我像那样去做，”他说，“她说我不可以完全露出我的脸，我一定要装作很害羞，埋在她的腿上。”
　　“这主意简直太棒了。”杰克说道，和玛相视而笑，“说真的，古斯，祝贺你——我从没想到你可以像那样表演。”
　　“我喜欢表演。”古斯说，“但不是穿着女孩的衣服。我觉得傻极了。虽说——它确实是个很好的主意。现在——我安全了，对吧？”
　　“我是这么想的，”杰克顺着路张望着，“那些人正在往他们的车那里走。他们上车了。
　　好——第一辆车开走了。呼！那两个家伙进入篷车的时候，我真的快急死了。”
　　等到三辆军车都消失在远处，菲利普立刻离开了装熊的篷车，跑到其他人面前，咧嘴笑了起来。他们全都围到玛的篷车旁，听杰克复述古斯绝妙的表演。
　　古斯很高兴。他并不经常得到别人的夸赞，众人的赞扬和钦佩使他非常开心。然而，接着他就在玛的镜子里瞥到了自己，丝带和穿着的其他所有东西，他的脸再次阴了下来。
　　“我不喜欢这个样子，”他盯着镜子说，“我现在要换上自己的衣服了。”
　　“哦，不——还不行！”杰克迅速地说，“如果那么做，你不知道谁会突然认出你。在我们把你送到什么安全的地方之前，你还是得扮成女孩的样子。来吧，继续，古斯——你喜欢表演。你会有一场精彩绝伦的演出！”
　　车队再次出发。兴奋感很快就消失了，每个人都重新变得沉默起来。睡眠不足的夜晚和遭遇的意外让他们感到疲惫不堪。六点钟的时候，他们停下来吃了点东西又继续上路。
　　他们现在行进在一条僻静的乡村小路上。路面非常糟糕，车队不得不走得很慢。不过没人在意。除非赶着演出，否则马戏团的人从不着急赶路。如果是在演出之前，那么情况就完全不同了，所有的人都会兴冲冲地奔来跑去，忙成一团。
　　晚上，他们在山上扎营。因为前一天夜里大家睡得都不好，所以每个人都睡得非常沉，呼噜声此起彼伏。第二天，他们起床，再次赶着篷车慢悠悠地走着，并不确定要去向何方。
　　突然，老板意识到他们在几英里之前转错了一个弯，于是车队吱吱嘎嘎地掉头，又退回到原来的地方。因为所行之处实在偏僻，一路上他们都没遇到几个人。
　　“我想去商店，”玛抱怨着，“我需要买些东西。我们都需要买些东西。我们必须去一些有店铺的地方。我得去和老板说。”
　　但实际上她并没有去，因为她惧怕老板。她只是不停地抱怨着。她想要新的棉线轴，她想要一些水果罐头，她想要发卡。
　　“振作点，玛——我们也许会遇到一个流动货车的。”佩德罗敷衍道，他实在听累了玛的抱怨。
　　“流动货车是什么？”杰克问。
　　“噢——是一辆装满了各种东西的篷车，专门跑那些偏僻的村庄。”佩德罗说，“虽然我并不指望我们真能遇到一辆，但总得说点什么让玛安静下来！”
　　当晚，老板早早地下令扎营，所有的人都很感激。很快，火堆在路边生起来了，香气开始在空气里飘散。
　　暮色刚刚降临，一辆小货车经过了马戏团营地所在的斜坡，艰难地往山上驶去。菲菲女士首先看到了它，喊了起来。
　　每个人都抬头望去。“玛！你真走运！”佩德罗喊道，“那是辆流动商贩的货车！”
　　这辆黑色的小车在马戏团营地不远处停了下来。两个男人坐在车头，一个是小个子，另一个则高大魁梧。他们穿着普通的特瑞赫西亚服装，皮肤被晒得黝黑。
　　“最好躲开点，古斯。”杰克突然说，“你永远不知道——这些人或许是再次来探查营地的也说不定。”
　　“哦，天！”露西安叹了口气，“可别说他们还会再来搜查。”
　　小个子的男人跳了下来，走到货车的一侧，拉下一块木头翻板，让那里变成了一个柜台。货车里的架子上摆满了所有能想象得到的货物！一罐罐的肉、沙丁鱼和水果。一罐罐的三文鱼和牛奶。一卷卷的羊毛线和棉线，一捆捆的蕾丝，一匹匹的便宜棉布。安全别针和发卡。各种各样的梳子。肥皂。甜食。真的，它就跟那些村庄里常见的小杂货店一样。
　　“它什么都卖！”佩德罗说，“玛，你想要我去帮你买些东西吗？”
　　“不，我自己去。”玛说，她非常喜欢购物，“留在这里，安娜•玛利亚！”
　　“你觉得我们可以去看看那家店吗？”黛娜问，“你有一些特瑞赫西亚币，对吧，杰克？
　　我很想买些香皂和其他的东西。那货车肯定不是假的——这些人不可能是再次派来搜索营地的间谍！”
　　“嗯，我也认为他们不是。”杰克说，“就像你说的，这车看起来真的挺普通。好吧——我们去买点东西。不过，古斯不能去。”
　　就这样，当其他人在暮色里向那间小小的流动商铺走去的时候，可怜的古斯被独自留在了玛的篷车里。他非常郁闷。
　　小个子的男人负责售卖所有的东西，高个子仅仅只是帮手，不断地将这个和那个递给他，并把所有需要的东西进行打包。高个子沉默寡言，但小个子却非常热衷于聊天。他一直喋喋不休地说着话，和女人们开着玩笑，相互传递着一些小道消息。
　　“你们有没有什么新消息？”他一边向玛和老露西亚推销发卡和梳子，一边问道，“你们是从博肯的方向过来的，对吧？那里有什么国王的消息吗？你们知道，他还没被找到呢！”
　　玛给了他自己所知道的消息，描绘了那天晚上的钟声。老露西亚也附和了几句话。
　　“阿洛伊修斯小王子在哪儿？”她想知道，“有人说他被送去了英国的学校读书。但如果国王死了，小王子就必须得被带回来了，对吧？”
　　“今天有些士兵搜查了我们的营地。”菲菲女士说，“尽管我不知道他们想找到什么。或许是国王！”
　　每个人都笑了起来。嘈杂的聊天和买卖声持续了好一段时间，两个小贩的服务非常到位。杰克走过去，想给女孩们买些糖果。琪琪蹲在他的肩头。
　　“早上——好，晚上——好，我的天哪！”琪琪对着忙碌的商贩主动说道。小个子男人笑了起来，但另一个人却没有。他转过身，用尖锐的目光盯向琪琪。杰克感觉不太舒服。
　　为什么那个男人这么看着他们？他想仔细看看这人长得什么样，但天色已经黑了，很难看清小货车的内部。
　　露西安指着一些太妃糖，用英语说道：“我想要一些这个。”杰克看到站在货车里侧的男人僵硬了。他看起来正仔细聆听着露西安接下来准备说什么。他走到一个货架边上，拿下一个罐头。当露西安再次开口的时候，他又站住不动了。
　　“买一听菠萝罐头吧。琪琪喜欢那个。”
　　男人突然转过身来。杰克匆忙将露西安推回黑暗的夜色之中。这家伙是个间谍！他可以确定！他又瞥了那个人一眼，但还是没太看清。一头黑色的鬈发，就像所有的特瑞赫西亚人一样——黑色的小胡子——这几乎就是杰克能看到的全部了。
　　“怎么了，杰克？”露西安有些吃惊。她、黛娜和菲利普都被匆匆地拉着离开了货车。
　　杰克急促地告诉了他们自己的想法，所有的人都开始担忧起来。他们冲回玛的篷车去确认古斯是否还安然无恙。让人松了口气的是，他还在那里，一脸不高兴。“尽管我们觉得他不应该是间谍，但谁知道呢。”杰克说，“拿好你的刺绣，古斯。我们看到了一个可疑的人。他听到了露西安用英语说话，还有琪琪，并且有点感兴趣了！”
　　“嗯——我们最好希望他尽快离开。”菲利普说，“我再去看看，然后告诉你们他们什么时候走。”
　　但是小贩的货车没有离开！那两个男人合上了侧面的木翻板，锁好他们所有的货物，生起了一堆小小的篝火，坐在旁边开始做饭。
　　“他们准备在这过夜。”菲利普报告说，“这可不是什么好事，对吧？菲菲女士还告诉我那个小个子男人问了她一些关于琪琪的事——比如它的男孩主人是不是属于营地——还有他的篷车在哪里！”
　　“啧！”杰克说，“我们能做什么？逃跑不太实际。我根本不知道现在我们在哪儿——唯一能确定的就是离任何地方都有好几英里远！好吧——只能期待最好的情况了。就跟往常一样，我们睡在女孩们的篷车下边，古斯还是跟玛一起睡。不管怎么说，他是最重要的一个——我们并不是真正的重要人物，只不过古斯是和我们一起逃跑的。很可能伯爵觉得我们在哪里，古斯也会在哪里！”
　　女孩们上了篷车，脱下衣服准备睡觉。古斯安全地和玛待在一起。三个男孩和平时一样躺在篷车下边的毯子上。佩德罗很快就睡着了，但杰克和菲利普仍旧担忧地醒着，他们躺着，小声聊着天。
　　突然，杰克拽住菲利普。“我能听到有人过来了，”他凑到他耳边低声说道，“有人正在往这辆篷车爬。”
　　杰克小心翼翼地坐起来，找到他的手电筒。没错——确实有人在接近篷车，四肢并用，小心地匍匐前进。杰克猛地打开了手电筒。
　　一张惊讶的脸庞被罩在光束当中。一个四肢趴在地上的男人就在旁边。是那辆小货车的高个子商贩！他的黑发被手电筒的光清晰地照了出来。
　　“你想干什么？”杰克厉声说，“你这么鬼鬼祟祟爬过来是什么意思？我会叫醒整个营地的，所有的人都会来抓你！”
27 A surprise – and a plan
　　27
　　A surprise - and a plan
　　‘Sh!’ said the man, urgently. ‘I . . .’
　　And then, before he could say another word, a very strange thing happened! Kiki, who had beenwatching the man in greatest surprise, suddenly spread her wings and flew to his shoulder! Sherubbed her beak against his cheek in the most loving manner, crooning like a dove.
　　‘Kiki!’ said the man, and stroked her neck.
　　‘Silly-Bill,’ said Kiki, lovingly. ‘Silly-Billy, put the kettle on, send for the doctor!’
　　Jack was so astonished that he simply couldn’t say a word. Why in the world was Kiki behavinglike that - and how did this man know her? It was Philip who guessed. He suddenly rolled himselfover on hands and knees, and crawled at top speed from under the wagon.
　　‘Bill! BILL ! This must be a dream! Bill, it isyou, isn’t it? Are you wearing a wig?’
　　With a grin, the big man stripped off the whole of his black hair - yes, he was wearing a wig!
　　And without it he looked himself at once, in spite of the little black moustache which, of course,was merely stuck on.
　　‘Bill, oh, Bill! I can’t believe it!’ said Philip. Bill put out his great hand and the two shookhands solemnly for quite a long time. Then Jack joined them, his eyes almost falling out of hishead. It must be a dream! This couldn’t be real!
　　But it was. It was Bill himself. He asked eagerly about the girls. ‘I was so relieved to see themboth looking so well,’ he said. ‘Though I hardly knew them in that get-up they were wearing. But Iknew Lucy-Ann’s clear high voice all right - and I spotted Kiki too, of course. I couldn’t believe itwhen I saw her on your shoulder, Jack. I really couldn’t. Where are the girls? In this van here?’
　　‘Yes. We heard that you had made enquiries about where our van was,’ said Jack. ‘And wethought you were spies! We didn’t guess it was you, and that you wanted to come and find us inthe night. Let’s get into the van and wake the girls. We’ll wake old Pedro too. He’s a great friendof ours.’
　　Soon an extremely excited company of six people and a parrot sat in Pedro’s little van. Lucy-Ann hung on to Bill and wouldn’t let him move even an inch from her. Tears ran down her cheeksand she kept brushing them away.
　　‘I can’t help it, Bill, I’m not really crying, it’s just because I’m so happy again, I just can’t helpit, Bill!’ said poor Lucy-Ann, laughing through the tears that simply poured down her face.
　　Bill took out an enormous hanky and patted her eyes. He was very fond of Lucy-Ann. ‘Youmake me think of Gussy,’ he said, ‘and the time when Philip took a kitchen tablecloth to dry histears! Cheer up - we’re all together again - and you can give me most valuable information!’
　　‘How’s Mother?’ said Philip. ‘Is she very worried?’
　　‘Very!’ said Bill. ‘She and I were caught and tied up the night you were kidnapped. Wecouldn’t get free. We had to wait till Mrs Gump came along the road next morning on her way tothe cottage, and call out to her. By that time, of course, all trace of you had been lost. We’ve hadthe police hunting every county in England for you! We didn’t dare to say Gussy had gone too,because we didn’t want the news to get to the Tauri-Hessians.’
　　‘We went off in a plane, after a car had taken us away,’ said Philip. ‘Jack hid in the boot of thecar and then stowed away in the plane - so he knew where we had gone. We were imprisoned inBorken Castle with Gussy - and Jack managed to rescue us!’
　　‘I joined this circus with Kiki,’ explained Jack. ‘Pedro was a brick - he helped me no end. Wegot Toni and Bingo the acrobats to help in the rescue - phew, it was pretty dangerous!’
　　He told Bill all about it. Bill listened in amazement. These children! The things that happened tothem - the way they tackled everything that came along, and never turned a hair. And now theyhad got Gussy safely with them, disguised as a girl!
　　‘But Bill - you haven’t told us what you’re doing here,’ said Jack. ‘Fancy you coming along ina pedlar’s van - all dressed up as a Tauri-Hessian - really, it’s too amazing to be true.’
　　‘Well, it’s true all right,’ said Bill. ‘You see, when our Government learnt that the King ofTauri-Hessia had been captured - or killed, for all we know - it was absolutely essential that weshould find out whether this was true or not - and it was essential we should find Gussy too, ifpossible. So, as the Tauri-Hessian Government had put Gussy into my charge, as you know, it wasdecided that I should be the one to come out and make inquiries.’
　　‘I see - spy round to see how the land lay,’ said Philip. ‘Did you think we might all be in Tauri-Hessia?’
　　‘Yes - I came to the conclusion that wherever Gussy had been taken, you should be there too -to be held as hostages, if our own Government made any trouble about Gussy,’ said Bill. ‘And assoon as the news came that the King had disappeared, we felt sure that Gussy would besomewhere in Borken, Count Paritolen’s own territory - and possibly the King might be heldprisoner there too - so I and another man, who speaks Tauri-Hessian well, flew over straight awayto do a spot of spying. Hence the pedlar’s van!’
　　‘Mother will be feeling awfully worried, with you gone too,’ said Dinah.
　　‘I’ll get a message through to her sometime tomorrow,’ said Bill. ‘Now, I wonder if you can tellme something - have you any sort of an idea at all where the King might be hidden?’
　　‘In Borken Castle,’ said Jack, promptly. ‘I’m sure of it! I’ll tell you why.’
　　He told Bill of how he had explored the castle - and how he had overheard the Count andMadame Tatiosa talking excitedly together. ‘That was the night before the King was known tohave disappeared,’ said Jack. ‘I think their plans were going well - probably they even had him aprisoner somewhere then. And the obvious place to take him would be the Count’s own castle - hewould then have Gussy there - and the King too - right under his hand! He could bargain withboth, if he wanted to.’
　　Bill listened to this long speech with the greatest interest. ‘I think you’re right,’ he said. ‘I wishwe could get into the castle and find out something. Ronald, the fellow who is with me, speaks thelanguage fluently. I wonder if he could bluff his way in - say he’s a tradesman come to do a repair,or something.’
　　‘I know what he could do,’ said Jack, with a sudden surge of excitement. ‘I know a way in, Bill- the way I got out the first night I was there! It leads through secret passages up to the bigballroom. There’s a way into the ballroom from behind a great picture. I don’t know how to movethe picture away, though - so as to get into the ballroom. That’s the snag.’
　　‘We’ll find out!’ said Bill. ‘Jack, this is great! Are you game to come with me - and Ronald too,my pal - and show us the way into the castle? If only we could find out whether the King is aliveor not - or whether he’s a prisoner - it would be a great help. There’s one thing, the plans of theplotters must be greatly upset now that Gussy has gone! No King for the country - and no Princeto set in his place! Very difficult for them!’
　　‘I’ll come, Bill,’ said Jack, his face red with excitement.
　　‘I’ll come too,’ said Philip.
　　‘No - you must stay and keep an eye on the girls,’ said Bill. ‘I must have one of you with them.
　　Keep an eye on Gussy too. Pedro can help there.’
　　‘Shall we go now?’ asked Jack, eagerly. ‘It’s a very dark night.’
　　‘The sooner the better,’ said Bill, and got up. ‘Wait here. I’ll fetch Ronnie. I’ll have to tell him afew things first though! My word, he’ll be astonished!’
　　Bill disappeared. For a moment the five said nothing. Kiki broke the silence. ‘Ding dong bell,Billy’s in the well,’ she said. ‘Pussy’s got a cold - a-chooo!’
　　‘Idiot!’ said Jack. ‘My word - what a night! Fancy bill turning up here. It was Kiki whorecognized him when he came crawling round the van. I didn’t.’
　　‘Everything will be all right now,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘It always is when Bill comes.’
　　‘Don’t talk too soon,’ said Dinah. ‘They’ve not got an easy job tonight!’
　　Bill came back with Ronnie, who seemed rather overcome at meeting so many people at once.
　　He had much more to say as a pedlar than with Bill in Pedro’s van!
　　‘Well - are we ready?’ said Bill. ‘Come on then.’
　　They slipped out of the caravan, and Jack followed the two men. Their van was quite near, andJack guessed what they were going to do. They were going to drive back to Borken. It wouldn’ttake long, because it wasn’t really very far away. The circus procession of horse-drawn vans hadgone at a walking pace the last two days, and had once had to retrace their steps as well. Itwouldn’t take more than an hour to get to Borken.
　　They went off in the night, Ronnie driving. Kiki was on Jack’s shoulder. She meant to be ineverything, no matter what it was!
　　They came to Borken. The town was in utter darkness. ‘Park the van in the field where the campwas,’ said Jack, and guided them to it. ‘The castle is only just up the steep slope of the hill then.’
　　They parked the van behind a big bush. Then they made their way up the steep slope to thecastle. ‘There’s the bell tower,’ said Jack, as they came nearer. ‘Better go cautiously in case thereare people on guard. The Count must know that we escaped by means of the bell tower. We had toleave Toni’s wire rope behind, stretched from tower to tower.’
　　Nobody seemed to be about, however. But Jack suddenly saw lights in the castle windows highabove them. They blazed out of half a dozen windows - something was going on in the castle inthe middle of that night, it was certain!
　　‘We might be able to have a look in on that,’ said Bill, staring at the lights. ‘Must be some kindof a conference going on.’
　　‘There’s a hole in one of the walls of the conference room - at least, I think it must be aconference room,’ said Jack, suddenly excited. ‘I saw a round table, and chairs, and writing padsand pencils all set out. If we could get up to that room, and look through the hole, we might seesomething interesting - and hear something too!’
　　‘We might,’ agreed Bill. ‘Come on - let’s get going. Into the bell tower we go! Where’s thattrap door you told us about?’
　　They were soon in the bell tower. Jack searched about for the trap door. He found it, and Billpulled it open. Down they went into the little cellar below. Bill pulled the trap door shut behindhim.
　　‘Lead the way, Jack,’ he said, and flashed on an extremely powerful torch. With a jump Jacksaw that both men now carried revolvers too. Gosh - this might be a serious business then!
　　‘This way,’ said Jack, and stepped over the junk in the underground hole. ‘Better be as quiet aswe can. Now - through here!’
第27章 一个惊喜——和一个计划
　　第27章 一个惊喜——和一个计划
　　“嘘！”男子急忙说，“我……”
　　就在这时，在他把话说完之前，一件非常奇怪的事情发生了。一直用极为惊奇的目光盯着他的琪琪，突然扇动翅膀，飞到了他的肩膀上！它的喙以最能表达爱意的方式在他的脸颊上蹭着，发出像鸽子一样低低的、满是感情的咕噜声。
　　“琪琪！”那人说着，抚了抚她的脖子。
　　“傻棒儿。”琪琪亲昵地说，“傻——棒儿，烧上水壶，请医生来！”
　　杰克太过吃惊，以至于说不出一个字。琪琪到底为什么会突然这样——那个男人又是怎么知道她的？但菲利普马上就猜到了。他突然翻过身，以最快的速度从篷车下爬了起来。
　　“比尔！比尔！这一定是梦！比尔，是你，对吧？你戴了假发吗？”
　　高个子男人咧嘴笑了起来，他摘掉整个黑色的头发——没错，他戴了假发！去掉这个之后，他立刻就恢复了原来的样子，虽然还留着那小胡子的伪装。当然，胡子只是贴上去的。
　　“比尔，喔，比尔！我简直不敢相信！”菲利普说。比尔伸出他的大手，两人用力握了很久。然后杰克也加入了进来。他的眼珠瞪得几乎都要掉出来了。这肯定是梦！不可能是真的！
　　但它是真的。确确实实就是比尔本人。他急切地问起了女孩们的情况。“看到她们俩都很好，我真是松了口气，”他说，“尽管她们穿成那样让我差点认不出来。但露西安那个清脆的尖嗓子，我一听就知道是她——我也认出了琪琪，当然。当我看到它蹲在你肩膀上时，简直都不敢相信，杰克。我真的不敢相信。女孩们在哪儿？是在这辆篷车里吗？”
　　“是的。我们听说了你询问过我们的篷车在哪儿。”杰克说，“还以为你是间谍！我们没猜到那是你，也没想到你会在晚上过来找我们。我这就进去叫醒女孩们，还有老佩德罗。
　　他是我们特别重要的朋友。”
　　没过多久，六个人和一只鹦鹉就都坐在佩德罗的小篷车里了，每个人都兴奋不已。露西安紧紧地抱住比尔，甚至不让他离开自己一寸。她不停地擦着眼泪，但又有新的泪珠顺着她的双颊不断地淌下来。
　　“我忍不住，比尔，我并不是真的在哭，只是因为太高兴了。我实在忍不住，比尔！”可怜的露西安说着，透过满脸的泪水露出笑容。
　　比尔掏出一大块手帕，帮她擦了擦眼泪。他非常喜欢露西安。“你让我想到了古斯，”他说，“还有那次，菲利普拿了一块厨房的台布给他擦眼泪！振作点——至少我们现在又都在一起了——而且你们肯定能给我最有用的消息！”
　　“妈妈怎么样？”菲利普问，“她很担心吧？”
　　“特别担心！”比尔说，“在你们被绑架的那天夜里，我和她被抓住，绑了起来。我们没法挣脱，只好一直等到第二天早上，在去农舍的甘普太太路过时喊住了她。当然，那个时候你们都已经踪迹皆无了。为了找你们，我们和警察几乎搜遍了英格兰的每个郡！我们不敢说古斯也失踪了，因为不想让消息传到特瑞赫西亚这里。”
　　“一辆汽车把我们带走了，然后我们乘了一架飞机来到了这里。”菲利普说，“杰克藏在车的尾部跟着我们，又偷偷上了飞机——所以他知道我们去了哪里。之前我们和古斯一起被关押在博肯城堡里——是杰克制订计划救了我们！”
　　“我带着琪琪加入了这个马戏团，”杰克解释道，“佩德罗特别可靠，一直在帮我。还有杂技演员托尼和宾果也在营救他们的时候帮了忙——哎，那可真是件非常危险的事！”
　　他把事情的来龙去脉都告诉了比尔。比尔吃惊地听着。这些孩子！那些发生在他们身上的事情——还有他们应对每件事的方式。现在古斯就和他们安全地在一起，伪装成了一个女孩！
　　“但是比尔——你还没告诉我们你在这里做什么？”杰克说，“想想看，你开着一辆流动商贩的货车出现——还穿得完全就是一个特瑞赫西亚人的样子——说实在的，这事简直神奇得叫人不敢相信。”
　　“嗯，它完全就是真的。”比尔说，“你们是知道的，当我们的政府得知特瑞赫西亚国王被绑架了——或者被杀了，无论怎样——找出这消息的真相就变得至关重要——如果可能的话，我们也必须找到古斯。所以，之前特瑞赫西亚政府把古斯交给我照顾，这就决定了我得成为那个来查寻真相的人。”
　　“我懂了——四处侦察，看看事态发展，”菲利普说，“你之前有没有想过我们可能都在特瑞赫西亚？”
　　“想过——我得出的结论就是，无论古斯被带去了哪里，你们肯定也会在那儿——作为人质，如果我们的政府试图提出任何关于古斯的异议的话。”比尔说，“国王失踪的消息一传出来，我们就确信古斯肯定在博肯的什么地方，帕瑞托兰伯爵自己的地盘上——国王很可能也被关押在那里——所以我和另一个人马上飞过来开始侦察。他会说特瑞赫西亚语。
　　所以就有了这辆小贩的流动货车！”
　　“你也离开了，妈妈一定担忧死了。”黛娜说。
　　“我明天会找时间给她发个电报。”比尔说，“现在，你们能否告诉我一些事情——关于国王可能会被关在哪里，你们有没有什么想法？”
　　“在博肯城堡里，”杰克迅速说道，“我敢肯定！我会告诉你为什么。”
　　他告诉了比尔自己是如何探索那座城堡的——以及他是如何无意中听到伯爵和塔蒂莎夫人兴奋的交谈。“那是国王失踪的前一晚。”杰克说，“我猜他们的计划进行得很顺利——或许他们已经在某个地方囚禁了他。那么最有可能的地方就是伯爵自己的城堡——古斯已经被关在那里——然后是国王。一切都掌握在他的手心里。如果他想，他就可以和双方讨价还价。”
　　比尔饶有兴趣地听完了杰克的发言。“我想你是对的，”他说，“我真希望我们能进入城堡发现点什么。罗纳德，那个和我一起来的人，他的特瑞赫西亚语就和本地人一样好。我在想他有没有什么法子混进城堡——比如装成去修理东西的工匠之类的。”
　　“我知道我们应该怎么做，”杰克突然特别兴奋地说，“我知道一条进去的路，比尔——就是第一天晚上我从那里出来的路！它是一条秘密通道，一直通向大舞厅，就藏在舞厅的一幅巨型挂画后边。虽然我不知道怎么挪开那幅画——只有挪开才能进入舞厅。这就是障碍。”
　　“我们会找到办法的！”比尔说，“杰克，这真是太好了！你愿不愿意和我一起去，给我们带路？罗纳德也会去。只要我们能找出国王是否还活着——或者是否被囚禁了——就将有很大的帮助。不过至少有一点，那些密谋者的计划一定已经因为古斯的失踪被完全打乱了！没有国王的国家——也没有王子能坐上他的位置！对这些人来说那一定非常棘手！”
　　“我会去的，比尔。”杰克说着，兴奋得双颊泛红。
　　“我也去。”菲利普说。
　　“不——你必须留下来，照顾女孩们。”比尔说，“我必须让你们中的一个和她们在一起。也看着点古斯。或许佩德罗也可以帮忙。”
　　“我们现在就出发吗？”杰克急切地问，“今天晚上特别黑。”
　　“越快越好，”比尔说着站了起来，“在这儿等着。我去叫罗尼 [1] 。我得先告诉他一些事！要我说，他肯定会大吃一惊的！”
　　比尔离开了。有那么一会儿五个孩子谁也没有说话。最后是琪琪打破了寂静，“叮咚铃儿响，比利掉井里，”她说，“猫咪感冒了——阿——嚏！”
　　“真蠢！”杰克说，“我得说——今晚真的是！想想比尔居然会出现在这儿。他往篷车这边爬的时候，是琪琪认出了他。我却没有。”
　　“现在一切都会好了。”露西安说，“每次都是，只要比尔出现了就会好的。”
　　“别太快下结论，”黛娜说，“今晚他们要做的事情可不轻松！”
　　比尔和罗尼一起回来了，后者似乎对于同时遇到这么多人有点不知所措。与比尔坐在佩德罗的篷车里时，他比当小贩时要沉默寡言多了！
　　“好了——都准备好了吗？”比尔说，“那就出发吧。”
　　杰克跟着两个男人一起从篷车里溜了出来。小货车就在旁边，杰克猜测着接下来他们要做什么。他们会开车回博肯。这不会花很长时间，因为那并不是特别远。马戏团的车队是用马拉的，而且在过去两天里都保持着步行的速度，中途还折返了一次。开车的话，用不了一个小时就能回到博肯。
　　他们在夜色里起程了，罗尼负责开车。琪琪蹲在杰克的肩头。她希望参与到每一件事情里去，无论那是什么事！
　　他们前往博肯。城镇完全笼罩在夜晚的黑暗中。“把货车停在马戏团之前驻营的那片野地里吧。”杰克说着，为他们指路，“城堡就在那座山的陡坡上。”
　　他们把车停在一丛高大的灌木后边，然后沿着陡坡向城堡攀爬。当他们走得近一些之后，杰克开口道：“那就是钟塔，最好小心点过去，以防万一那里有警卫。伯爵现在一定已经知道了我们是从钟塔的路逃走的。当时我们不得不把托尼的钢索留在那儿，它连接了两个塔楼。”
　　不过那里似乎没人。但是杰克突然看到了在他们上方，高高的城堡窗户里有灯光透出来。整整六个窗口都映着灯火——有什么事情正在这深更半夜的城堡里发生，肯定的！
　　“我们或许能去偷看一下发生了什么，”比尔注视着那灯火，说道，“肯定是有一个会议正在举行。”
　　“会议室的一面墙上有个洞——至少我认为那一定是个会议室。”杰克突然兴奋起来，说道，“当时我看到里面有一张圆桌，一些椅子，还有摆放整齐的手写板和铅笔。如果我们能到达那个房间所在的位置，或许就能透过那个洞看到些有趣的东西——或者听到些什么！”
　　“不错，”比尔同意道，“来吧——我们走。进钟塔去！你之前说的那扇活板门在哪里？”
　　很快，他们就都在钟塔里了。杰克寻找着活板门。他找到了，比尔随即打开了它。三个人下到小地窖后，比尔把活板门关上了。
　　“带路吧，杰克。”他说着打开了一支强光手电筒。光线闪过，杰克看到两个男人都已经掏出了左轮手枪。天——这可真够严重的！
　　“这边。”杰克说着，跨过地洞里的废品和垃圾，“尽可能保持安静。现在——从这里穿过去！”
　　[1]罗纳德的简称。
28 To Borken Castle again!
　　28
　　To Borken Castle again!
　　Jack clambered through the round hole at the other end of the little cellar. He was now in the verynarrow, low-roofed passage he remembered so well, because he had had to walk through it withhis head well bent. He led Bill and Ronnie up the steeply sloping way, lit by Bill’s powerful torch.
　　Jack stopped when they came to the top of the long, sloping passage. ‘We’re very near the roomwhere the spyhole is,’ he whispered. ‘If there is a conference being held - or some sort of meeting- we’ll be able to look through the hole at it - or you will, Bill, because as far as I know there’sonly one hole.’
　　‘Let me know when we come to it,’ whispered Bill, and they went on again. In a short whileJack saw a little beam of light coming from the side of the right-hand wall - that must be thespyhole!
　　He whispered to Bill. Bill saw the beam of light and nodded. There was not room for him to getin front of Jack, so the boy went on past the little spyhole, and let Bill stand by it behind him.
　　Ronnie was by Bill, quite silent. Kiki had been tapped on the beak, so she knew she was to bequiet too.
　　Bill glued his eye to the spyhole. He saw the same room that Jack had seen - a room with around table, chairs pulled up to it, and writing materials on the table.
　　But now there were lights blazing in the room - and every chair at the table was filled. At thetop sat Count Paritolen. Beside him sat his sister, Madame Tatiosa. On his other side sat someoneelse, whom Bill knew from photographs - the Prime Minister, husband of Madame Tatiosa. Helooked ill at ease and grave. Men in military uniform were also round the table.
　　At the bottom of the table stood a tall man, with a great likeness to Gussy - his uncle, the King!
　　Bill heaved a sigh of relief. So he hadn’t been killed. Well, that was one good thing at any rate. Ifonly he could be got away, things could be put right very quickly, and civil war would be avoided.
　　Bill strained his ears to hear what was going on. He could not hear very well, behind thewooden panelling, but he heard enough to know what was happening.
　　The King was being urged to abdicate - to leave his throne, go into retirement, and let Gussy -the Prince Aloysius - rule in his stead.
　　‘If you will not sign this document of abdication, then it will be the worse for you,’ finishedCount Paritolen. ‘You will, I fear, not be heard of again.’
　　Bill followed this with difficulty, for he did not speak Tauri-Hessian well. He had, in fact, onlytried to learn it when he knew he might have to go to the country. But he had no doubt that thatwas what the Count was saying.
　　The Prime Minister said something in protest, but the Count would not listen. Madame Tatiosamade a short, angry speech and sat down. The King bowed, and then spoke in such a low voicethat Bill couldn’t hear a word.
　　‘Very well,’ said the Count. ‘You may have tonight to make up your mind - tonight only. Wewill adjourn this meeting.’
　　He stood up and so did everyone else. The Count went out with his sister and the PrimeMinister. The King followed, closely hemmed in by four men. He looked sad and worried.
　　The lights in the conference room dimmed, and there was silence. Bill turned to Ronnie andrepeated rapidly what he had seen and what he thought had happened.
　　‘As far as I can make out the King’s got tonight to think things over. If he says no, he won’tgive up the throne, that’s the end of him. I think he will say no.’
　　There was a silence behind the wooden panelling for a moment or two. Bill debated withhimself. Could he get back to the capital of Tauri-Hessia, tell what he had seen, and bring men torescue the King?
　　No - there wouldn’t be time - the capital town was too far off. There was only one sure thing todo - and that was to see if he himself could get the King away.
　　He whispered this to Jack. The boy nodded. ‘Yes. If only we knew where he was going to betonight! He won’t be put into the tower room, I’m sure. They’d be afraid he’d escape too, likeGussy Let’s go to the ballroom, where that moving picture hangs - we might be able to shove itaside and get into the room.’
　　He led the way again - up some very steep steps, up and up. Then round a sharp corner and intoa narrow, dark passage running just inside the walls of the rooms, but a little below the level of thefloor. Then came a small flight of steps, and Jack paused.
　　‘These are the steps that lead up to that picture,’ he whispered. ‘You must see if you can findout how to move it away from the hole, Bill - it slides right away from it, keeping level with thewall.’
　　Bill and Ronnie began to feel about all over the place. Bill suddenly found a knob. Ah - thismust be it! A pull at this might set the mechanism working that moved the picture away, and left ahole in its place.
　　He listened carefully. No noise came from the room within. Well - he’d have to risk it, anyhow.
　　Bill pulled the knob.
　　Nothing happened. He twisted it. Still nothing happened. Then he pushed it - and it gavebeneath his hand.
　　Then came a slight scraping noise, and it seemed to Bill as if part of the wall was disappearing!
　　But it was only the picture moving to one side, leaving a hole almost as large as itself - the secretentrance to the ballroom!
　　There was very little light in the big room - merely a dim glow from a lamp whose wick hadbeen turned down. Bill peered out.
　　‘No one here,’ he whispered to the others. ‘We’ll get into the room while we can.’
　　He climbed out of the hole and jumped lightly to the floor. The others followed. Their rubbershoes made no sound.
　　‘We’d better just go and see if the King has been put into the tower room,’ whispered Jack. ‘I’llgo. I know the way. You stay here - behind these curtains.’
　　He sped into the anteroom, and saw the spiral stairway. He stopped and listened. No soundanywhere. He ran up the steps quietly and came to the little landing. He flashed his torch on thedoor that led into the room where Philip and the others had been imprisoned.
　　It was wide open! The room beyond was dark, too, so it was plain that the King was notimprisoned there. Jack went down again.
　　He tiptoed to the curtains behind which Bill and Ronnie were hiding. ‘No good,’ he whispered.
　　‘The door’s wide open. He’s not there.’
　　‘Listen!’ said Bill, suddenly. ‘I can hear something!’
　　They listened. It was the clump- clump of marching feet. They came nearer and nearer. Itsounded like two or three people. Bill peeped round the side of the curtain when the sound hadpassed by.
　　‘Two soldiers,’ he whispered. ‘They must have gone to relieve two others on guard somewhere- and who should they be guarding but the King? We’ll wait and see if two others come back thisway then we shall know the first two have gone on guard somewhere - and we’ll explore downthat passage, where the first two went.’
　　‘When I was here before, the sentry on guard kept disappearing down there,’ said Jack,remembering. ‘It’s a kind of sentry beat, I think. Perhaps the King has been taken down there andlocked into a cell.’
　　‘Listen!’ said Ronnie. Back came marching feet again and two different sentries went bysmartly in the opposite direction from the others, and disappeared. The three could hear the soundof their feet for some time, and then no more.
　　‘Now!’ said Bill. ‘And keep your ears open and your eyes peeled too.’
　　They all went down the dark passage where the two first sentries had gone. Right down to theend - round a sharp-angled turn, and down a few steps - along a narrower passage, and roundanother turn. But here they stopped. They could hear marching feet again - coming nearer!
　　There was a room opening off near where the three stood. Bill pushed open the door and thethree went into it hurriedly. It was quite dark. Bill switched his torch on for a moment and theysaw that it was a kind of box-room. The sentries passed right by it, went a good way up thepassage and then, stamp-stamp, they turned and came back again.
　　Bill listened to their feet marching. They seemed to go a long way down the passage, a long,long way, before they turned to come back. ‘I should think the King must be locked up somewhereabout the middle of their sentry-go,’ said Bill. ‘We’ll let them come up here once more, and whenthey have gone right past us, up to the other end of their beat, we’ll slip down here and explore abit. We can always go and hide beyond the other end of their walk, if we hear them coming back.’
　　The sentries came marching back, passed the three hidden in the little box room again, and wenton to the end of their beat. Bill, Ronnie and Jack slipped quickly out of the box room and ranlightly down the passage. They turned a corner and came to a dead end. A stout door faced them,well and truly bolted - and locked too, as Bill found when he tried to open it!
　　‘Sssst!’ said Ronnie, suddenly, and pulled them back into a dark corner. Bill and Jack wonderedwhat had scared him - then they saw!
　　A door was opening silently opposite to them - a door they hadn’t seen because it was part ofthe panelling itself. Someone came through carrying a lamp. It was the Count Paritolen. Had hecome to kill the King? Or to try once more to persuade him to give up his throne?
　　Bill saw something else. He saw what the Count was holding - a big key! The key to the King’sroom, no doubt!
　　The Count heard the sentries coming back and went back through the hidden door, closing itsoftly. He evidently meant to wait till the sentries had come up and then had gone back again.
　　‘Ronnie,’ said Bill, his mouth close to his friend’s ear, ‘we get that key, do you understand?
　　And we get the Count too. Will you tackle him while I open the door and find out if the King’sthere? He mustn’t make any noise.’
　　‘He won’t,’ said Ronnie, grimly. The sentries came right up, and then turned, stamp-stamp, andwent back again. As soon as they had turned the first corner, the hidden door opened again, andthe Count stepped through swiftly, lamp in one hand, key in the other.
　　Everything happened so quickly then that Jack was bewildered. He heard an exclamation fromthe Count, and then he saw Bill running to the door with the key, and Ronnie dragging the Counthurriedly back through the hidden door. The lamp went out. There was complete silence.
　　Ronnie came back and switched on his torch. He saw Bill unlocking the door and pulling backbolts. ‘I found a nice little cell back there,’ he said, jerking his head towards the door. ‘Just rightfor the Count. He’s tied up and he can shout the place down if he likes - nobody can hear him inthat room!’
　　‘Good work,’ said Bill. ‘Blow these bolts - there are half a dozen of them! We’ll have thesentries back here before we know where we are!’
　　Ronnie blew out the passage lamp that shone near the door. ‘Don’t want the sentries to see thebolts are drawn!’ he said. ‘Buck up, Bill. They’re coming back. Jack and I will wait here - just incase there’s trouble with the sentries. Do buck up!’
第28章 再次进入博肯城堡
　　第28章 再次进入博肯城堡
　　杰克翻过地窖另一头的圆洞，进入了那条非常狭窄低矮的过道里。他对这里印象深刻，因为之前他不得不一直低着头穿过。在比尔的强光手电筒的照射下，他带着两个男人开始攀爬陡坡。
　　当三人抵达顶部斜斜的长廊之后，杰克停了下来。“我们现在离那个有偷窥孔的房间非常近了，”他悄声道，“如果有什么会议或类似的事情正在举行——我们或许就能透过那个孔看到它——或者你去看，比尔，因为据我所知只有一个洞。”
　　“走到那儿的时候告诉我。”比尔小声说。他们继续前进。没多久，杰克就看到右边的墙上有一小束光透出来——一定就是那个偷窥孔了！
　　他低声地告诉比尔。后者看着那束光点了点头。因为空间狭窄，他没法越过杰克走到前边，于是男孩又往前走了一点，好让他站到洞的旁边。罗尼非常沉默地挨着比尔站着。
　　琪琪同样闭着嘴，因为她也知道现在需要保持安静。
　　比尔把眼睛贴在偷窥孔上。他看到的房间就是杰克之前看到的那间——里边有一张圆桌，几张椅子围着它，一些书面材料放在桌上。
　　但是，现在房间里灯火通明——所有的椅子都坐满了人。为首的是帕瑞托兰伯爵，他的妹妹塔蒂莎夫人挨着他。他的另一侧则坐着比尔从照片上了解到的某个人——特瑞赫西亚的首相，塔蒂莎夫人的丈夫。他看起来很不自在，一脸木然。桌子周围还坐着一些穿着军装的男人。
　　桌子的尽头则站着一个高大的男人，外表与古斯非常相像——是他的叔叔，国王！比尔长舒了一口气。他还没有被杀。太好了，无论如何这都是件好事。只要他能逃脱，所有的事情就能很快解决，内战也不会爆发。
　　比尔竖起耳朵，仔细聆听着屋子里的事态进展。隔着木头镶板，他没法听得特别清楚，但就所听到的，已经足够他判断出正在发生什么。
　　国王正被逼迫退位——离开王座，退休，让古斯——阿洛伊修斯王子——继位。
　　“如果你不签署这份退位文件，事情将会变得更加糟糕。”帕瑞托兰伯爵说，“我恐怕你会彻底失踪，无声无息。”
　　比尔很难跟上他说的话，因为他的特瑞赫西亚语并不是很好。实际上，他只是在知道可能要来这个国家之前才开始尝试学习。不过他确信无疑这就是伯爵说的意思。
　　首相说了一些反对的话，但是完全被伯爵无视了。塔蒂莎夫人站起来，用愤怒的语气尖声说了几句之后又坐下了。国王微微鞠躬，低声说了一些话，但是比尔完全无法听清。
　　“很好，”伯爵说，“你有一个晚上的时间来做出决定——只有今晚。我们暂时休会。”
　　他站了起来，其他人也跟着站起来。伯爵与他的妹妹还有首相一起离开了。国王跟在后面，被四个守卫寸步不离地押着。他看起来又伤心又担忧。
　　会议室里的灯光渐暗，陷入了一片寂静。比尔转向罗尼，快速地复述了他刚刚看到的和他所推测发生的事情。
　　“就目前来看，国王今晚必须做出一些决定。如果他说不，他不放弃王位的话，那么他的命也就到头了。虽然我觉得他会说不。”
　　木头镶板后面的三人沉默了片刻。比尔内心挣扎着。他能否来得及返回特瑞赫西亚的首都报告他所看到的，然后带人来营救国王？
　　不——时间不够——首都太远了。只有一件能做的事情——就是看看他自己能不能把国王救出来。
　　他压低了声音，将这些告诉了杰克。男孩点点头：“没错。只要我们知道今晚他被关在哪里！他应该不会被关到塔楼房间里，我可以肯定。因为他们会害怕他也像古斯一样逃脱。我们先去舞厅吧，就是那个挂着移动画像的房间——我们或许能推开它，进到那个厅里。”
　　他再次开始带路——通过一些非常陡峭的台阶一直往上，转过一个很急的拐角，进入那条狭窄黑暗的过道。它就位于各个房间的墙壁中，高度略低于地板。他们走过了一小段台阶，杰克停住了。
　　“这些台阶就是通往那幅挂画的，”他低声说，“你必须看看能否找到办法把它从洞口上挪开，比尔——它是平行于墙面移动的，往右移。”
　　比尔和罗尼开始摸索所有的地方。比尔突然发现了一个球形把手。啊——一定是这个了！拉动它或许就会触发机关，让画像移开，露出洞口。
　　他仔细聆听着。没有丝毫声音从房间里边传过来。好吧——不管怎么说，他都得冒一次险。比尔开始拉把手。
　　没有任何事情发生。他又转了转把手，还是没有动静。最后他推了它——把手被按了下去。
　　这时，传来了一声轻微的刮擦声。在比尔看来，好像墙的一部分突然消失了！其实只是那幅画移开了，留下了一个一样大的洞口——进入舞厅的秘密入口！
　　大厅里只有很微弱的光——一盏快要熄灭的灯散发出的暗淡光晕。比尔向外观察了一下。
　　“这里没人。”他对其他人低声说道，“我们进去。”
　　他爬出洞口，轻轻地落到地板上，其他人紧随其后。他们的胶底鞋没有发出任何声音。
　　“最好还是先去确认一下国王是不是被关进塔楼房间了，”杰克悄声说，“我去。我知道路。你们留在这儿——藏到这些窗帘后边。”
　　他快速地进入了小前厅，又看到了那段螺旋楼梯。他停下来侧耳倾听。没有任何声音。于是他悄悄地爬上楼梯，径直来到了那个小小的平台。杰克用手电筒照了照之前囚禁菲利普和其他人的那个房间的门。
　　它大敞着！里边的房间也是漆黑一片。很显然，国王没有被关在这里。杰克转身下楼。
　　他踮起脚，溜到了比尔和罗尼藏身的窗帘后。“不怎么好的消息，”他低声说，“门开着，他不在那儿。”
　　“听！”比尔突然说，“我听到了一些动静。”
　　他们仔细地听着。踢踏——踢踏，那是守卫的踏步声。声音越来越近了。听起来是两到三个人。等声音过去之后，比尔从窗帘边上偷望出去。
　　“两个守卫，”他悄声道，“他们一定是去替换另外两个在什么地方站岗的人——除了国王，他们还会看守谁？等等看吧，看另外两个会不会从这条路返回，然后我们就能知道头两个是不是去轮岗了——这样的话，我们就从那条走廊下去，就是刚才那两个人过去的方向。”
　　“我上次来的时候，有一个守卫会往那边走，”杰克想起来了，说道，“应该是某条固定的巡逻路线，我猜。或许国王就是顺着这条路被押下去的，关在某个单人牢房里。”
　　“听！”罗尼说。踢踏的脚步声又出现了。是两个不同的哨兵，从相反的方向踏着古板的步子走过来，然后消失在另一边。三个人能听到脚步声逐渐远去，过了一会儿就彻底听不见了。
　　三个人能听到脚步声逐渐远去，过了一会儿就彻底听不见了。
　　“现在！”比尔说，“注意保持警觉，睁大眼睛，竖起耳朵。”
　　他们进入了那条头两个守卫走下去的黑暗走廊。一直走到底——拐过一个急弯，又下了一些台阶——穿过一条狭窄的走廊，再转了个弯。三个人停住了，因为又听到了脚步声——并且越来越近。
　　在他们站的位置附近有一个没上锁的房间。比尔推开门，三个人匆匆躲了进去。里边非常黑。比尔用手电筒照了照，他们发现这是一个储藏间。守卫们从外边经过，沿着走廊向上走了很久，然后，踢——踏，他们转过身，再次折返回来。
　　比尔听着他们的脚步声。在转身回来之前，他们似乎顺着走廊走了一段十分长的距离。“我估计国王就关在这些人巡逻路线中间的某个地方。”比尔说，“等到下次，他们经过这里，走到另一头的时候，我们就溜出去看看。就算听到他们过来了，也总会有办法藏到巡逻路线尽头之外的什么地方。”
　　守卫的脚步声转回来了，再次经过了三人藏身的地方，并向着巡逻路线的尽头走去。
　　比尔、罗尼和杰克快速地溜出了储藏室，悄无声息地沿着走廊往前跑。他们转过拐角，却进入了一条死路。一扇坚固的门挡在他们面前，上边有着粗大结实的插闩——当比尔试图打开它时，发现它是牢牢锁着的！
　　“嘘！”罗尼突然说，将他们全都猛地拽进一个黑暗的角落里。比尔和杰克奇怪是什么惊吓了他——接着他们便看到了。
　　在他们对面的房间，一扇门安静地打开了——他们之前没有发现它，因为这门看上去根本就是镶板的一部分。有人从里边举着灯走了出来。是帕瑞托兰伯爵。他是来杀国王的吗？或者只是再次劝说他放弃王位？
　　比尔还看到了一些别的东西。伯爵拿着的东西——一把大钥匙！毫无疑问，那是通往国王房间的钥匙！
　　伯爵听到了守卫的脚步声，退回到那扇暗门里，轻轻地关上了它。很明显，他是在等待守卫走过这一段路再折返离开。
　　“罗尼，”比尔凑到他的朋友耳边说道，“我们去把那把钥匙弄来，明白吗？同时也要控制住伯爵。在我去开门确认国王是否在里边的时候，你能不能控制住他？绝不能让他发出一点动静。”
　　“他没机会。”罗尼冷酷地说。巡逻守卫过来了，站定，转身，踢——踏，重新向上走去。他们刚刚转过第一个拐角，暗门便又打开了，伯爵迅速地走了出来，一手拿着灯，一手拿着钥匙。
　　一切都发生得如此之快，杰克甚至还没反应过来。他听到伯爵惊呼了一声，随即看到比尔拿着钥匙跑向尽头那扇坚固的门，而罗尼则匆匆地将伯爵拖进暗门里。灯熄灭了，周围陷入了完全的寂静。
　　罗尼回来了，打开了手电筒。他看到比尔已经打开了门，正在抽出插闩。“我发现那后边有个很不错的小牢房，”他说着，转头对着暗门示意了一下，“对伯爵来说刚刚好。他已经被绑起来了，如果他乐意的话，可以把那地方叫塌——反正没人会听到的！”
　　“干得不错。”比尔说，“这些插闩简直了——整整有半打！可能还没等搞明白我们在哪儿，守卫就回来了！”
　　罗尼熄灭了门边过道照明的灯。“我可不想让那些守卫看到插闩被拔出来了！”他说，“快点，比尔。他们回来了。杰克和我在这里守着——以防那些巡逻守卫制造什么麻烦。你再快点！”
29 An exciting time
　　29
　　An exciting time
　　Bill at last got the door open and went in. A shaft of light shone out from the room at once. Ronnieshut the door quickly. Jack found that his heart was beginning to thump again. Those sentries -would they come back before Bill had got the King?
　　The door opened again, but this time no shaft of light showed. Bill had turned out the lampinside the room. Someone was with him - the King. Oh, good! thought Jack.
　　The sentries were coming back. Their feet could be clearly heard. Bill hurried the King across tothe hidden door, opened it and pushed him through. Ronnie followed, and then Jack.
　　Just in time! ‘Do you suppose they’ll see the door is unbolted?’ said Jack. ‘You didn’t have timeto bolt it.’
　　‘We’ll soon know!’ said Bill. ‘I’m afraid they will notice it - it’s their job to check up on that,I’m sure.’
　　Jack suddenly gave a little cry. ‘Kiki! Where is she? She was on my shoulder a minute ago, nowshe’s gone. I never felt her fly off in my excitement. Oh, Bill - she must be out there in the passagesomewhere.’
　　She was - and she was very much annoyed to find that Jack seemed to have disappeared. Wherewas he? She could hear the sentries coming nearer and nearer, and the sound of their clump-clump-clumping annoyed her.
　　She flew up to a jutting-out stone in the wall, and when the two men marched just below her,she hooted long and loud.
　　‘HOOOOOO! HOOO-HOOO-HOOO!’
　　The sound of marching feet stopped abruptly. One of the men said something quickly to theother in a frightened voice.
　　Kiki yapped like a dog and then snarled. It sounded most extraordinary in that dark, echoingpassage. The men looked all round. Where was the dog?
　　‘Mee-ow-ow-ow!’ wailed Kiki, like a hungry cat, and then went off into a cackle of laughter.
　　‘Wipe your feet, blow your nose, pop goes the weasel, pop-pop-pop!’
　　The men didn’t understand a word, of course, but that frightened them all the more. Theyclutched each other, feeling the hairs on their head beginning to prickle in fright.
　　Kiki coughed and cleared her throat in a remarkably human way. Why that should have put thetwo sentries into an absolute panic she couldn’t guess! But it certainly did, and, casting their riflesaway, they fled down the passage at top speed, howling out something in their own language.
　　Jack had heard all this, for he had opened the hidden door a little, feeling anxious about Kiki.
　　He listened to her performance with a grin. Good old Kiki! He called her softly and she flew downto his shoulder in delight.
　　Bill wondered what would be the best thing to do now. It would be dangerous to go back theway they had come, because the scared sentries would certainly arrive back with others to probeinto the mystery of the hooting and barking and mewing and coughing!
　　‘I wonder if the passage behind this hidden door leads anywhere except to the room you put theCount in,’ said Bill to Ronnie.
　　‘We’ll go and ask him,’ said Ronnie, cheerfully. ‘I’ll poke this in his ribs and see if he’ll talk.’
　　‘This’ was his revolver. Bill laughed.
　　‘You won’t need that. He’ll talk all right when he sees the King here. Your Majesty, perhapsyou would like to deal with the Count, and command him to show us the way out?’
　　The King could talk perfect English. Like Gussy, he had been sent to England to be educated.
　　He nodded, his eyes gleaming. It was obvious that he would certainly enjoy a few words with theCount!
　　They went to the cell-like room into which Ronnie had shoved the Count, locking him in, nicelytied up. Count Paritolen was on the floor, looking furious. When he saw the King he looked sothunderstruck that Bill laughed.
　　‘Undo his legs, Ronnie, but not his arms,’ said Bill. ‘He should stand up politely before theKing.’
　　The Count’s legs were untied and he stood up, his face very pale indeed. The King began toaddress him in vigorous Tauri-Hessian. The Count wilted - his head hung forward - and finally hefell on his knees, a picture of misery and fright. The King touched him contemptuously with hisfoot, and said a few more words. The Count got up again, and said, ‘Ai! Ai! Ai!’ eagerly, whichJack knew to mean ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’
　　‘He’s going to show us the way out,’ said Bill. ‘Good thing too. I seem to hear a tremendousnoise starting up somewhere in the distance. No doubt our friends the sentries have brought alltheir buddies along - and have discovered the unbolted door and the empty room. Tell the Countto get a move on, Ronnie.’
　　With his arms still tied behind him the Count stumbled out of the little bare room. He led themto a door opposite and kicked it open. A small stairway led downwards. ‘I’ll go first,’ said Ronnie,and nipped in front of the Count.
　　The steps led down to a little panelled room, rather like a small study. The Count said a fewwords, nodding his head at a panel. Ronnie stepped forward and slid the panel downwards. A holejust big enough for a man to squeeze through was now showing. Nothing could be seen the otherside because something was hanging over it.
　　‘Tapestry hangings,’ said Bill, and knocked his hand against it. ‘Well, well - nice lot of hidey-holes and secrets you’ve got here, Count. Very nice indeed. What do we do next? Get behind thistapestry?’
　　‘He says it’s tapestry hanging in one of the bedrooms,’ said Ronnie. ‘If we make our waybehind it a bit, we’ll come to an opening. Here goes!’
　　He went through the hole, and made his way behind endless tapestry that hung loose fromceiling to floor. At last he came to where, as the Count had said, there was an opening. It waswhere two different pieces of tapestry met. Ronnie poked his way between them and found himselfin a bedroom. He saw beautiful furniture and carpets as he flashed his torch round. The room wasquite empty.
　　The others came out into the room too, having made their way behind the tapestry. Jack sneezedbecause it was full of dust. Kiki promptly sneezed too, much to the Count’s amazement. He hadnot met Kiki before!
　　‘Now where?’ said Ronnie, digging his revolver into the Count’s ribs quite suddenly. The mangave a startled jump and almost fell over in fright.
　　‘I hardly think that poke in the ribs was necessary,’ said Bill, with a grin.
　　‘No, not necessary - but awfully good for a nasty little double-crosser like him!’ said Ronnie.
　　‘People who threaten others with this, that and the other when they are in power deserve a bit of afright from my gun. Now then, Count - the quickest and best way out, please!’
　　This last was said in Tauri-Hessian and the Count replied at once, his words tumbling over oneanother in his desire to please this fierce Englishman.
　　‘It’s easy now,’ said Ronnie. ‘We apparently go down the back stairs into the deserted kitchenquarters, and just let ourselves out of the back door. Nothing could be simpler!’
　　So down the back stairs they went, and into a vast kitchen. Three cats were there, their eyesgleaming in the light of Bill’s torch. Kiki yapped like a small dog, and the cats fled into corners atonce.
　　‘Kiki!’ said Jack, with a laugh. ‘You’re irrepressible!’
　　Kiki tried to repeat the word and couldn’t. Bill was now unlocking the great back door. They allwent out into a big yard. Then down to the castle gate, a massive wrought iron affair, whose keyshung most conveniently at the side. Bill unlocked the gate and out they went, finding themselvesin the main street of Borken.
　　‘Now - where is the place we left the van?’ wondered Bill. ‘Jack, could you take Ronnie to it?
　　Ronnie, we’ll wait here for you.’
　　Jack sped off with Ronnie. He had been in the town several times and knew the way. He andRonnie were soon in the field where they had left the van, and Ronnie started it up at once.
　　It was not long before the van drew up beside the other three in the dark highway. They got in.
　　Bill was behind with the Count and Jack. The King went in front with Ronnie. It was queer to sitin the back, with all kinds of goods rattling on the shelves. The Count, however, took no notice.
　　He was feeling extremely gloomy.
　　‘I say - where are we going? This isn’t the way back to the circus camp,’ said Jack, suddenly.
　　‘No, I know,’ said Bill. ‘I’m afraid we must go straight to the capital town of Tauri-Hessia, Jack- the King needs to be there at the earliest possible moment. Things are in a great turmoil, you see- nobody knows what is going to happen - no King - no Prince - the Count apparently trying totake things over - the Prime Minister a weak tool . . .’
　　‘Yes, I see,’ said Jack. ‘But as soon as the King appears, everything will be all right, won’t it?’
　　‘It will certainly be all right after he has appeared to his people and spoken to them,’ said Bill.
　　‘He will have quite a lot of interesting things to tell them! I think, too, it is essential that Gussyshould appear also - so that the people will be sure that he and his uncle are on good terms, andback each other up.’
　　‘Oh, Gussy will love that!’ said Jack. ‘Do we go back to get him?’
　　‘We do,’ said Bill. ‘And we also get the others. I’m sure the King will want to see Gussy’sfellow prisoners. He has a lot to hear about, you know.’
　　The King certainly wanted to meet all the others when he heard the amazing story that Bill hadto tell him. It was all told when they reached the Palace. Then, after a delighted and amazedwelcome from a few servants on duty, the King retired to a little room with Bill, Ronnie and Jack.
　　The Count was sent off in disgrace with four soldiers in front of him and four behind!
　　‘Left, right, left, right!’ shouted Kiki after him. ‘God save the King!’
　　It was still dark, for the sun was not due to rise for another hour. Jack suddenly yawned. Hereally couldn’t help it.
　　‘You’d better have a snooze,’ said Bill. ‘The King is sending his State Car to fetch the othersfirst thing in the morning. He will lend you some of Gussy’s clothes, he says, if you want to lookdecent. The others are being sent clothes too, especially, of course, Gussy He couldn’t possiblyappear in his girls’ things!’
　　‘This is going to be fun from now on,’ said Jack, trying to keep awake. ‘Oh, gosh, I’m sleepy.
　　What are you going to do, Bill? Have a sleep, too?’
　　‘No. I’m going to get in touch with your aunt by radio,’ said Bill, ‘and tell her you’re all safe.
　　I’ll get her to fly out tomorrow, and we’ll all be together again!’
　　Jack fell on to a sofa, feeling that he couldn’t keep awake one moment longer. ‘Good old Bill,’
　　he said.
　　‘Everything comes right when you’re here. Good morning - I mean good night!’
　　And in half a second more he was fast asleep. What a night he had had!
第29章 激动人心的时刻
　　第29章 激动人心的时刻
　　比尔终于打开了门，走了进去。在他开门的同时，一道光从房间里透了出来。罗尼迅速关上了门。杰克发现自己的心又悬到了嗓子眼。那些守卫——在他们回来之前，比尔能救出国王吗？
　　门再次打开了，但这次没有光线照出来。比尔把房间里的灯关掉了。有人和他站在一起——是国王。哦，太好了！杰克想。
　　守卫走回来了。可以清楚地听到他们的脚步声。比尔急忙带着国王冲到暗门旁，打开并将他推了进去。罗尼随即也钻了进去，然后是杰克。
　　时间刚刚好！“你们觉得他们会看到门没插上吗？”杰克说，“你刚才没来得及插上它。”
　　“我们很快就会知道了！”比尔说，“恐怕他们会注意到那个——毕竟检查门就是他们的工作，我敢肯定。”
　　杰克突然低低地叫了一声：“琪琪！她去哪儿了？刚才她还在我的肩上，现在不见了。
　　我太紧张了，都没注意到她飞起来了。噢，比尔，她肯定在走廊里的什么地方。”
　　确实是这样——琪琪非常恼火地发现杰克似乎消失了。他在哪里？她能听到守卫们越走越近，他们踢踏——踢踏的脚步声让她更加恼火了。
　　她飞到墙上一块凸起的石头上，当两个守卫从下方经过的时候，她发出了长长的、响亮的鸣叫声。
　　“唿！唿——唿——唿！”
　　巡逻兵的脚步瞬间停住了。其中一个用害怕的声音语速飞快地向另一个说了些什么。
　　琪琪像狗一样狂吠起来，然后又变成咆哮。在黑暗之中，这声响在走廊里回荡着，听起来格外诡异。两个守卫四处张望着。哪来的狗？
　　“喵——呜——呜——呜！”琪琪哀号着，就像一只饥饿的猫，很快，这哭号声又转变为一阵尖锐的怪笑声。
　　“擦干你的脚，擤擤你的鼻子，砰，去追黄鼠狼！砰——砰——砰！”
　　当然，两个守卫一个字也听不懂。但这让他们更害怕了。他们紧紧抓住对方，吓得头皮发麻。
　　琪琪开始咳嗽，用与人类极度相似的声音清了清嗓子。至于为什么这会让那两个人陷入绝对的恐慌，她可猜不到！不过事实就是如此。守卫们扔掉了步枪，开始一边没命地逃离这条走廊，一边用他们自己的语言乱吼着一些什么。
　　杰克听到了这一切，因为担忧琪琪，他已经打开了那扇暗门。他咧嘴笑着听完了她的表演。好样的老琪琪！他轻柔地呼唤着她，鹦鹉高兴地飞回他的肩膀上。
　　比尔思考着现在做什么才是最好的。如果原路返回将会非常危险，因为惊慌的守卫们肯定会带着其他人回来检查那些神秘的鸟鸣、猫叫、狗吠、咳嗽都是怎么回事。
　　“我在想暗门后的这条走廊，除了你关押伯爵的那个房间以外，是否还通往其他地方。”比尔对罗尼说。
　　“我们去问他。”罗尼积极地说，“我会用这个戳他的肋骨，看他是否愿意聊聊。”“这个”是他的左轮手枪。比尔笑了。
　　“你不需要用到那个。等他看到国王，他就会说的。陛下，或许您会愿意和伯爵交涉一下，命令他告诉我们离开的路？”
　　国王可以讲流利的英语。和古斯一样，他也曾经在英国接受过教育。他点点头，眼睛里闪着光。很显然，他非常乐意去好好地跟伯爵聊几句！
　　他们去了那个小囚室一样的房间，捆得结结实实的帕瑞托兰伯爵被塞在里边，外边还上了锁。他坐在地上，看起来简直已经恼羞成怒了。当国王出现时，他大吃一惊的样子让比尔笑了起来。
　　“松开他的腿，罗尼，但别解开胳膊。”比尔说，“在国王面前，他应该有礼貌地站起来。”
　　伯爵的腿被解开了，他站了起来，脸色苍白。国王用特瑞赫西亚语对他有力地说了一段话。伯爵的神色变得萎靡不振——他的头垂下了——最后跪倒在地上，显得又悲惨又害怕。国王轻蔑地用脚踢了踢他，又说了几句。伯爵重新站起来，急切地应道：“Ai!Ai!
　　Ai!”杰克知道他的意思是说：“好的！好的！好的！”
　　“他会告诉我们离开的路，”比尔说，“这就太好了。我听到外边似乎嘈杂起来了，非常吵闹。毫无疑问，我们的守卫朋友们已经把所有的人都召集起来了——还发现了没锁的门和空荡荡的房间。罗尼，告诉伯爵现在就走。”
　　双手仍被反剪地绑在背后的伯爵磕磕绊绊地走出了那个光秃秃的小房间。他将众人领到相反方向的一扇门前，一脚踢开。里边是一段向下的楼梯。“我先走。”罗尼说着，挤到伯爵前边。
　　这些台阶通往一个装有镶板的小房间，看起来很像一个小书房。伯爵说了几句话，对着一块镶板点点头。罗尼走上前去，将镶板向下滑去。现在墙上露出了一个足够成年男人钻过去的大洞。无法看到另一边的景象，因为有什么东西正挡在洞的前边。
　　“挂幔，”比尔用手敲了敲，说道，“啧，啧——伯爵啊，你在这里搞的这些暗洞和秘密通道还真是不错。非常不错。现在我们该怎么做？到挂幔后边去吗？”
　　“他说这是那些卧室中某一间里的挂幔。”罗尼说，“如果我们从它后边走过去一点，就能找到一个开口。走吧！”
　　他钻出洞口，在挂幔内侧向前挪动。挂幔非常巨大，从天花板一直垂到地面，长长的就像是没有尽头。最终，就像伯爵说的那样，他走到一个有开口的地方。实际上，这是两块挂幔的交界处。罗尼从它们之间探出头去，发现自己是在一间卧室里。他用手电筒照了照，看到了漂亮的家具和地毯。房间里空荡荡的。
　　其他人也钻了出来，在挂幔里侧向前走。杰克打了个喷嚏，因为这里布满了灰尘。琪琪也立刻打了一个，这让伯爵吃了一惊。他之前并没见过琪琪这样。
　　“现在去哪？”罗尼问道，突然将左轮手枪戳上伯爵的肋骨。后者吓了一跳，身子一软，差点瘫倒在地上。
　　“我几乎要认为戳戳肋骨是必要的了。”比尔咧嘴笑了起来。
　　“不，不是必要的。但是对于他这样可恶的小叛徒来说刚好！”罗尼说，“像这种在掌权时特别喜欢威胁别人这个那个的人，值得体验一下我的枪带来的恐惧。现在，伯爵——请说一下从这里出去最便捷的路线吧！”
　　这最后一句是用特瑞赫西亚语说的，伯爵立刻就回答了。他连珠炮似的快速吐露着他知道的一切，只希望能因此稍微讨好一下这个凶狠的英国人。
　　“现在很容易了，”罗尼说，“我们只要从后楼梯下到无人的厨房里，再从后门离开就好。没什么能比这更简单的了！”
　　于是，他们沿着后楼梯走了下去，进入了一个巨大的厨房。那里有三只猫，眼睛在比尔的手电光的照射下闪着光。琪琪像小狗一样尖厉地吠叫起来，猫立刻逃窜到了角落里。
　　“琪琪！”杰克笑着说，“你真是没法压抑自己啊！”
　　琪琪试图重复男孩的最后一个词，但失败了。比尔打开了结实的后门，所有的人都进入了一个大院子。很快，他们就来到了城堡的大门——一扇巨大的有着铸铁装饰的门。钥匙就挂在一边，毫无困难。比尔打开门，他们走了出去，发现自己正身处博肯的主干道上。
　　“等等——我们停车的地方是哪里来着？”比尔问道，“杰克，你能带罗尼去把它开过来吗？罗尼，我们在这里等你们。”
　　杰克带着罗尼赶了过去。他曾经来过镇里几次，所以知道路。他们很快就到了停着货车的野地，罗尼随即发动了车。
　　没过多久，小货车就在黑暗的夜色里沿着主干道开到了三人身旁。他们全都上了车。
　　比尔和杰克还有伯爵一起进入了车的货厢，国王则与罗尼坐在驾驶室。坐在货厢里并不舒服，所有的货物都在架子上咔嗒作响。但伯爵对这些毫不在意，只是沉浸在极度的沮丧之中。
　　“我说——我们这是要去哪儿？这不是回马戏团营地的路。”杰克突然说。
　　“是的，我知道。”比尔说，“恐怕我们必须得直接开去特瑞赫西亚的首都了，杰克——国王得以最快的速度出现在那里。现在所有的事情都是一团乱麻，你看——没人知道接下来会发生什么——没有国王——没有王子——伯爵显然试图接管事务——首相是个没什么用的……”
　　“是的，我明白了，”杰克说，“但只要国王出现了，一切就都会好起来了，对吧？”
　　“等他在民众前公开露面并发表讲话之后，一切都会好转的，”比尔说，“他会有许多有意思的事情告诉他们。我还觉得，古斯也应当露面——这样人们才能确定他和他叔叔是同一边的，他们相互支持。”
　　“喔，古斯会喜欢那个的！”杰克说，“我们要回去接他吗？”
　　“我们会的，”比尔说，“也得接其他人。我可以肯定国王会希望见到陪着古斯关在一起的囚犯们的。你知道的，他有太多故事可以听了。”
　　当他们到达宫殿的时候，国王已经听比尔将这个不可思议的故事讲了一遍，他确实非常希望见一见其他人。几个值班的仆人看见国王，惊喜交加，连忙出来迎接。国王与比尔、罗尼和杰克一起去了一个小房间休息。而伯爵则被八个守卫——四个在前，四个在后——屈辱地押走了。
　　“左，右，左，右！”琪琪喊道，“天佑吾王！”
　　天色仍然是黑的，还要再过一小时太阳才会升起来。杰克突然打了个哈欠，他真的忍不住了。
　　“你最好还是眯一会儿，”比尔说，“国王正在派他的国宾车出发去接其他人，以便他们在早上就能到达这里。他说，如果你想让自己看起来更得体一些，他可以借你一些古斯的衣服。其他人也会拿到衣服，当然，尤其是古斯。他可不能穿着那些女孩的衣服露面！”
　　“事情从现在开始变得有趣起来了，”杰克说着，仍旧试图保持着清醒，“噢，天哪，我真的很困。接下来你要做什么，比尔？不如也睡一觉？”
　　“不。我会用无线电和你阿姨联系，”比尔说，“告诉她你们都安全了。我会让她明天就飞过来，这样我们就能重新聚在一起了！”
　　杰克倒在沙发上，觉得自己已经没办法继续保持哪怕片刻的清醒了，“好的，老比尔，”他说，“只要你在这儿，一切就都会回归正轨。早安——我是说晚——安！”
　　没过一秒他就沉沉地睡着了。他刚刚度过了怎样的一个夜晚啊！
30 ‘God save the King!’
　　30
　　‘God save the King!’
　　Jack awoke to find a pretty Tauri- Hessian maid bringing him a most magnificent breakfast.
　　Somebody had undressed him, put silk pyjamas on him and popped him into a luxurious bed. Hewas amazed.
　　‘To think they did all that and I never woke up!’ he thought. ‘I must have been tired! Gosh -what a breakfast! Kiki, look here - the biggest, juiciest grapefruit I ever did see in my life - andtwo halves, not one. You can have one for yourself if you don’t make too much mess.’
　　Kiki approved of the grapefruit. She settled down to it, and for once in a way didn’t say a word.
　　Jack ate every scrap of the generous breakfast, and then lay back, thinking over the happenings ofthe night before.
　　‘I bet the Count isn’t eating a breakfast like this,’ he told Kiki. ‘What do you think?’
　　‘The doctor’s got a cold, fetch the King,’ said Kiki, looking to see if Jack had left any of hisgrapefruit. ‘One, two, how-do-you-do?’
　　‘Buckle my shoe, you mean,’ said Jack. ‘I say - look! Do you suppose those princely clothesare for me to put on, Kiki, old bird? Goodness, the Tauri-Hessians won’t know if I’m the Prince,or Gussy.’
　　Bill came in, looking much smartened up. ‘Oh, you’re awake at last,’ he said. ‘My word, youdon’t mean to say you ate all that breakfast!’
　　‘Kiki helped me,’ said Jack, with a grin. ‘Have the others been sent for yet, Bill?’
　　‘Yes. I’d like to see their faces when the King’s State Car rolls up, complete with clothes forthem all,’ said Bill. ‘The King’s a great sport. He’s asked Pedro, Toni, Bingo and old Ma too - andsent clothes for them all!’
　　‘Goodness!’ said Jack. ‘Old Ma! She’ll have the time of her life. But if it hadn’t been for herlooking after Gussy he’d certainly have been caught. I say - this is going to be quite a party, isn’tit?’
　　‘Oh, quite,’ said Bill. ‘And your aunt is arriving today too!’
　　‘It’s just like a pantomime ending!’ said Jack, delighted. ‘Everyone on the stage at the end!’
　　‘You’d better get up,’ said Bill. ‘The King is making his speech to the people at twelve o’clock,and it’s now eleven. After that there is to be a really splendid luncheon laid on - and you’ll besorry you ate so much breakfast, I can tell you!’
　　Jack leapt out of bed. ‘Is it really eleven o’clock? Gosh, I’ll never be ready. I don’t know howto put all these clothes on - buckles - sashes - ruffles - good gracious, is it royal dress?’
　　‘No. Ordinary Tauri-Hessian festival wear,’ said Bill. ‘I don’t feel able to cope with it myself,nor does Ronnie. We feel a bit more at ease in our own things, but you and the others will lookfine.’
　　Jack was ready at a quarter to twelve. He looked at himself in the glass. ‘Gracious - I’m like atheatrical prince. I really must have my photograph taken to show the boys at school - they’ll beamazed!’
　　There came the sound of cheering in the street below. Jack opened his window and looked out.
　　A very grand State Car was being driven slowly up the street, followed by yet another. The peoplewere cheering each one as it went by.
　　Jack nearly fell out of the window, and Kiki gave a loud screech. ‘Look, Kiki - do you seewho’s in the first car?’ cried Jack. ‘Lucy-Ann, Philip, Gussy and Dinah! Did you ever see anyonelooking so grand? And look in the second car - Pedro - Ma - Toni and Bingo! They look as fineas if they were just going to perform in the circus ring!’
　　So they did. Ma, especially, looked magnificent, and she had a sudden unexpected dignity thatmade Pedro look at her with surprise and great pride. His mother! Old Ma, riding in a State Car,wearing silk clothes right down to her skin! Pedro couldn’t believe it.
　　He looked very grand himself, and enjoyed it. He knew that nothing like this would ever happento him again in his life and he meant to enjoy every moment of it.
　　Toni and Bingo looked grand but subdued. They were not in the least nervous when they wentinto the circus ring - but they couldn’t help feeling nervous now - all this cheering and shoutingwhen they weren’t even performing!
　　The cars turned in at the gates, and Jack leaned out of the window and yelled, quite forgettingthat he was in a King’s palace.
　　‘Lucy-Ann! I’m up here!’
　　Kiki squawked too. ‘Hip-hip-hip-hip-hurrah! Send for the doctor!’
　　Twelve o’clock came. The King went out on the balcony of his palace to show himself to hispeople and to make a speech to explain all that had happened. There was dead silence as the loud-speakers relayed the simple, vigorous speech.
　　Bill thought that Tauri- Hessia had a very fine King. He was glad that the Count had notdethroned him and put Gussy up as King himself. Gussy was just a timid little boy at present - butperhaps, when he had learnt all that his good school had to teach him, at lessons and at games, hewould make as fine a King as his uncle.
　　Gussy had a tremendous reception when his uncle called him to his side, and presented him tothe people. After all the scares of the last few days, they needed to see not only the King but thelittle Prince too.
　　Gussy looked every inch a Prince, as he saluted stiffly, and then bowed in every direction. Hewore magnificent clothes, and his cloak blew out in the wind, showing its scarlet lining. Jackgrinned as he thought how Gussy had looked when he had seen him last - dressed as a girl, withhis long hair tied up in bows. Poor Gussy! Nobody must ever learn of that, or he would be teasedabout it for the rest of his life - and Gussy did not like teasing.
　　The next thing was the luncheon. The children had all been put at a table together, with Gussyand Pedro as well. Ma, Toni and Bingo were at a side table too, very conscious of their fineclothes. They used fine manners to match, and ate everything with knives, forks or spoons, insteadof using only their fingers half the time as they usually did.
　　The six children talked eagerly together, exchanging news. ‘Fank is up and about again,’ saidPhilip. ‘Thank goodness he is, or I couldn’t have come. Hallo, Snoozy, do you want to join us atlast? He’s seen those almonds, Dinah - do look at him, holding one and nibbling it!’
　　‘I don’t like him on the table,’ said Dinah, but she was much too happy to make a fuss. She toldJack of the excitement when the message came that they were all to dress in State clothes and bedriven to the Palace. ‘We just couldn’t believe it!’ she said. ‘Tell us again about last night, Jack,and how you rescued the King and caught the Count.’
　　Gussy was tremendously excited. His eyes sparkled, and he talked nineteen to the dozen. He feltin his element now - he was a Prince, the heir to the throne, Prince Aloysius Gramondie - not atimid little boy with a lot of long hair!
　　‘Here’s Aunt Allie!’ cried Lucy-Ann, suddenly. She threw down her table-napkin and flewacross the luncheon room, thinking of nothing but welcoming the person she loved so much. ‘AuntAllie! You’ve come!’
　　Mrs Cunningham was being ushered into the great room by two servants, who called out hername. Bill went to her at once, and Dinah, Philip and Jack joined Lucy-Ann in her rush across theroom. This was all that was needed to make things perfect!
　　Bill’s eyes were shining as he took his wife to introduce her to the King. A place had been leftfor her on his other side, for her aeroplane had been expected for the last half hour. She was quitebewildered by everything, for she knew only half the story, of course.
　　Gussy waited till the others had made enough fuss of her and then went up himself. She held outher hand to him, and he bowed over it, and kissed it politely, just as his uncle had done. Somehowit seemed right in Tauri-Hessia - quite a natural thing to do, and none of the children even thoughtof laughing.
　　After the grand lunch the children went to see over the Palace. ‘My word - you’re lucky to beable to spend the rest of your hols here, Gussy,’ said Jack. ‘It’s a wonderful place. Not that I’d liketo live here, of course - but to stay for a few weeks as you’ll be able to do - you’re jolly lucky!’
　　‘We shall miss you, Gussy,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I suppose we’ll be leaving tomorrow, or sometimesoon. I’m quite sorry this adventure is over.’
　　‘But it isn’t,’ said Gussy, his face beaming all over. ‘It isn’t! I have asked my uncle to let mehave you here as my guests. You will stay? Or do you not like me well enough? You have so oftentizzed me - like when my finger blidded.’
　　‘Oh, Gussy - it doesn’t mean we don’t like people when we tease them!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Doyou really mean that your uncle wants us to stay? All of us? I don’t want to stay without Bill andAunt Allie.’
　　‘All of you,’ said Gussy, beaming again. ‘Kiki and Snoozy too. But not Pedro and the othersbecause they must go with the circus, they say. Then you will stay with me till we go back toschool togezzer?’
　　‘We’d love to,’ said Jack. ‘I could do with a couple of weeks in a Palace. I’ll take some picturesback to show the boys. They’ll think I’m telling them fairy-tales if I don’t!’
　　Pedro, Ma, Toni and Bingo said goodbye to the five children that evening. They were stillwearing their splendid clothes. ‘We’ve been told we can keep them,’ said Pedro, grinning. ‘I shallfancy myself when I go into the ring to help Toni and Bingo set up their wires now - the Great andOnly Pedro the Magnificent.’
　　He bowed himself almost to the ground. Ma gave him a resounding slap. ‘Ha! You will peelpotatoes for your old ma tonight!’ she said, and laughed loudly. Kiki imitated her and made herlaugh all the more.
　　The children were sorry when the circus folk had gone. They had been such good friends. ‘Ihope we’ll see them sometime again,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I liked them all.’
　　‘You will now come to my uncle and tell him you will stay, plizz?’ begged Gussy, who seemedto think they might change their minds. ‘And I have to ask him something. You must help me withit.’
　　He dragged them off to his uncle’s room. They all bowed politely. ‘Well, Aloysius,’ said theKing, looking amused. ‘Have you persuaded your friends to put up with you and stay for the restof the holidays?’
　　‘They will stay,’ said Gussy. ‘And, sir, I have something else to beg of you - BEG of you, sir.
　　These boys, they will tell you it is very, very important. You will grant it to me, sir?’
　　‘I might, as I feel quite pleased with you at the moment,’ said his uncle, smiling. ‘But tell mewhat it is first.’
　　‘It is my hair,’ said Gussy. ‘I want it short - snip snip - like Philip’s and Jack’s. I will not looklike a girl, I WILL NOT .’
　　‘You’re not supposed to wear it short, Aloysius,’ said his uncle, ‘but I know how you feel. I feltthe same when I was a Prince and went to school in England. Very well - you shall have it cutshort!’
　　Gussy’s face was a study. Nothing in the world could have pleased him more. ‘I go tomorrow,’
　　he said. ‘I go tomorrow at seven o’clock in the morning. Ha - it will be so short that never will aribbon sit on it again!’
　　‘Thank you for asking us to stay, Your Majesty,’ said Jack, speaking for all the others. ‘Weshall love it, and it’s nice of Gussy to want us.’
　　‘Fussy-Gussy!’ cried Kiki, saying quite the wrong thing.
　　‘Fussy-Gussy! Your Majesty! Majesty, Majesty! Send for the doctor. Blow your nose.’
　　‘Kiki!’ said Jack, shocked.
　　Kiki looked at the King. She raised her crest to its fullest height, and gave a little bow. ‘YourMajesty!’ she said. ‘God save the King!’
第30章 “天佑吾王！”
　　第30章 “天佑吾王！”
　　杰克醒来后，一个漂亮的特瑞赫西亚女仆为他送来了内容极其丰富的早餐。在他熟睡时，有人已经帮他脱掉了衣服，换上了真丝睡衣并将他移到了一张豪华的大床上。他有些吃惊。
　　“想想看，他们做了这么多事，而我居然没醒！”他想着。“我一定是太累了！天哪——好丰盛的早餐！琪琪，来看——这是我这辈子见过的最大最多汁的葡萄了——而且是两串。只要你不弄得到处都是，我就让你拿走一串。”
　　琪琪很喜欢葡萄。她专心致志地吃着，有那么一会儿甚至没说一个字。杰克将这顿慷慨的早餐里的每一样食物都一扫而光，然后重新躺下，回忆着昨晚发生的那些事。
　　“我敢打赌伯爵吃的早餐可不会像这样，”他对琪琪说，“你怎么看？”
　　“医生感冒了，去找国王来。”琪琪说着，探着脑袋察看杰克是否有剩下任何的葡萄，“一，二，你——好？”
　　“系好我的鞋带，你的意思是——”杰克说，“我说——看！你觉得那些王子的衣服是给我穿的吗，琪琪，我的老伙计？老天，究竟王子是我还是古斯，特瑞赫西亚人会分不清的。”
　　这时，比尔走了进来，他看起来神采奕奕。“哦，你终于醒了，”他说，“哎哟，可别告诉我说你把那份早餐全都吃光了！”
　　“琪琪分了一些，”杰克咧嘴笑道，“已经派人去接其他人了吗，比尔？”
　　“是的。想想国王的国宾车出现，带着那些给他们的衣服，我还挺期待看到他们的脸色的。”比尔说，“国王非常周到。他还问了关于佩德罗、托尼、宾果和老玛的情况——然后选了衣服一起送过去。”
　　“天哪！”杰克说，“老玛！这会成为她整个人生里最荣光的时刻！不过如果没有她照顾古斯，古斯肯定会被抓住的。我说——这会成为一个大聚会，不是吗？”
　　“噢，非常大的聚会，”比尔说，“你阿姨今天也会到。”
　　“这就像是一部哑剧的结局！”杰克高兴地说，“最后所有的人都站上了舞台！”
　　“你最好现在起床，”比尔说，“十二点的时候，国王会对民众发表公开讲话，而现在已经十一点了。之后，将会有一场超级丰盛的午餐——我可以告诉你，你肯定会后悔早餐吃这么多的！”
　　杰克从床上跳了起来：“真的已经十一点了吗？天哪，我来不及准备了。我不知道怎么穿这一大堆东西——这些搭扣——腰带——褶边——我服了，这是化装舞会的衣服吗？”
　　“不，只是特瑞赫西亚普通的节日服饰而已，”比尔说，“我不觉得它特别适合我，罗尼也是。我们会穿一些英国的我们自己的衣服，不过你和其他人穿这些衣服应该会很不错。”
　　车转进大门，杰克从窗口俯身大喊，完全忘记了自己还在国王的宫殿里。
　　“露西——安！我在上边！”
　　离十二点还差一刻钟，杰克终于准备好了。他从镜子里看了看自己：“老天——我看起来就像个哑剧里的王子。我必须拍两张照片，带去学校给其他男生看看——他们会笑翻的！”
　　下边的街道传来了欢呼声。杰克打开窗户向外望去，一辆非常大的国宾车正缓缓行驶在大街上，后边还跟着一辆。每一辆车经过的时候，人们都爆发出巨大的欢呼。
　　杰克用力将身子探出窗外，几乎要掉下去了。琪琪发出了一声高亢的尖叫。“看哪，琪琪——你看到第一辆车里坐的是谁了吗！”杰克大喊着，“露西安、菲利普、古斯和黛娜！
　　你以前看过他们谁穿得这么隆重吗？看第二辆车——佩德罗——玛——托尼和宾果！他们看起来精神真不错，就像马上要在马戏团表演里登场一样！”
　　他们都换了衣服。特别是玛，看起来非常华丽。出人意料的是，她突然显得非常端庄和高贵，这让佩德罗非常吃惊和自豪地看着她。他的妈妈！老玛，坐在王室的国宾车里，从里到外都穿着真丝衣服！佩德罗简直不敢相信。
　　实际上他自己看起来也同样华丽。佩德罗很享受穿成这样。他知道自己这辈子或许再也不会有这样的事情发生，所以打算好好享受现在的每一刻。
　　托尼和宾果虽然也穿得正式又隆重，但是并没有因此喜形于色。他们在马戏团表演里登场的时候从没有过丝毫紧张——然而现在他们却感到了紧张——因为所有的这些欢呼和叫喊，他们甚至都没有演出什么。
　　车转进大门，杰克从窗口俯身大喊，完全忘记了自己还在国王的宫殿里。
　　“露西——安！我在上边！”
　　琪琪也咯咯大叫起来：“嘿哟——嘿哟——嘿哟——嘿哟——好哇！去请医生来！”
　　十二点到了。国王出现在王宫的阳台上，亲自面对他的人民，开始发表讲话来解释之前发生的一切。当传话员高声复述国王那简短有力的演讲时，人群陷入一片死寂。
　　比尔认为特瑞赫西亚拥有一位出色的国王。他很高兴伯爵废除他并且让古斯取而代之的阴谋没有得逞。现在古斯还只是一个天真的小男孩——或许，当他完成在英国的学业之后，从课堂上和游戏里学习了一切应当学习的东西之后，他会成为一位和他叔叔同样优秀的国王。
　　当他的叔叔把他叫到身边，并介绍给民众时，古斯受到了极为热烈的欢呼。经历过之前几天的所有恐慌，他们需要看到的不仅仅是国王，还有小王子。
　　古斯现在完全是个王子的模样。他有些拘谨地接受着欢呼，然后向各个方向鞠躬。他身上的服饰十分华贵，斗篷被风扬起，露出大红的内衬。当回忆起上次见面时古斯的样子时，杰克忍不住窃笑起来——那时他还穿得像个女孩，头发被编成了辫子。可怜的古斯！
　　不会有更多的人知道那件事了，否则他余生都会一直被嘲笑的——古斯可不喜欢被嘲笑。
　　接下来是午餐会。孩子们都被安置在一张桌子边，还有古斯和佩德罗。玛、托尼和宾果则坐在旁边的一张桌子，他们尽可能地让自己的举止得体，符合礼仪，以配得上这身华贵的服饰。他们用刀叉和勺子吃着每一样东西，而不是像以往那样有一半时间都是直接用手抓着吃。
　　六个孩子热闹地聊着天，交换着消息。“范克差不多好了，”菲利普说，“真是谢天谢地，不然的话我都来不了了。嗨，斯诺兹，你也想加入我们吗？它看到那些杏仁了，黛娜——快看，它捧着一粒在啃！”
　　“我可不喜欢它上桌子。”黛娜说。不过她太高兴了，并不想小题大做。她告诉杰克当消息传来，通知他们全都要穿着正式地乘坐国宾车前往王宫时，那一刻是多么令人兴奋。“我们简直不敢相信！”她说，“再给我们讲一遍昨晚的事吧，杰克，说说你们是如何救出国王、抓住伯爵的。”
　　古斯激动极了。他的眼睛闪着光，滔滔不绝地说个不停。他终于对自己的身份有了切实的感受——他是王子，王位继承人，阿洛伊修斯•格兰蒙迪王子——而不是一个头发过长、只会哭哭啼啼的傻乎乎的小孩！
　　“艾莉阿姨！”露西安突然大叫起来。她扯下餐巾，起身冲过整个餐厅，满脑子只想着去迎接她深爱的那个人：“艾莉阿姨！您来了！”
　　两名仆人高唱出她的名字，坎宁安夫人随即被领着进入了这个大房间。比尔马上起身向她走去，黛娜、菲利普和杰克则和露西安一样飞奔了过去。现在一切都变得完美圆满了！
　　将自己的妻子介绍给国王时，比尔的双眼闪闪发亮。他旁边已经留了一个位子，因为之前预计过她的飞机会在半小时内到达。坎宁安夫人被这一切弄得有些糊涂了，当然，这是因为她只知道一半的故事。
　　古斯等到其他所有的人对着坎宁安夫人撒完娇之后，他才站起来走了过去。坎宁安夫人向他伸出手，他弯下腰，有礼地亲吻了一下手背，就像他叔叔做的一样。不知怎么，这件事在特瑞赫西亚这里显得如此合理——非常自然，甚至没有一个孩子想到要对它发笑。
　　午餐后，孩子们参观了王宫。“我得说——能在这里度过剩余的假期，你还挺幸运的，古斯。”杰克说，“这是个非常棒的地方。虽然并不意味着我想住在这儿，当然——但是如果能待上几个星期也很好——你可真是太幸运了！”
　　“我们会想你的，古斯，”露西安说，“我估计明天我们就得离开了，或者不久后的什么时候。真遗憾，这次冒险结束了。”
　　“并不是。”古斯喜气洋洋地说道，“还没有！我已经拜托叔叔允许你们作为我的客人留在这里。你们会留下吧？还是你们仍不太喜欢我？之前你们总是抓（捉）弄我——就像我的手指出洗（血）的时候。”
　　“噢，古斯——当我们捉弄人时，并不意味着不喜欢对方！”露西安说，“你真的觉得你叔叔希望我们留下吗？我们所有人？我不想离开比尔和艾莉阿姨。”
　　“是你们所有人。”古斯重复了一遍，脸上再次洋溢起光彩，“包括琪琪和斯诺兹。不过不包括佩德罗和其他人，因为他们说自己必须跟马戏团离开了。你们会跟我待在一起，直到开学吗？”
　　“我们很乐意。”杰克说，“我能在这座王宫里待上好几个星期。然后我要带些照片回去给同学看。不然的话，他们一定会觉得我是在瞎编童话故事！”
　　当天晚上，佩德罗、玛、托尼和宾果告别了五个孩子。他们仍穿着那身华贵的衣服。“我们被允许保留它们，”佩德罗笑着说，“下次进场帮托尼和宾果架设钢索的时候，我会幻想一下——了不起的、高贵伟大的、独一无二的佩德罗。”
　　他差点跪到地上，因为玛用力拍了他一巴掌。“哈！今晚等着帮你的老玛削土豆皮吧！”她说着，大声地笑了起来。琪琪模仿了她，让她笑得更厉害了。
　　马戏团的众人走了之后，孩子们都觉得有些遗憾。他们已经变成了那样好的朋友。“我希望将来什么时候能和他们再见面。”露西安说，“我喜欢他们所有人。”
　　“你们现在就去和我叔叔说你们留下吧，拜托了？”古斯恳求道，生怕他们会改变主意似的，“我还要请求他一件事。你们必须帮帮我。”
　　他将众人拖到他叔叔的房间里去。所有人都礼貌地鞠躬致意。“怎么，阿洛伊修斯，”国王说，看起来仿佛被逗笑了，“你有没有说服你的朋友们在剩余的假期里留下来陪你？”
　　“他们会留下来的。”古斯说，“然后，陛下，还有一件事我想请求您——恳求您，陛下。这些男孩，他们会告诉你那件事的重要性。非常非常重要。您会答应我吗，陛下？”
　　“我大概会。因为我现在对你很满意。”他的叔叔微笑着说，“不过先告诉我那是什么事。”
　　“是关于我的头发，”古斯说，“我想把它剪短——咔嚓，咔嚓——就像菲利普和杰克的那样。我不想让自己看起来像个女孩。我不想！”
　　“你不应当剪短它，阿洛伊修斯，”他的叔叔说，“但是我明白你的感受。当我还是王子，在英国上学的时候，我也有同感。好吧——你可以把它剪短！”
　　古斯的脸亮了起来。世界上没有什么事能比这更让他高兴的了。“我明天就去，”他说，“我明早七点就去。哈——它会短到没法再在上边绑任何的丝带！”
　　“谢谢您邀请我们留下，尊敬的陛下。”杰克代表其他人开口道，“我们会过得很开心的。很高兴，古斯想要我们留下。”
　　“费事——古斯！”琪琪不合时宜地叫了起来，“费事——古斯！尊敬的陛下！陛下，陛下！去请医生来，擤擤你的鼻子！”
　　“琪琪！”杰克震惊地喊道。
　　琪琪看向国王，高高地昂起冠羽，小小地鞠了一躬。“尊敬的陛下！”她说，“天佑吾王！”