Chapter 1 GEORGE IS RATHER DIFFICULT
Chapter 1 GEORGE IS RATHER DIFFICULT
'Mother! Mother, where are you?' shouted George, rushing into the house. 'Mother, quick!'
There was no answer. George's mother was out in the garden at the back of Kirrin Cottage, pickingflowers. George yelled again, this time at the top of her very strong voice.
'MOTHER! MOTHER! Where are you? IT'S URGENT.'
A door was flung open nearby and George's father stood there, glaring at her.
'George! What's this row about? Here am I in the middle of some very difficult...'
'Oh Father! Timmy's hurt!' said George. 'He went...'
Her father looked down at Timmy, standing meekly behind George. He gave a little snort.
'Hurt! He seems all right to me. I suppose he's got a thorn in his paw again - and you think it's the endof the world or something, and come yelling in here and...'
'Timmy is hurt!' said George, with tears in her voice. 'Look!'
But her father had gone back into his study again, and the door slammed. George glared at it, lookingexactly like her hot-tempered father.
'You're unkind!' she shouted, 'and ... oh there's Mother. Mother!'.
'Dear me, George, whatever is the matter?' said her mother, putting down the flowers. 'I heard yourfather shouting, and then you.'
'Mother - Timmy's hurt!' said George. 'Look!'
She knelt down by the dog, and gently pulled forward one ear. Behind it was a big cut. Timmywhined. Tears came into George's eyes, and she looked up at her mother.
'Now don't be silly, George,' said Mrs. Kirrin. 'It's only a cut. How did he do it?'
'He tried to jump over a ditch, and he didn't see some old barbed wire there,' said George. 'And arusty piece caught his ear, and ripped that awful cut. I can't stop it bleeding.'
Her mother looked at it. It certainly was quite deep. 'Take him to the vet, George,' she said.
'Perhaps it ought to be stitched. It does look rather deep. Poor old Timmy-boy - well, it's a good thingit wasn't his eye, George.'
'I'll take him to the vet at once,' said George, getting up. 'Will he be in, Mother?'
'Oh yes - it's his surgery hour,' said her mother. 'Take him along now.'
2So Timmy was hurried along the country lanes to the pretty little house where the vet lived.
George, very anxious indeed, was most relieved to see that the vet seemed quite unconcerned.
'A couple of stitches and that cut will heal well,' he said. 'Hold him, will you, while I do the job?
He'll hardly feel it. There, old boy - stand still - that's right.'
In five minutes' time George was thanking the vet wholeheartedly. 'Thank you! I was worried!
Will he be all right now?'
'Good gracious, yes - but you mustn't let him scratch that wound,' said the vet, washing his hands. 'Ifhe does, it may go wrong.'
'Oh. But how can I stop him?' asked George anxiously. 'Look - he's trying to scratch it now.'
'Well, you must make him a big cardboard collar,' said the vet. 'One that sticks out right round hisneck, so that his paw can't get near that cut, however much he tries to reach it.'
'But - but Timmy won't like that a bit,' said George. 'Dogs look silly wearing cardboard collars likegreat ruffs round their neck. I've seen them. He'll hate one.'
'Well, it's the only way of stopping him from scratching that wound,' said the vet. 'Get along now,George - I've more patients waiting.'
George went home with Timmy. He padded along quietly, pleased at the fuss that George wasmaking of him. When he was nearly home, he suddenly sat down and put up his hind leg to scratchhis bad ear.
'No, Timmy! NO!' cried George, in alarm. 'You must NOT scratch. You'll get the plaster off in notime, and break the stitches. NO, Timmy!'
Timmy looked up in surprise. Very well. If scratching was suddenly upsetting George, he would waittill he was alone.
But George could read Timmy's thoughts as easily as he could read hers! She frowned.
'Blow! I'll have to make him that cardboard collar. Perhaps Mother will help me.'
Her mother was quite willing to help. George was not good at things of that sort, and she watched hermother cutting out a big cardboard collar, fitting it round the surprised Timmy's head, and then lacingthe edges together with thread so that he could not get it off. Timmy was most surprised, but he stoodvery patiently.
As soon as the collar was finished, and safely round his neck, he walked away. Then he raised hishind leg to scratch at his smarting ear - but, of course, he couldn't get it over the collar, and merelyscratched the cardboard.
3'Never mind, Timmy,' said George. 'It will only be for a few days.'
The study door nearby opened and her father came out. He saw Timmy in his collar and stopped insurprise. Then he roared with laughter.
'Hey, Timmy - you look like Queen Elizabeth the First in a fine big ruff!' he said.
'Don't laugh at him, Father,' said George. 'You know that dogs can't bear being laughed at.'
Timmy certainly looked offended. He turned his back on George's father and stalked off to thekitchen. A little squeal of laughter came from there and then a loud guffaw from someone at thekitchen door - the milkman.
'Oh Timmy - whatever have you got that collar on for?' said the cook's voice. 'You do look peculiar!'
George was angry. She remained angry all that day and made everyone most uncomfortable.
How mean of people to jeer at poor Timmy! Didn't they realize how terribly uncomfortable a collarlike that was - and Timmy had to wear it night and day! He couldn't even lie down comfortably.
George mooned about looking so angry and miserable that her mother felt worried.
'George dear - don't be silly about this. You will make your father cross. Timmy will have to wearthat collar for at least a week, you know - and he does look a bit comical when you first see him. He'sgetting used to it, he soon won't notice it.'
'Everybody laughs at him,' said George, in an angry voice. 'He went into the garden and a lot of kidshung over the wall and laughed like anything. And the postman told me it was cruel. And Fatherthinks it's funny. And...'
'Oh dear, George, don't get into one of your moods,' said her mother. 'Remember, Anne is comingsoon. She won't enjoy things much if you behave like this.'
George bore it for one day more. Then, after two upsets with her father over Timmy, another with acouple of boys who laughed at him, and one with the paper-boy, she decided she wouldn't stay atKirrin Cottage for one day longer!
'We'll take my little tent, and go off by ourselves somewhere,' she told Timmy. 'Some place wherenobody can see you till your ear is better and that hateful collar is off. Don't you think that's a goodidea, Timmy?'
'Woof,' said Timmy. He thought that any of George's ideas were good, though the collar puzzled himvery much.
4'You know the dogs laugh at you too, Timmy,' said George, earnestly. 'Did you see how that sillylittle poodle belonging to Mrs. Janes up the lane stood and stared at you? He looked exactly as if hewas laughing. I won't have you laughed at. I know you hate it.'
Timmy certainly didn't like it, but he really was not as upset about the collar as George seemed to be.
He followed her as she went up to her bedroom and watched her as she began to put a few things intoa small bag.
'We'll go to that lonely little spot on the common,' she said to him. 'We'll pitch our tent near a littlestream, and we'll jolly well stay there till your ear's better. We'll go tonight. I'll take my bike, andstrap everything on to the back.'
So, in the middle of the night, when Kirrin Cottage was dark and quiet, George stole downstairs withTimmy. She left a note on the dining-room table, and then went to get her bicycle. She strapped herlittle tent on it, and the bag containing food and other odds and ends.
'Come on!' she whispered to the surprised Timmy. 'We'll go. I'll ride slowly and you can run besideme. Don't bark for goodness' sake!'
They disappeared into the darkness, Timmy running like a black shadow beside the bicycle.
Nobody guessed they were gone. Kirrin Cottage was quiet and undisturbed - except for the creakingof the kitchen door, which George had forgotten to shut.
But in the morning, what a disturbance! Joan the cook found George's note first and wondered what aletter in George's writing was doing on the dining-room table. She ran straight up to George's roomand looked inside.
The bed was empty. There was no George and Timmy's basket was empty. Joan went to take the noteto Mrs. Kirrin.
'Oh dear! How silly George is!' she said, when she had read it. 'Look, Quentin - such a fuss aboutTimmy! Now George has gone off with him, goodness knows where!'
Her husband took the note and read it out loud. 'Dear Mother, I'm going off for a few days withTimmy till his ear is better. I've taken my tent and a few things. Don't worry, please. Tell Anne if shewants to join me, to come to the end of Carters Lane on the common and I will show her where I'mcamping. Tell her to come at twelve. Love from George.'
'Well, I'm blessed!' said George's father. 'All right - let her stay away if she wants to - I'm tired of hersulky face and Timmy's hang-dog looks. Tell Anne to join George, and maybe I shall have peace fora few days!'
5'George should be all right,' said his wife. 'She's quite sensible really - and she's got Timmy. I'll tellAnne to join her when she arrives this morning.'
When Anne arrived at Kirrin Station, and looked out for George and Timmy, they weren't there -only her aunt was there, smiling as usual.
'What's happened?' said Anne. 'Where's George - and Timmy?'
'Oh - George has gone off by herself,' said her Aunt Fanny. 'Come along, and I'll tell you!'
1.离家出走
离家出走
“妈妈！妈妈！您去哪里了？”乔治大叫着冲进家里，“妈妈！快过来呀！”
没有人回答。原来，乔治的妈妈范妮•科林正在摘花呢，就在科林庄园的后花园里。乔治又大喊了一声，这一次，她可是铆足了劲儿喊的。
“妈妈！您在哪里呀？都火烧眉毛了，您快来呀！”
这时，乔治身旁的门打开了，爸爸昆廷走了出来，狠狠地瞪着她。
“乔治！你咋咋呼呼地在嚷什么？我的研究这会儿正在紧要关头呢！”
“啊呀，爸爸！蒂米受伤了！”乔治说，“它……”
昆廷来到乔治身后，低头看了蒂米一眼，然后冷哼了一声，说：“受伤了？我看它好端端的呀！是不是脚又踩到刺了？唉，你看看你，多大点事呀，吵吵闹闹的，跟世界末日似的。”
“蒂米真的受伤了！”乔治的声音哽咽起来，“不信您看嘛。”
但爸爸却没再理她，又回到书房，重重地关上了房门。乔治的双眼顿时瞪得溜圆，像极了爸爸生起气来的样子。
“您也太狠心了！”她不满地嚷道，“还有……啊！妈妈来了！妈妈！”
“怎么了，乔治？又发生什么事啦？”妈妈放下手里的花，问道，“我听见你爸爸在大吼大叫，然后又听到了你的声音。”
“妈妈，蒂米受伤了。”乔治委屈地说，“您瞧！”她在狗狗身边蹲下来，小心翼翼地拨开它的耳朵，露出一道大大的伤口。蒂米忍不住呜咽起来，乔治抬起头看着妈妈，泪水在眼眶里直打转。
“好了，别太担心了，乔治。”妈妈安慰道，“只是小伤而已，不严重。不过，这是怎么弄的呀？”
“它想从水沟上跳过去，可没想到，那里有一排破烂的铁丝网，一不留神就蹭到了。”乔治说，“一根断掉的铁丝刮到了它的耳朵，把它划伤了。伤口好深呀，一直在流血，我怎么止都止不住。”
妈妈仔细看了看，发现伤口果然很深。“带它去看兽医吧，乔治，”她说，“伤口太深了，很可能要缝针。可怜的孩子，可怜的蒂米！幸好没伤到眼睛，谢天谢地！”
“我马上就带它去，”乔治立刻站起来，说，“妈妈，兽医今天在吗？”
“在呢！现在是他的工作时间，”妈妈回答道，“快去吧。”
沿着乡间小路，蒂米很快就到了兽医住的地方，那是个美丽的小屋子。乔治原本急得不得了，直到兽医告诉她伤口并不严重后，她才松了一口气。
“缝几针就行了，伤口很快就会愈合的。”兽医说，“不过，我给它缝的时候，你能抱紧它吗？我的动作会快一点，这样它就没那么痛苦了。对！就是这样！站好了！再坚持一下！”
五分钟后，乔治对兽医感激不已。“太谢谢您啦，医生。我真是担心坏了。现在没事了吧？”
“那当然，放心吧。不过你要注意，千万别让它挠到伤口，”兽医边洗手边说，“要不然，伤势可能会加重哦！”
“哎呀！那我该怎么阻止它呀？”乔治紧张地说，“您看，它现在就想挠了！”
“唔，你用硬纸板给它做个伊丽莎白圈吧，”兽医建议道，“套在它脖子上就行。这样一来，无论它怎么动，爪子都不会碰到伤口。”
“可是——可是蒂米肯定不喜欢那样。”乔治说，“戴着纸板伊丽莎白圈的狗狗，样子会有点傻。我以前见过，就像灯罩一样，蒂米一定很讨厌的。”
“要阻止它挠伤口，这可是唯一的办法哦！”兽医说，“好了，乔治，你们先回去吧。我还要给别的小动物看病呢。”
乔治只好带着蒂米回家了。一路上，蒂米的脚步非常轻快，因为它觉得乔治很在乎它，自己不过受了点小伤，她就担心成这样。
快到家的时候，蒂米突然一屁股坐在地上，后腿伸呀伸呀，想去挠挠自己受伤的耳朵。
“别呀，蒂米！快停下！”乔治见状急忙阻止，“你可千万别挠呀！会把药膏抹掉的，还有，万一刚缝好的伤口裂开了怎么办？不许挠了！”
蒂米一脸惊讶地抬起头。“好吧，”它想，“要是会惹乔治发火，我这会儿就不挠啦。等回到家，我再偷偷摸摸地挠几下。”
可乔治一眼就看穿了它的打算。她太了解蒂米了，就像蒂米对她的了解一样。她皱了皱眉头，暗暗想道：“这可不妙！看来，真的要给它做个伊丽莎白圈来应急才行，我可以去找妈妈帮忙。”
乔治的妈妈当然很乐意帮她。乔治并不擅长这类手工活，便在一旁看着。妈妈剪下一大块纸板，围成一个大领子，放在蒂米的脖子上试了试大小，然后将重合的两端用线缝在一起。这样，蒂米就没法把它扯掉了。蒂米任凭乔治妈妈比画，心里有点惊讶，但还是耐心地站着，一下都没动。
纸板伊丽莎白圈很快就做好了，一扣在蒂米的脖子上，它就跑开了。随后，它又抬起后腿，试着挠一挠发疼的耳朵，可是……啊哈，有了这个伊丽莎白圈，它怎么可能挠得到呀——它甚至连伊丽莎白圈都碰不到了。
“忍一忍吧，蒂米，”乔治温柔地劝道，“过几天就可以取下来了。”
这时，书房的门打开了，乔治的爸爸昆廷走了出来，他一看见蒂米，就诧异地停下脚步，然后大声笑了起来。
“哈哈哈！蒂米，你知道吗？你现在这个样子像极了伊丽莎白一世女王，还戴着个大飞边领子！”他笑得根本停不下来。
“别取笑它了，爸爸，”乔治不满地说，“您知道的，狗狗们不喜欢被嘲笑。”
蒂米看样子真的生气了，它转身用长长的尾巴对着昆廷，头也不回地跑进了厨房。过了一会儿，厨房里突然传来一声惊叫，接着便是一阵狂笑，那是送奶工的声音。
“哎呀！蒂米！你戴着个纸板灯罩干什么呀？”他说，“瞧你这可怜样儿！”
乔治生气了，一整天都怒气冲冲的，让所有人都很不自在。人人都在嘲笑可怜的蒂米。真是太可恶了！太过分了！他们难道就没想过，这么大个东西戴在脖子上有多难受吗？更何况，蒂米还不得不从早戴到晚，连躺都不能躺得舒舒服服的。乔治想到这些，心里就更烦躁了。妈妈见她表情阴晴不定，一会儿生气，一会儿伤心的，也不由得担心起来。
“亲爱的乔治，快别犯傻了，再这样你爸爸会发火的。那个伊丽莎白圈，蒂米至少要戴上一个星期呢，你又不是不知道。当然，现在这模样是奇怪了点，但它会慢慢习惯的。可能再过几天，它自己都没感觉了。”
“每个人都在笑话它！”乔治气呼呼地说，“它一进花园，孩子们就趴在围墙上围观它，笑得跟什么似的！连邮递员都对我说，给它戴这个对蒂米真的太残忍了。可爸爸却还觉得好笑，还有……”
“哎呀，乔治，你别钻牛角尖啦！”妈妈无奈地说，“快别这样了，安妮马上就要来了，你要是再整天气呼呼的，她也会不开心的。”
乔治又在家心烦意乱地过了两天。在这两天里，她和爸爸、几个跑来嘲笑蒂米的小孩、还有送信的男孩都闹得很不愉快。因此她做了一个决定——离家出走！科林庄园她是一天也待不下去了！
“咱俩带上我的小帐篷，出去露营几天吧！”乔治对蒂米说，“去一个别人见不到你的地方，等你的耳朵好了，把这个讨厌的伊丽莎白圈拿掉，咱们再回来。蒂米，你说好不好？”
“汪汪汪！”蒂米欢快地叫了一声。它当然觉得好啦，乔治的每一个主意都棒极了，当然，这个伊丽莎白圈除外。
“蒂米，你知道吗？连其他的狗都在笑话你！”乔治着急地说，“你瞧见简太太家的那条狮子狗了吗？那天它就这么盯着你，眼睛都看直了，那副蠢样我现在都还记得。我可不想让你变成大家的笑柄，我知道你最讨厌那样。”
蒂米当然不喜欢被嘲笑了，不过，对于伊丽莎白圈这件事，它并没有乔治想象的那样在意。它跟着乔治走进卧室，看着她拿出背包，开始收拾行李。
“我们去公园那边，找个偏僻一点的地方吧。”乔治对蒂米说，“我们可以把帐篷搭在小溪边，在那里无忧无虑地过几天，直到你的耳朵痊愈为止。今晚就走，我骑自行车，把行李绑在车后座上就行了。”
夜半时分，静谧的科林庄园笼罩在一片夜色中。屋里，乔治带着蒂米悄悄走下楼梯。她在起居室的桌子上留了一张便条，然后来到自行车旁，把小帐篷和背包绑在了车后座上。包里装着食物，和几样小东西。
“过来吧。”她轻声对仍在惊讶中的蒂米说，“我们走吧，我骑慢一点，你就在我旁边跟着跑。不过，你可千万别叫出声呀！”
两道黑影消失在夜色里。蒂米在自行车旁跑着，就像自行车的影子一样。
没有人想到他们会离开，科林庄园依然寂静无声，只有厨房的门在风中“嘎吱嘎吱”地响着——原来，乔治离开前忘了关门。
但到了清晨，庄园里便掀起了轩然大波。乔安娜第一个看到了乔治留下的便条，她觉得很奇怪——乔治写的东西怎么会在起居室的桌子上呢？于是，她马上跑到乔治的房间去看个究竟。可是，房间里没有人，床上空荡荡的，连蒂米的睡篮也是空的。她无奈之下，只好拿着便条去找科林夫人。
“天哪！乔治这个傻孩子！”读完便条，乔治的妈妈惊呼道，“你看吧，昆廷，蒂米惹了多大的麻烦！乔治竟然带着它离家出走了，天知道她俩跑哪里去了！”
昆廷接过便条，大声地念了出来：
亲爱的妈妈：
我和蒂米要出去待几天，等它耳朵好了就回来。我带了小帐篷和几样生活必需品，所以，不用担心我。如果安妮想来找我的话，就告诉她，让她在卡特斯路的尽头跟我会合，我会带她去露营的地方。请务必告诉她：中午十二点见。
爱你们的乔治
“天哪，祝她好运吧！”乔治的爸爸说道，“她要走就让她走好了，我厌倦了看她整天不搭理人的样子。哦，对了，还有蒂米那副傻样！叫安妮也去找乔治吧，这样我就能清静几天啦！”
“乔治倒是不会有事的，”乔治的妈妈说道，“她一向聪明谨慎。
而且，还有蒂米跟着呢。等上午安妮到了，我就叫她去找乔治。”
安妮一到科林庄园，就忙着找乔治和蒂米，可是，她们没在家，只有范妮婶婶在，同以往一样微笑着。
“发生什么事了？”安妮好奇地问，“乔治和蒂米去哪里啦？”
“乔治独自出去露营了。”范妮婶婶说，“过来吧，我慢慢跟你说。”
Chapter 2 ANNE JOINS THE LITTLE CAMP
Chapter 2 ANNE JOINS THE LITTLE CAMP
Aunt Fanny soon told Anne about Timmy's ear and the big collar of cardboard that had caused all thetrouble. Anne couldn't help smiling.
'Oh Aunt Fanny - George is quite crazy about old Tim, isn't she? I'll go and meet her at twelve, and ofcourse I'll camp with her for a day or two. It's lovely weather and I'd like to. I expect Uncle Quentinwill be glad to have us out of the house!'
'How are Julian and Dick?' asked her aunt. She was very fond of Anne's two brothers, George'scousins. 'Will they be coming down here at all these holidays?'
'I don't know,' said Anne. 'They're still in France, you know, on a school-boys' tour. I feel funnywithout them! George will be cross to hear they probably won't be coming to Kirrin. She'll just haveto put up with me!'
At twelve o'clock Anne was standing patiently at the end of Carters Lane. It ran to the common andthen ended in a small, winding path that led to nowhere in particular. Big gorse bushes grew here andthere, and slender birch trees. Anne, her belongings strapped to her back, and a bag in her hand,looked over the common to see if she could spy George coming.
There was no sign of her. 'Blow!' said Anne. 'I suppose she's changed her mind or something.
Perhaps her watch has stopped and she doesn't know the time. She ought to, though, by looking at thesun! How long shall I wait?'
She sat down by a big gorse-bush, out of the hot sun. She hadn't been there for more than a minutewhen she heard a hissing sound.
'Pssssst!'
6Anne sat up at once. The sound came from the other side of the bush, and she got up and walkedround it. Half-hidden under a prickly branch were George and Timmy!
'Hallo!' said Anne, surprised. 'Didn't you see me when I arrived? Hallo, Tim darling! How's your poorold ear? Oh, doesn't he look a quaint old dear in that collar, George?'
George scrambled out of the bush. 'I hid here just in case Father or Mother should come with you andtry to make me come back,' she said. 'I wanted to make quite sure they weren't waiting somewhere alittle way away. I'm glad you've come, Anne.'
'Of course I've come,' said Anne. 'I wouldn't stay alone at Kirrin Cottage while you were campingout. Besides, I understand how you feel about Timmy. The collar's a jolly good idea, of course - but itdoes make him look comical. I think he looks rather a dear in it, I do really.'
George was almost relieved that Anne had not laughed at Timmy as most people had. She smiled ather cousin, and Timmy licked her till Anne really had to push him away.
'Let's go,' said George, scrambling up. 'I've got a lovely camping-place, Anne. You'll like it. It's neara little spring too, so there's plenty of water for Timmy to drink - and us too. Did you bring any morefood? I didn't really bring much.'
'Yes. I've brought heaps,' said Anne. 'Aunt Fanny made me. She's not cross with you, George. I didn'tsee your father. He was shut up in his study.'
George's spirits suddenly rose. She gave Anne a friendly punch. 'This is going to be fun!
Timmy's ear will soon be better, and he loves camping out as much as we do. I've really found a goodplace - about the loneliest on the common! Nobody near us for miles!'
They set off together, Timmy at their heels, darting off every now and again when he smelt rabbit.
'When are Julian and Dick coming down?' asked George. 'In a few days? Timmy's ear will be all rightthen and we can go back to Kirrin Cottage to welcome the boys, and have some fun there.'
'They may not be coming down at all these hols,' said Anne, and George's face fell at once. Shestopped and stared at Anne in dismay.
'Not coming! but they always come in the hols - or we go away somewhere together!' she said.
'They must come! I shall be miserable without Ju and Dick.'
'Well - they're still in France, on a tour or something,' said Anne. 'We shall hear if they're staying onthere or coming down to Kirrin, when we get back to the cottage. Don't look so woebegone, George!'
7But George felt woebegone. The holidays stretched before her, suddenly seeming long and dreary.
Her two boy cousins were always such fun - they had had such wonderful adventures together. Andnow - now they weren't coming!
'We shan't have any adventures at all if the boys don't come,' she said, in a small voice.
'I shan't mind that,' said Anne. 'I'm the peaceful one, not always on the look-out for something tohappen, like you and the boys! Perhaps these holidays will be quite unexciting without even the smellof an adventure! Oh George - cheer up! Don't look so mournful. You'd better send a telegram toJulian and Dick if you feel so badly about it.'
'I've a good mind to!' said George. 'I can't imagine hols without the boys. Why - we shan't be the Five- the Famous Five - if they don't come!'
'Woof!' said Timmy, quite agreeing. He sat down and tried to scratch his ear, but the big collarprevented him. He didn't seem to mind and ran off after a rabbit quite happily.
'I think you are more upset about that collar than Timmy,' said Anne, as they walked along. 'Are wegetting near this place of yours, George? It's a jolly long way.'
'We go up this hill in front of us - and then drop down to a little copse,' said George. 'There's a funnyold cottage nearby - quite ruined and empty. At first I thought perhaps people lived there, but when Iwent nearer I saw that it was ruined. There's a big old rose-rambler climbing all over it, even inside. Isuppose the people who used to live there planted it.'
They walked up the little hill and down again, following curving rabbit-paths. 'Better look out foradders,' said Anne. 'This is just the kind of place for them. My word, it's hot, George. Is thereanywhere to bathe near here - a pool or anything?'
'I don't know. We could explore and see,' said George. 'I did bring my swim-suit just in case.
Look - you can see part of the old cottage now. My camp is fairly near there. I thought I'd bettercamp near the spring.'
They were soon at George's rough little camp. Her tent was up, and she had made a bed inside of thespringy heather. A mug, a bag of dog biscuits, a few tins, and a loaf of bread were at one end of thetent. It didn't seem to Anne as if George had brought very much, and she felt glad that she hadmanaged to pack such a lot of things.
'Aunt Fanny cut dozens and dozens of sandwiches,' said Anne. 'She said if we kept them in this tinthey wouldn't go stale, and would last us a day or two till we went back. I'm hungry. Shall we havesome now?'
8They sat out in the sun, munching the ham sandwiches. Anne had brought tomatoes too, and theytook a bite at a sandwich and then a bite at a tomato. Timmy had to make do with a handful of dogbiscuits and half a sandwich every now and again. After a bit he got up and wandered off.
'Where's he going?' asked Anne. 'To look for a rabbit?'
'No. Probably to get a drink,' said George. 'The spring is in the direction he's gone. I'm thirsty too- let's take the mug and get a drink ourselves.'
They went off with the mug, Anne following George through the thick heather. The little spring wasa lovely one. It had evidently been used by the people who had once lived in the old cottage, and wasbuilt round with big white stones, so that the spring ran through a little stony channel, as clear ascrystal.
'Oooh - it's as cold as ice!' said Anne. 'Simply delicious! I could drink gallons of this!'
They lay on the heather out in the sun, talking, when they came back from the spring. Timmywandered off by himself again.
'It's so peaceful here,' said Anne. 'Nobody near us for miles. Just the birds and the rabbits. This iswhat I like!'
'There's hardly a sound,' said George, yawning.
And then, just as she said that, there came a noise in the distance. A sharp sound, like metal on stone.
It came again and again and then stopped.
'What's that, do you suppose?' said George, sitting up.
'I can't imagine,' said Anne. 'Anyway, it's a long way away - everything is so still that sounds carryfrom quite a distance.'
The sharp noises began again in a little while and then stopped. The girls shut their eyes, and slept.
There wasn't a sound now except the pop-pop-pop of gorse pads exploding in the sun and sending outtheir little black seeds.
George woke up when Timmy came back. He sat down heavily on her feet and she woke up with ajump.
'Timmy! Don't!' she said. 'Get off my feet, you made me jump!' Timmy obligingly removed himselfand then picked up something he had dropped, lay down and began gnawing it. George looked to seewhat it was.
'Timmy! That's a bone! Where did you get it?' she said. 'Anne, did you bring a bone for Tim?'
'What? What did you say?' said Anne, half asleep. 'A bone. No, I didn't. Why?'
9'Because Timmy's found one,' said George, 'and it's a bone that has had cooked meat on it, so it's nota rabbit or anything Timmy's caught. Timmy, where did you get it.'
'Woof,' said Timmy, offering the bone to George, thinking that she too might like a gnaw, as sheseemed so interested in it.
'Do you suppose anyone else is camping near us?' asked Anne, sitting up and yawning. 'After all,bones don't grow in the heather. That's quite a good meaty one, too. Timmy, have you stolen it fromanother dog?'
Timmy thumped his tail on the ground and went on with his bone. He looked pleased with himself.
'It's rather an old bone,' said George. 'It's smelly. Go away, Tim - take it further off.'
The sharp metallic noises suddenly began again and George frowned. 'I believe there is someonecamping near us, Anne. Come on - let's do a bit of exploring and find out. I vote we move our camp ifthere are other people near. Come on, Timmy - that's right, bury that horrible bone! This way Anne!'
2.紧随而至
紧随而至
范妮婶婶告诉安妮，蒂米的耳朵受了伤，还有纸板伊丽莎白圈带来的一连串麻烦，安妮听了忍不住想笑。
“哎哟，范妮婶婶，别怪乔治啦。只要是关于蒂米的事，她总是这么容易抓狂，您又不是不知道。中午12点我就去找她，这两天我也要和她一起去露营。天气这么好，不出去玩一玩太可惜啦。而且，我们都不在家，昆廷叔叔一定高兴坏了。”
“朱利安和迪克怎么样了？”范妮婶婶问，她很喜欢安妮的两个哥哥——也就是乔治的堂兄弟，“暑假他们会过来玩吗？”
“我也不清楚，”安妮回答，“他俩现在还在法国呢，参加了学校的男生夏令营。他们不在，我感觉怪怪的。而且，如果乔治知道他们可能不会来科林庄园，一定会发火的，到时候又要和我闹别扭了。”
刚到中午12点，安妮就耐心地等在了卡特斯路。这条路穿过公园，尽头是一条不知道通往哪里的羊肠小道，路边长着密密麻麻的荆豆，还有细长高挑的桦树。微风拂过，花和树叶迎风摇摆。安妮背着背包，手上还拎着一个大袋子，她眺望着公园的方向，期盼着乔治的到来。
可是，安妮却始终没有看到乔治的身影。“糟了！”安妮不禁着急了，“她会不会临时改变了主意，还是出了什么状况？会不会是她的手表坏了，所以不知道时间？也不对呀，就算真的坏了，她也可以根据太阳来判断嘛。我还要等多久呀！”
阳光太猛，安妮只好坐在一丛荆豆下遮阳。只是，她刚坐下不到一分钟，就听到了“咝咝”“咝咝”的声音。
“咝咝！咝咝！”
安妮一下子坐直身体。声音是从荆豆丛的另一边传来的，她站起来，绕着荆豆丛走了一圈，发现了乔治和蒂米，两个伙伴躲在一根长满荆棘的枝条下，半遮半掩的。
“你们好啊！”安妮惊喜地打招呼，“我到的时候你们没看见吗？
你好呀，可怜的小蒂米，你那可怜的耳朵怎么样啦？咦，戴着伊丽莎白圈的蒂米看起来确实有点奇怪！是吧，乔治？”
乔治从枝条下爬出来。“我藏在这里是为了躲爸爸妈妈。我怕他们跟在你身后来找我，把我逮回家。”乔治解释道，“我要确定他们没在这附近。安妮，你能来我太高兴了！”
“我当然要来啦，”安妮说，“你都出来露营了，我才不要一个人待在科林庄园呢。而且，我明白你对蒂米的感情。纸板做的大领子对它的确有好处，只是有些怪模怪样的。不过，我倒觉得这样的蒂米更可爱了。真的。”
乔治见安妮没有像其他人一样嘲笑蒂米，心里舒服了不少。她微笑着看着安妮。蒂米则跑上前，一个劲儿地舔着安妮，直到安妮受不了了，才把它推开。
“咱们走吧，”乔治爬起来说，“我找到一个很棒很棒的露营地点，安妮，你一定会喜欢的。旁边有一湾泉水，这样蒂米就不会缺水喝了，当然，我们也是。对了，你有没有多带点吃的？我带的不多。”
“带了，我带了一大堆呢！”安妮兴奋地说，“都是范妮婶婶做的，她没有生你的气。不过，我没看见你爸爸，他还把自己关在书房呢。”
乔治的心情突然好了起来，她友好地拍了安妮一下，说：“那太好啦，蒂米的耳朵很快就会好了，它和我们一样喜欢露营呢。我真的找了个好地方，那可是公园里最偏僻的角落啦，绝不会有人来打扰我们！”
于是，她们一起出发了。蒂米跟在她俩身后，一闻到兔子的味道，便不时地飞奔而去。
“朱利安和迪克什么时候来？还要几天吧？”乔治问，“到那时，蒂米的耳朵应该已经好了，我们就回科林庄园去接他们，在家开开心心地玩几天。”
“今年暑假，他俩可能不会来了。”安妮话音一落，乔治就沉下了脸，她停下脚步，一脸沮丧地盯着安妮。
“不来了？可是，他们每年暑假都会来的呀？要不，我们一起出去度假也行啊！”乔治说，“他俩必须来！没有朱利安和迪克，我会多无聊啊！”
“这个嘛，他们还在法国呢，参加了一个学校组织的夏令营什么的。”安妮说，“等我们回到科林庄园，就知道他们是会过来还是继续在那边逗留了，不是吗？好啦，别这样愁眉苦脸了，乔治。”
乔治却还是愁眉不展，眼前的假期忽然变得冗长而无趣。两个堂哥多么有趣啊，他们一起经历过那么多次奇妙的冒险，而现在，他们居然不来了。
“要是他俩不来，我们就没办法出去探险了。”她小声说。
“我可不在乎那个，”安妮满不在乎地说，“我是个和平主义者，才不像你们，整天盼着奇怪的事情发生。也许，今年暑假就会这样平静地度过，连一丝冒险的苗头都没有呢。嘿，乔治，振作起来，开心一点，别再纠结啦。如果你真的那么想他们，就给他们写封信吧。”
“可我在乎呀！”乔治说，“没有朱利安和迪克的日子，我真不敢想象，太难熬了！为什么呀？没有他们，我们这个著名的‘疯狂侦探团’就不完整了。”
“汪！”蒂米也忍不住叫了一声，“说得太对了。”它想。蒂米又坐下来，想挠一挠耳朵，可是有伊丽莎白圈在，它怎么可能挠得到呢？好在它也没放在心上，一转眼又追着一只兔子跑开了。
“要我说，你倒比蒂米更在乎这个领子呢，”走在路上，安妮说，“你说的那个地方到了吗，乔治？都走了好久了。”
“翻过前面这座小山，然后下山，再穿过一片杂树林，”乔治答道，“附近有一所古老的庄园，很荒凉，渺无人迹。一开始，我还以为有人住呢，走近了才发现，它已经荒废好久了。那里有一大片蔷薇，长满了整个院子，有的都长到房间里面了。我想，应该是以前住在庄园里的人种的吧。”
两人翻过小山，然后下坡，沿着弯弯曲曲的小路向前走，小路细细长长，像是兔子踩出来的。
“我们得小心毒蛇，”安妮提醒道，“它们最喜欢在这种地方出没了。我的天啊，太热了！乔治，附近有可以游泳的地方吗？有没有池塘什么的？”
“不知道，我们去找找吧，”乔治回答，“我还带了泳衣呢，以备不时之需。瞧！那就是老庄园的一角啦！咱们的营地离这里不远，我觉得，还是离泉水近点比较好。”
她们很快就到了草草布置的营地。帐篷已经搭好了，里面有一张床，是乔治用柔软的石南铺起来的，还有一个杯子、一包狗狗饼干、几盒罐头、角落里还有一条长面包。安妮想：“乔治还真没带什么东西来，还好自己带了大包小包。”她满意极了。
“我带了好多好多三明治，都是范妮婶婶准备的，”安妮说道，“她说把三明治放在这个盒子里，就没那么容易坏了，可以保存一两天，直到我们回家。我饿了，要不咱们先吃点吧？”
两个人坐在明媚的阳光下，大口大口地啃着火腿三明治。安妮还带了番茄，于是她们咬一口三明治，再咬一口番茄，吃得不亦乐乎。
蒂米则时而吃点饼干，时而吃点三明治，最后消灭了一把狗饼干、半个三明治。过了一会儿，它又一溜烟跑掉了。
“它要去哪里？”安妮疑惑道，“去抓兔子吗？”
“不是，可能喝水去了，”乔治说，“泉水就在那个方向。我也有点渴了，咱们也拿上杯子，去喝点水吧。”
她俩端着杯子起身，安妮跟在乔治身后，穿过茂密的石南丛，来到泉水边。这眼泉水真的很袖珍，汩汩地流动着。很明显，以前住在老庄园的人会经常来这里打水。泉水周围，还有用白色大石头堆起来的石壁，石壁上有道小口子，泉水就是沿着口子流出来的，如水晶般晶莹剔透。
“哇！这水好冷呀，冰冰凉凉的！”安妮喝了一口，说道，“好喝！我一口气能喝好多好多。”
从泉水边回来，两个小姑娘躺在地上，沐浴着阳光，聊着天。
蒂米自顾自地在旁边跑来跑去。
“这里真安静呀，”安妮赞叹道，“方圆几英里都没有人来，只有兔子和鸟儿，我太喜欢这种地方了。”
“连一点声音都没有。”乔治嘟囔着，忍不住打了个哈欠。
话音刚落，远处传来一个尖利的声音，就像金属刮在石头上似的，响了一遍又一遍，又忽然停止了。
“那是什么声音，你知道吗？”乔治一下子坐了起来。
“我听不出是什么声音，”安妮回答，“没事，反正声音离得那么远。你看，因为那声音太远，所以这里的一切都还很平静呢。”
不一会儿，尖利的声音再次响起，响了一会儿，又停止了。于是，两人慢慢闭上眼睛，睡着了。再也没有别的声音了，只有荆豆在阳光下“砰砰”地盛开着，把它们黑色的种子洒向四面八方。
蒂米回来时，把乔治吵醒了。它一屁股坐下来，沉重的身躯压在她的脚上，惊得她一下子坐了起来。
“蒂米！你压着我的脚了！”乔治尖叫道，“快给我挪开！好痛啊！”
蒂米听话地移开身体，然后从地上叼起什么东西，重新卧了下来，专心致志地咬着。乔治急忙看过去。
“蒂米！那是根骨头啊！你从哪里弄来的？”她转身扯了扯安妮，“是你给它带的吗？”
“什么？我带了什么？”半睡半醒的安妮迷迷糊糊地回答，“骨头？没有啊，怎么了？”
“蒂米在啃骨头，”乔治说，“上面还有煮熟的肉呢。所以，那不是它抓的兔子或者别的小动物。蒂米，你从哪儿弄来的呀？”
“汪！”蒂米叫了一声，把骨头叼到乔治面前。它觉得她对这东西很感兴趣，似乎也想啃上两口。
“你说，这附近会不会还有其他人在露营？”安妮坐起来打了个哈欠，问道，“毕竟，石南里可长不出骨头来，那上面的肉还挺多的。蒂米，是你从别的狗狗那里偷来的吗？”
蒂米的尾巴重重地拍了一下地面，继续啃起骨头来，一副得意的样子。
“这骨头放的时间有些久了，”乔治说，“都发臭了。走开！蒂米，不能吃了，把它拿远一点！”
金属般的噪音又响了起来，刺得人耳朵生疼。乔治不禁皱起了眉头，“一定有人在附近露营。安妮，我们四处走走，去探探情况吧。如果真的有其他人，我们就换个地方。过来，蒂米！做得对，把那根恶心的骨头埋起来！安妮，我们走这边。”
3.废弃的庄园
废弃的庄园
两个小姑娘带着蒂米离开了营地，在烈日下行走。安妮一瞥见废弃的老庄园，便忍不住停下了脚步。
“进去看看吧，”她提议，“乔治，我看这屋子破败得厉害啊！”
她俩站在宽阔的大门口，门早已经没有了，只剩下光秃秃的石拱道。入目之处是一个大房间，地板都是用白色石板铺就的。夹缝里长出丛丛杂草，挤得一块块地板都凸了起来，地面自然也不再平整。
四面的墙壁早已剥落，斑驳的阳光一缕缕洒进屋子。只有一扇窗户还算完整，其他的玻璃都已经掉光了。角落里有一段老旧的楼梯，不知通往何处。
“这是去楼上房间的路吧？”安妮说，“咦？这里还有一条过道，后面是个小房间，真的太小了，里面还有一个旧水池。你看这个，肯定是抽水泵残存的一部分！”
“没什么好看的，真的。”乔治四下望了望，说道，“楼上的房间早就破败不堪了，你瞧，屋顶都塌了一大半。哎呀！这里还有一扇门。是后门吧？这肯定是一扇门，而不仅仅是一个出入口！”
她推了推厚重的木头，结果，松松垮垮的门框一下子掉下来，落到了外面长满植物的院子里。
“我的天啊！”乔治惊得目瞪口呆，“这也太破了吧？把可怜的蒂米吓得魂儿都没了！”
“这里应该是外屋，或者说，是外屋的废墟！”安妮指了指后院，迟疑着说，“你看这里，以前应该是用来养猪、养鸡鸭的地方！
这边看起来像不像干涸的池塘？”
每样东西都是那么破旧。在整个老庄园里，保存得最完好的，大概就是后院那个小马厩，还有石头铺成的地板了。生锈的马槽还硬生生地杵在那里，墙上有一排大钉子，上面挂着一副破得不得了的马具。
“这个地方……这个老庄园，太有感觉了！”安妮认真地说，“其实很多时候，我都不大喜欢这种老地方，它们总给我一种不安的感觉。我总觉得，这种地方一定发生过极其恐怖的事情，但这次真的很不一样。我想，以前住在这里的人们一定很快乐吧，每天都过着平静安乐的日子。我仿佛还能听见母鸡‘咯咯’的叫声、鸭子‘嘎嘎’的叫声，还有小猪……”
“嘎嘎！嘎嘎！嘎嘎！”
“咯咯咯！咯咯咯！咯咯咯！”
听到突如其来的“嘎嘎”“咯咯”声，安妮一把抓住乔治的胳膊，两个人都惊呆了。
“嘎嘎！嘎嘎！咯咯咯！咯咯咯！”
她们竖起耳朵，仔细地听着。
“是什么声音？”安妮问，“听起来像鸡鸭，但不可能呀，这里哪来的鸡鸭呀？接下来，我们该不会听到马叫吧？”
她们没有听到马儿的叫声，但紧接着，身后却突然传来了马儿打响鼻的声音。
“呼呼呼！呼呼呼！”
这次，两个小姑娘提高了警惕。她们到处找蒂米，却怎么也找不到，蒂米不见了！“哪儿都找不到蒂米！它去哪里了？”乔治问。
“咯咯咯！咯咯咯！咯咯咯！”
“真是太傻了！”乔治说，“我们不会出现幻觉了吧？这附近肯定有鸡鸭，去马厩后面看看吧。蒂米，你在哪里？蒂米！”
她狠狠地吹了声口哨，这一次，立刻听到了回应。
“呼呼呼！呼呼呼！”
“蒂米！”乔治忍不住又喊了一声，她觉得自己像在做梦似的。
蒂米终于出现了，却是一副怯生生的样子。它摇着尾巴跑了过来。可令两人惊讶的是，它的尾巴上系着一个蓝色的蝴蝶结。
“蒂米！你的尾巴——那个蝴蝶结——蒂米，到底怎么回事呀？”乔治惊呆了，忙不迭地问道。
蒂米走向她，仍然是一幅怯生生的模样。乔治一把扯下它尾巴上的蝴蝶结。“谁给你系的呀？”她又问了一遍，“这附近还有其他人吗？你刚才去哪里了？”
安妮和乔治又把老庄园里里外外找了一遍，既没发现动物，也没找着人。没有鸡，没有鸭，更没有马。那么，这一切该怎么解释呢？她俩面面相觑，一时相对无言。
“那个蝴蝶结——”乔治惶惑地问，“蒂米是从哪里弄来的？肯定是别人系上的！”
“也许是个过路人吧，也许他打算去远足，却刚好看见我们在这里，又碰见了蒂米，所以就和我们开了个小小的玩笑？”安妮猜测道，“不过，奇怪的是，蒂米竟然肯让别人给它系蝴蝶结。我的意思是，蒂米面对陌生人的时候，还是很警惕的，对不对？”
两人没有继续在老庄园里逗留，而是慢悠悠地回到了小小的营地。蒂米紧紧跟在她们身后。到了营地，它卧倒在地，又突然一下子站了起来，在一片厚厚的荆豆丛旁钻来钻去，似乎要钻到灌木丛底下去。
“它又在搞什么？”乔治疑惑道，“我看蒂米是疯了吧，真的。蒂米！你戴着那个伊丽莎白圈，还往草丛里钻什么呀？蒂米！你听到没有？”
蒂米这才不情不愿地跑回来，整个伊丽莎白圈都被挤歪了。它的身后却跟着一只小狗，看样子像是混种的，一只眼睛瞎了，另一只眼睛却亮晶晶的，充满了生气，毛色黑白相间，尾巴又细又长。
它摇着细细长长的尾巴，欢快地跟在蒂米后面。
“哇哦！”乔治惊呼道，“那条狗在这儿干吗呀？蒂米怎么会对它这么友好呢？我都弄不明白了。”
“汪！”蒂米叫了一声，带着小狗从安妮和乔治身边穿过，径直朝刚才埋臭骨头的地方跑去。它将骨头刨出来，递给了小狗，小狗却瞥都没瞥这根骨头一眼。
“太好玩了！”安妮说，“下一次，蒂米会不会带只猫回来呀？”
她话音刚落，近处便传来一阵猫叫声。
“喵……喵，喵！”
两只狗不约而同竖起了耳朵，猛地向灌木丛的方向冲去。蒂米却因为戴着伊丽莎白圈被挡了回来，它退后几步，气得叫个不停。
乔治立即站起来冲向灌木丛。“里面如果真的有只猫，那它肯定打不过两只狗！”她朝安妮喊道，又转身对狗狗们说，“快回来，蒂米！嘿，还有你这只小东西，也给我回来！”
蒂米往后退了退，乔治把那只小狗稳稳拉了出来。“安妮，抱住它！”乔治喊道，“它很乖，不会咬人的。我去把猫找出来！”
安妮急忙抱住小狗，小狗睁着那只完好的眼睛，无辜地盯着她，尾巴甩个不停——还真是个脾气温和的小家伙呢！乔治弓下身子，向荆豆丛里的空地爬去。
她朝内看了看，一开始什么也没看见，虽然外面阳光明媚，花丛中却太暗了。突然，她吓了一大跳！
一张稚气的圆脸回望着她，双眸明亮如星，乱糟糟的刘海显眼地垂在前额。那人咧开嘴，开心地笑着，露出一排整齐洁白的牙齿。
“喵……”他嘴里叫道。
乔治以最快的速度后退爬出灌木丛，转身往回跑，一颗心扑通扑通地狂跳着。“怎么了？”安妮问。
“有个人躲在那边！”乔治回答，“不是猫，是个男孩，他在学猫叫！”
“喵，喵，喵……”
“快出来！”安妮吼道，“快出来！你疯了吗？装神弄鬼的干什么呢！”
伴随着一阵窸窸窣窣的声响，小男孩慢吞吞地从灌木丛下爬出来，出现在她们面前。他看起来十二三岁的样子，个子矮矮的，身体却很结实。安妮从没见过脸皮这么厚的人！
蒂米飞快地冲过去，开心地舔着小男孩，乔治惊得目瞪口呆。
“我的狗怎么会认识你？”她追问道。
“这个嘛！昨天我露营的时候，它突然跑出来对着我一阵咆哮，”小男孩回答，“我就给了它一根肉骨头，然后它又见到了我的小狗——杰特。‘杰特’ 是‘喷气式飞机’的简称，你们知道的吧？它俩就玩到一起了，当然，也和我成了朋友。”
“我明白了，”乔治说，她还是不大高兴，“我不喜欢自己的狗吃陌生人给的东西。”
“哦，我也不喜欢。”小男孩道，“不过，它吃骨头总比吃我好吧？你们的狗还不错，就是戴着个伊丽莎白圈，看起来傻乎乎的。
你们不知道，杰特第一眼看见它的时候，笑得可厉害了。你们没看见真是可惜。”
乔治皱了皱眉头。“我带蒂米出来，就是不想它被人笑话！”她说，“它的耳朵受伤了！还有，那个在它尾巴上系蝴蝶结的傻瓜，就是你吧？”
“开个玩笑而已，”小男孩解释说，“我发现你喜欢皱眉头和瞪眼睛。而我嘛，就喜欢开开玩笑，搞搞恶作剧。你的蒂米可一点也不介意那个蝴蝶结啊，它一戴上，就找我的狗去玩了。谁叫杰特就是这么人见人爱呢！我只想知道蒂米的主人是谁，和你们一样，我出来露营的时候，也不喜欢被人打扰，所以才过来看看。”
“我明白了。所以，学鸡叫、鸭叫和马叫的人，也是你吧？”安妮肯定地说。其实，她还蛮喜欢这个男孩傻兮兮的样子，也很喜欢他友好的笑容，“你是来干什么的呀？只是露营，远足，还是来研究植物？”
“来挖宝的呀！”小男孩答道，“我爸爸是个考古学家，在这个世上，他最喜欢的就是古建筑了。我想，我也是受了他的影响吧。你们知道吗？在这个公园的某个角落，以前有一个古罗马军营。我发现一个地方，很可能是它的遗迹。所以我就来找一找，看能不能挖到点东西，陶器呀、古兵器呀什么的。瞧，我昨天找到了这个——上面还有年份呢！”
他掏出一枚旧硬币递给她们。硬币样子古古怪怪，表面坑坑洼洼，比一般的硬币重得多。
“上面写的是‘292’，”他说，“据我判断，至少是这个年代。所以，这个军营的年头真的很久了，对不对？”
“我们也一起去看看吧！”安妮兴奋地提议。
“不行！不行！”小男孩断然拒绝，“我做正事的时候，可不喜欢有人在身边晃来晃去。你们可千万别来，我也不会再来打扰你们了，我发誓！”
“好吧，不去就不去，”安妮颇为理解地说，“但你也别再对我们开那些傻兮兮的玩笑了，好吗？”
“我保证！”小男孩一本正经地说，“我说过，我不会再靠近你们了。我就是想来看看蒂米的主人而已，好了，我现在就走。拜拜！”说完，他对杰特吹了声口哨，便带着狗急匆匆地走了。
乔治看向安妮，“这人太奇怪了，神神秘秘的。”她说，“不过说实话，我还挺希望再见到他的。你呢？”

Chapter 3 THE OLD COTTAGE - AND A SURPRISE
Chapter 3 THE OLD COTTAGE - AND A SURPRISE
The two girls, with Timmy at their heels, left their camping-place and set off in the hot sun.
Anne caught sight of the ruined cottage and stopped.
'Let's have a look at it,' she said. 'It must be awfully old, George.'
They went in at the wide doorway. There was no door left, only the stone archway. Inside was a bigroom, whose floor had once been paved with slabs of white stone. Now grass and other weeds hadgrown between the cracks, and had actually lifted up some of the slabs so that the whole floor wasuneven.
Here and there parts of the walls had fallen away, and the daylight came through. One window wasstill more or less intact, but the others had fallen out. A small crooked stairway of stone led upwardsin one corner.
'To rooms above, I suppose,' said Anne. 'Oh, here's another doorway, leading into a second room- a small one. It's got an old sink in it, look - and this must be the remains of a pump.'
10
'There's not much to see, really,' said George, looking round. 'The top rooms must be quite ruined,because half the roof is off. Hallo, here's another door - a back door. It's actually a door too, not just adoorway.'
She gave a push at the stout wood - and the old door promptly fell off its hinges and crashed outwardsinto an over-grown yard.
'Goodness!' said George, startled. 'I didn't know it was quite so rotten. It made poor Tim jump almostout of his skin!'
'There are out-houses here - or the remains of them,' said Anne, exploring the back-yard. 'They musthave kept pigs and hens and ducks. Here's a dried-up pond, look.'
Everything was falling to pieces. The best preserved corner of the old place was what must have beena small stable. Rusted mangers were still there and the floor was of stone. An old, old piece ofharness hung on a big nail.
'It's got quite a nice 'feel' about it, this old place,' said Anne. 'Sometimes I don't like the feel of places- they give me an uneasy feeling, a feeling that horrid things may have happened there.
But this is quite different. I think people have been happy here, and led peaceful lives. I can almosthear hens clucking and ducks quacking, and pigs gr...'
'Quack, quack, quack! Quack!'
'Cuck-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk! Cuck-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk!'
Anne clutched George and the two girls looked extremely startled to hear the sudden loud noise ofquacking and clucking. They stood and listened.
'What was it?' said Anne. 'It sounded like hens and ducks - though I'm not quite sure. But there aren'tany here, surely. We shall hear a horse whinnying next!'
They didn't hear a whinny - but they heard the snorting of a horse at once. 'Hmrr-umph! Hrrrrr-umph!'
Both girls were now quite alarmed. They looked for Timmy. He was nowhere to be seen!
Wherever could he have got to?
'Cuck-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk!'
'This is silly,' said George. 'Are we imagining things? Anne, there must be hens near. Come round theback of these stables and look. Timmy, where are you? TIMMY!'
She whistled shrilly - and immediately an echo came - or so it seemed!
'Phee-phee-phee-phee-phee!'
11
'TIMMY!' yelled George, beginning to feel as if she was in a dream.
Timmy appeared, looking rather sheepish. He wagged his tail - and to the girls' enormousamazement, they saw that he had a ribbon tied on it. A ribbon - a bright blue one at that!
'Timmy! Your tail - the ribbon - Timmy, what's all this about?' said George, really startled.
Timmy went to her, still looking sheepish, George tore the ribbon off his tail. 'Who tied it there?'
she demanded. 'Who's here? Timmy, where have you been?'
The two girls searched the old buildings thoroughly, and found nothing and nobody. Not a hen, not aduck, not a pig - and certainly not a horse. Then - what was the explanation? They stared at oneanother in bewilderment.
'And where did Timmy get that silly ribbon?' said George, exasperated. 'Someone must have tied iton.'
'Perhaps it was a hiker passing by - perhaps he heard us here and saw Timmy and played a joke,'
said Anne. 'But it's strange that old Tim let him tie on the ribbon. I mean - Timmy's not overfriendlywith strangers, is he?'
The girls gave up the idea of exploring any further and went back to their little camp. Timmy wentwith them. He lay down - and then suddenly got up again, making for a thick gorse bush.
He tried to squirm underneath.
'Note what's he after?' said George. 'Really, I think Timmy's gone mad. Timmy, you can't get underthere with that great collar on. TIMMY, do you hear me!'
Timmy backed out reluctantly, the collar all crooked. After him came a peculiar little mongrel dogwith one blind eye and one exceedingly bright and lively one. He was half-white and half-black, andhad a ridiculously long thin tail, which he waved about merrily.
'Well!' said George, amazed. 'What's that dog doing there? And how did Timmy get so friendly withhim? Timmy, I can't make you out.'
'Woof,' said Timmy, and brought the mongrel dog over to Anne and George. He then proceeded todig up the smelly bone he had buried, and actually offered it to the little dog, who looked away andtook no interest in it at all.
'This is all very peculiar,' said Anne. 'I shall expect to see Timmy bring a cat to us next!'
At once there came a pathetic mewing.
'Mee-ew! Mee-ew-ee-ew-ee-ew!'
12
Both dogs pricked up their ears, and rushed to the bush. Timmy was once again kept back by his bigcollar and barked furiously.
George got up and marched to the bush. 'If there's a cat there, it won't have much chance against twodogs,' she called to Anne. Come away, Tim. Hey, you little dog, come away, too.'
Timmy backed out, and George pulled out the small dog very firmly indeed. 'Hold him, Anne!'
she called. 'He's quite friendly. He won't bite. I'm going to find that cat.'
Anne held on to the small mongrel, who gazed at her excitedly with his one good eye and wagged histail violently. He was a most friendly little fellow. George began to crawl into the bare hollow spaceunder the big gorse bush.
She looked into it, not able to see anything at first, because it was dark there after the bright sunlight.
Then she got a tremendous shock.
A round, grinning face stared back at her, a face with very bright eyes and tousled hair falling on tothe forehead. The mouth was set in a wide smile, showing very white teeth.
'Mee-ew-ee-ew-ee-ew!' said the face.
George scrambled back at top speed, her heart thumping. 'What is it?' called Anne.
'There's somebody hiding there,' said George. 'Not a cat. A fathead of a boy who is doing themewing.'
'Mew-ee-ew-ee-ew!'
'Come out!' called Anne. 'Come out and let's see you. You must be crazy!'
There was a scrambling noise and a boy came headforemost from the hollow space under the bush.
He was about twelve or thirteen, short, studily built, and with the cheekiest face Anne had ever seen.
Timmy rushed at him and licked him lovingly. George stared in amazement.
'How does my dog know you?' she demanded.
'Well, he came growling at me yesterday when I was in my own camp,' said the boy. 'And I offeredhim a nice meaty bone. Then he saw my little dog Jet - short for jet-propelled, you know- and made friends with him - and with me too.'
'I see,' said George, still not at all friendly. 'Well, I don't like my dog to take food from strangers.'
'Oh, I couldn't agree more,' said the boy. 'But I thought I'd rather he ate the bone than ate me.
He's a nice dog, yours. He feels a bit of an idiot wearing that collar, doesn't he? You should haveheard Jet laugh when he first saw it!'
13
George frowned. 'I came here to be alone so that Timmy shouldn't be jeered at,' she said. 'He's got abad ear. I suppose you were the fathead who tied a blue ribbon on his tail?'
'Just for a joke,' said the boy. 'You like frowning and glaring, I can see. Well, I like joking andtricking! Your Timmy didn't mind a bit. He took to my dog right away. But everyone likes Jet! Iwanted to find out who owned Timmy - because, like you, I don't like strangers messing about whenI'm camping out. So I came along.'
'I see. And you did all the clucking and quacking and hrrr-umphing?' said Anne. She liked this idiotof a boy, with his broad friendly grin. 'What are you doing - just camping - or hiking - or botanizing?'
'I'm digging,' said the boy. 'My father's an archaeologist - he loves old buildings more than anythingelse in the world. I take after him, I suppose. There was once an old Roman camp on this common,you know - and I've found a place where part of it must have been, so I'm digging for anything I canfind - pottery, weapons, anything like that. See, I found this yesterday - look at the date on it!'
He suddenly thrust an old coin at them - a queer, uneven one, rather heavy to hold.
'Its date is 292,' he said. 'At least, as far as I can make out. So the camp's pretty old, isn't it?'
'We'll come and see it,' said Anne, excited.
'No, don't,' said the boy. 'I don't like people messing round me when I'm doing something serious.
Please don't come. I won't bother you again. I promise.'
'All right. We won't come,' said Anne, quite understanding. 'But don't you play any more silly trickson us, see?'
'I promise,' said the boy. 'I tell you, I won't come near you again. I only wanted to see whose dog thiswas. Well, I'm off. So long!'
And, whistling to Jet, he set off at a furious pace. George turned to Anne.
'What a peculiar boy!' she said. 'Actually - I'd rather like to see him again. Wouldn't you?'
Chapter 4 THAT NIGHT
Chapter 4 THAT NIGHT
It was now tea-time, according to Anne's watch and also according to everyone's feelings, includingTimmy's. Timmy felt the heat very much and was always wandering off to the little spring to lap thecrystal-cold water. Anne wished that she and George had a big jug that they could fill - it was such anuisance to have to keep running to and fro with just a mug.
They had tea - biscuits, a sandwich each, and a bar of rather soft chocolate. George examinedTimmy's ear for the hundredth time that day, and pronounced it very much better.
'Well, don't take off that collar yet,' said Anne. 'He'll only open the wound by scratching if you do.'
'I'm not going to take it off!' said George, touchily. 'What shall we do now, Anne? Go for a walk?'
'Yes,' said Anne. 'Listen - you can hear those sharp, metallic noises again - that's the boy at workagain, I expect. Funny boy he must be - coming to dig about all on his own with his comical littledog. I wish we could see what he's doing.'
'We promised we wouldn't,' said George. 'So I don't feel that we even ought to go and peep.'
'Of course not!' said Anne. 'Come on - let's go in the opposite direction, George - right away from theboy. I hope we shan't get lost!'
'Not while Timmy's with us, silly!' said George. 'You'd find your way home from the moon, wouldn'tyou, Tim?'
'Woof,' agreed Timmy.
'He always says yes to whatever you say, George,' said Anne. 'I say - isn't it a lovely evening? Iwonder what Julian and Dick are doing?'
George immediately looked downcast. She felt that her two cousins had no right to go rushing acrossFrance when she wanted them at Kirrin. Didn't they like Kirrin? Would they be having magnificentadventures on the Continent, and not want to spend even a week at Kirrin? She looked so lost inmiserable thoughts that Anne laughed at her.
'Cheer up! At least I am here with you - though I agree that compared with Ju and Dick I'm very poorcompany, and not at all adventurous!'
15
They had a lovely walk, and sat down half-way to watch hordes of rabbits playing together.
Timmy was very unhappy about this. Why sit down to watch silly rabbits? Rabbits were made tochase, weren't they? Why did George always put a restraining hand on his collar when she sat downto watch rabbits? He whined continually, as he watched with her.
'Shut up, Timmy, you ass,' said George. 'You'd only spoil the entertainment if you sent them to theirholes.'
They watched for a long while and then got up to go back to the camp. When they came near, theyheard the sound of low whistling. Someone was about that evening, quite near their camp.
Who was it?
They came round a big gorse bush, and almost bumped into a boy. He got out of their way politely,but said nothing.
'Why - it's you!' said George, in surprise. 'I don't know your name. What are you doing here?
You said you wouldn't come near us.'
The boy stared, looking very surprised. His tousled hair fell right across his forehead, and he brushedit back.
'I said nothing of the sort,' he said.
'Oh, you did!' said Anne. 'You know you did. Well, if you break your promise, there's no reason forus to keep ours. We shall come and visit your camp.'
'I never made you any promise,' said the boy, looking quite startled. 'You're mad!'
'Don't be an idiot,' said George, getting cross. 'I suppose you'll be saying next that you didn't act like ahen, and a duck, and a horse this afternoon...'
'And a cat,' said Anne.
'Balmy!' said the boy, looking at them pityingly. 'Quite balmy.'
'Are you coming here again?' demanded George.
'If I want to,' said the boy. 'The water in this spring is better than the one over by my camp.'
'Then we shall come and explore your camp,' said George, firmly. 'If you don't keep your promise, weshan't keep ours.'
'By all means come if you want to,' said the boy. 'You seem quite mad, but I daresay you're harmless.
But don't bring your dog. He might eat mine.'
'You know he wouldn't eat Jet!' said Anne. 'They're good friends.'
16
'I don't know anything of the sort,' said the boy, and went off, brushing his hair out of his eyes again.
'What do you make of that?' said George, staring after him. 'Not a bit the same as he was thisafternoon. Do you think he really had forgotten about his promise and everything?'
'I don't know,' said Anne, puzzled. 'He was so perky and jolly and full of fun before - grinning all thetime - but just now he seemed quite serious - not a smile in him!'
'Oh well - perhaps he's a bit crazy,' said George. 'Are you sleepy Anne? I am, though I can't thinkwhy!'
'Not very - but I'd like to lie down on this springy heather and watch the stars gradually comesparkling into the sky,' said Anne. 'I don't think I'll sleep in the tent, George. You'll want Timmy withyou, and honestly there's so little room inside the tent that I'm quite sure Timmy would lie on my legsall night long.'
'I'll sleep in the open air as well,' said George. 'I only slept in the tent last night because it looked a bitlike rain. Let's get some more heather and make a kind of mattress of it. We can put a rug on top of it,and lie on that.'
The two of them pulled a lot of heather and carried it to their 'bed'. Soon they had a fine pile, andTimmy went to lie on it.
'Hey - it's not for you!' cried George. 'Get off - you'll flatten it right down. Where's the rug, Anne?'
They laid the rug on the heather-pile and then went to the spring to wash and clean their teeth.
Timmy immediately got on to the heather-bed again, and shut his eyes.
'You old fraud!' said George, lugging him off. 'You're not asleep. Keep off our bed! Look -there's a nice soft patch of grass for you. That's your bed!'
George lay down on the rug, and the heathery-bed sank a little beneath her weight.
'Very comfortable!' said George. 'Shall we want a rug over us, Anne?'
'Well, I did bring one,' said Anne. 'But I don't think we'll want it, the night's so hot. Look - there is astar already!'
Soon there were six or seven - and then gradually hundreds more pricked through the evening sky asthe twilight deepened. It was a wonderful night.
'Don't the stars look big and bright?' said Anne, sleepily. 'They make me feel very small, they're suchmillions of miles away. George, are you asleep?'
17
There was no answer. George hadn't heard a word. She was fast asleep. Her hand fell down the sideof the heather and rested on the ground below. Timmy moved a little nearer and gave it a small lick.
Then he too fell asleep, and gave some small doggy snores.
The night darkened. There was no moon but the stars shone out well from the midnight sky. It wasvery quiet out there on the common, far away from streets and villages and towns. Not even an owlhooted.
Anne didn't quite know why she awoke. At first she had no idea where she was, and she lay gazingup at the stars in astonishment, thinking she must still be asleep.
She suddenly felt very thirsty. She groped about in the nearby tent for the mug, couldn't find it andgave it up.
'I'll drink from my cupped hands,' she thought, and set off for the little spring. Timmy wonderedwhether to follow her. No - he would stay with George. She wouldn't like it if she awoke and foundhim gone with Anne. So he settled his head down on his paws again and slept, leaving one ear openfor Anne.
Anne found the little spring. Its tinkling gurgling sound guided her as soon as she heard it. She satdown on one of the stones nearby, and held out her cupped hands. How very cold the water was - andhow delicious to drink on this hot night! She sipped thirstily, slopping some of the water down herfront.
She got up to go back, and walked a few steps in the starlight. Then she stopped. Wait - was shegoing in the right direction? She wasn't sure.
'I think I am!' she decided, and went on, carefully and quietly. Surely she must be near their littlecamp now?
Then all at once she stood still, and felt herself stiffen. She had suddenly seen a light. It had flashedand disappeared. Ah - there it was again! Whatever could it be?
Then, as her eyes strained through the starlit darkness, she suddenly saw that she had taken the wrongway - she had gone in the direction of the old ruined cottage, and not the camp - and the light hadcome from there!
She didn't dare go any nearer. She felt glued to the grass she was standing on! Now she could hearsounds - whispering sounds - and the noise of a footfall on the stone floor of the cottage -and then the flash of a light came again! Yes, it was from the old cottage!
18
Anne began to breathe fast. Who was it in the old cottage? She simply dared not go and see. She mustgo back to George, and to Timmy's protection. As fast and as silently as she could she found her wayback to the spring - and then, almost stumbling now, made her way to where George was still lyingpeacefully asleep.
'Woof,' said Timmy, sleepily, and tried to lick her hand. Anne climbed on to the heathery-bed besideGeorge, her heart still beating fast.
'George!' she whispered. 'George, do wake up. I've something queer to tell you!'
4.疑云重重
疑云重重
现在是下午茶时间了，无论是从安妮手表上的时间来看，还是从每个人的感觉来讲。就连蒂米也这么认为，它受不了炎热的天气，总是在泉水边烦躁地踱来踱去，不时喝上两口清凉的泉水。安妮真希望她和乔治能有一个大罐子，这样就可以多装点水带回来了。否则，拿着一个这么小的杯子，一趟又一趟地跑去泉水边，实在是太麻烦了。
两个女孩一起喝了下午茶，吃了饼干，每人还吃掉了一块三明治和一块软乎乎的巧克力。这一天，乔治把蒂米的耳朵检查了上百遍，最后宣布，蒂米的耳朵好多了。
“还是先别把伊丽莎白圈取下来吧，”安妮提醒道，“要不然，它肯定会把伤口抓裂的。”
“我才不会取呢！”乔治说着，做了个鬼脸，“安妮，咱们现在该做什么呢？不如出去散散步吧？”
“好啊！”安妮同意了，“你听——又是这种尖锐的金属碰撞的噪声，那个男孩肯定又在工作了。他可真有意思，一定是又出来四处挖宝了，还带着他那只滑稽的小狗。我真想去看看啊！”
“不行，我们答应过的，不能去打扰他。”乔治不情不愿地说，“所以，不应该跑去偷看。”
“好吧，确实不该！”安妮也没有坚持，“那我们往相反的方向走吧，刚好避开那个男孩。老天！我们可千万别迷路呀！”
“别傻了！有蒂米在，怎么可能迷路呢？”乔治说，“你会根据月亮判断回家的路，是不是呀，蒂米？”
“汪！”蒂米叫了一声，表示赞同。
“得了吧，乔治！”安妮无奈地说，“你说什么它都觉得对。今晚的天气真不错。我有些好奇了，朱利安和迪克现在在做什么呢？”
乔治一下子低落起来。她实在想不明白，她这么盼望两个堂哥来科林庄园，为什么他们却要跑到法国去呢？他们就不喜欢科林庄园吗？是不是有了更好玩的事，在欧洲大陆上经历了一场有趣的冒险，所以就不想来科林庄园了？连待一个星期都不想！她又陷入深深的迷惘中，失落得不得了。安妮见状忍不住笑了起来。
“开心一点，乔治，不是还有我陪着你吗？好吧，我不得不承认，同朱利安和迪克比起来，我实在算不上一个称职的玩伴，一点奇思妙想都没有。”
两人散步的时候还算愉快，在半路上坐下，望着路边成群结队玩在一起的兔子。蒂米见状却不高兴了，“为什么她们要坐着看那群蠢兔子呀？多无聊！兔子就是用来抓的。还有，乔治明明自己在看那些兔子，为什么还要一直抓着我的伊丽莎白圈，限制我的行动呢？”它眼巴巴地抬头看向乔治，不满地呜咽起来。
“闭嘴，蒂米，你这个傻瓜！”乔治制止道，“要是把兔子全都吓回洞里，可就没意思啦！”
两人看了好一会儿，才起身朝营地走去。快到营地的时候，她们突然听到了低低的口哨声。这个时候，竟然有人在她们的营地附近活动，会是谁呢？
她俩绕到荆豆丛前，却差点撞到一个小男孩。男孩礼貌地让了路，却一句话也没说。
“干什——是你！”乔治大吃一惊，“我还不知道你的名字呢。你又到这儿来干什么？你不是说过，不会再来打扰我们了吗？”
小男孩也看着她们，一副惊讶的表情。卷卷的头发挡住了额头，被他一把抹到了脑袋后面。
“我什么时候说过这话？”他说。
“你说过！”安妮说，“你自己心里最清楚！好吧，既然你没有遵守承诺，那我们也没必要遵守了。我们也要去你的营地参观参观！”
“我可从来没承诺过什么！”小男孩吓了一跳，急忙否认，“你们胡说什么呢！”
“别装傻了！”乔治有点生气了，“接下来，你是不是还要说，今天下午，你没有学过鸡叫、鸭叫和马叫？”
“还有猫叫。”安妮补充道。
“可笑！”小男孩满脸同情地看着她们，“真是可笑！”
“你以后是不是还会来？”乔治问。
“我想来就来啊！”小男孩回答，“这里的泉水比我营地那边的好太多了。”
“那我们也要去你那边瞧瞧！”乔治接着说道，“你说话不算话，我们也不会再遵守约定了。”
“想去就去吧。虽然你们讲话疯疯癫癫的，”小男孩无所谓地说，“但我看得出来，你们没有恶意，所以也没什么大不了的。但可千万别把你们的狗带来，它会把我的狗吃掉的！”
“才不会呢！”安妮反驳说，“你明明知道它们是好朋友，蒂米怎么可能吃掉杰特呢！”
“真搞不懂你们！”小男孩说完便扭头走了，还不忘把垂在眼睛旁的头发拨到一边去。
“你觉得这是怎么回事？”乔治盯着他离去的身影，总觉得他和下午的时候不太一样了，“你说，他是不是忘记了自己的承诺，忘了发生过的一切？”
“我也说不清楚，”安妮也很纳闷，“之前的他活泼开朗，那么有精神，一直笑嘻嘻的。但刚才他好严肃啊，说话的时候，脸上一点笑容都没有。”
“好吧，也许他有点毛病吧。”乔治说，“安妮，你困不困呀？我有点困了。真搞不清楚，这究竟是怎么回事？”
“我不是很困，但也想躺在石南床上，看星星慢慢出来，一闪一闪地发光。”安妮回答，“乔治，我不想在帐篷里睡。我知道，你肯定想和蒂米待在一起，可说实话，帐篷太小了，就那么点儿地方，如果睡在里面，我敢肯定，蒂米一定会在我脚上趴一个晚上的。”
“我也在外面睡好了，”乔治想了想，说道，“昨晚我以为要下雨，就只好睡在帐篷里了。我们再去采点石南，再做个床垫吧，然后再铺一张毛毯，就可以睡在上面了。”
两人捡了好多好多石南，铺了一个床垫，把床堆得高高的，蒂米第一时间躺了上去。
“喂！这不是给你铺的！”乔治大叫道，“给我下来！你都要把它压扁了。安妮，毯子呢？”
她们把毯子铺在石南堆上，便去泉水边洗漱了。蒂米又跳上石南铺成的床，舒舒服服地闭上了眼睛。
“你这个小骗子！”乔治急忙上前把它拉下来，“你根本没睡着！
快离我们的床远一点。你看那边那块漂亮的草地，快过去吧，那才是你的床。”
乔治一躺在毛毯上，石南床铺立刻往下沉了一点。
“太舒服了！”乔治赞道，“安妮，我们要不要再盖张毛毯呀？”
“我倒是带了，”安妮回答，“不过应该没必要吧。晚上也很热呀，太热了。快看！已经有一颗星星了！”
不到片刻，空中就出现了六七颗星星。到傍晚过去，夜色渐渐转浓时，已经有成千上万颗星星在夜空里调皮地眨着眼睛。
“星星是不是好大好亮？”安妮睡意蒙眬地问，“看着这些星星，就觉得自己好渺小啊！它们那么远，隔了几百万英里的距离呢！乔治，你睡着了吗？”
乔治没有回答，她已经沉沉睡去，一个字也没听见。手从石南床上垂下，碰到了地面，蒂米走向前，偷偷地舔了一口，便退了回去。没过多久，它也睡着了，发出了轻轻的鼾声。
夜已经深了，天上没有月亮，只有星星在不停地闪烁着。公园的夜晚依然那么宁静，远离街区、远离城镇，连猫头鹰的叫声也没有。
安妮不知为什么醒了过来，一开始，她还没反应过来自己身在何方。她躺在石南床上，望着浩瀚的星空，心中感慨万千。她想：“我这是在哪里呢？不会是在做梦吧？”
她突然觉得口渴难耐，便摸索着去旁边的帐篷找杯子，可找呀找呀，找了好久都没找到，只好放弃了。
“我就用手捧着水喝吧。”安妮想着，便出发向泉水边走去。蒂米在犹豫，自己要不要跟安妮一起去呢？可最终它还是决定待在乔治身边，要是她醒来后发现自己不见了，一定会不高兴的。它又卧回青草堆，趴在自己的腿上睡着了，只竖着一只耳朵，留意着安妮的动静。
泉水“叮咚叮咚”地响着，为安妮指引方向。循着水声，她很快就找对了地方。安妮坐在泉水边的一块大石头上，伸手去接水。水真凉呀！在这样闷热的夜里，喝上一口清凉的泉水，别提有多舒服了！她小口小口地喝着，点点水花溅出来，打湿了她的衣襟。
喝完水，安妮准备回营地了，她几步就走进了明亮的星光里，却又马上停了下来。等等——没有走错方向吧？安妮自己也拿不准了。
肯定没错！安妮一边想，一边继续往前走——现在，她应该离营地不远了吧？
没过多久，当她再次停下脚步时，整个人僵在了那里。她突然看到一盏灯，忽闪忽闪的，又一下子消失了。唔，又出现了。那是什么呢？她的眼睛逐渐适应了微弱的星光，这才猛地发现，自己走错路了！她没有走回营地，而是一直向着废弃的老庄园的方向走着。灯光就是从那边传过来的。
安妮不敢靠近老庄园了，双脚仿佛被粘在了草地上，一时竟无法动弹。随后，她听见了一阵低语，还有一连串人走在石板上发出的脚步声。就在这时，灯光又亮了起来。没错，就是从老庄园发出来的光。
安妮的呼吸急促起来。会是谁在老庄园里呢？她不敢去看个究竟。现在，她只想尽快回到乔治身边——蒂米会保护她们的。她用最快的速度，悄无声息地跑回了去泉水边的路，接着，又踉踉跄跄地借着星光摸回了营地。乔治正在呼呼大睡呢！
“汪！”蒂米欣喜地叫了一声，它睡眼惺忪地跑上前，舔了舔安妮的手。安妮爬上石南床，躺在了乔治身边。她的心依然狂跳着。
“乔治！”她轻声喊道，“乔治，快醒醒！我要告诉你一件怪事！”
Chapter 5 THAT BOY AGAIN!
Chapter 5 THAT BOY AGAIN!
George would not wake up. She grunted when Anne poked her and prodded her, and then she turnedover, almost falling off the small heather-bed.
'Oh George - please do wake!' begged Anne, in a whisper. She was afraid of speaking out loud incase anyone should hear her. Who knew what might happen if she drew attention to their little camp?
George awoke at last and was cross. 'Whatever is it, Anne?' she said, her voice sounding loud in thenight.
'Sh!' said Anne. 'Sh!'
'Why? We're all alone here! We can make as much noise as we like!' said George, surprised.
'George, do listen! There's someone in that old cottage!' said Anne, and at last George heard andunderstood. She sat up at once.
Anne told her the whole story - though it didn't really seem very much of a tale when she related it.
George spoke to Timmy.
'Tim!' she said, keeping her voice low. 'We'll go and do a little exploring, shall we? Come on, then -and keep quiet!'
She slid off the rug and stood up. 'You stay here,' she said to Anne. 'Timmy and I will be very quietand careful, and see what we can find out.'
19
'Oh no - I couldn't stay here alone!' said Anne in alarm, and got up hurriedly. 'I shall have to cometoo. I don't mind a bit now Timmy's with us. I wonder he didn't bark at the people in the old cottage,whoever they were.'
'He probably thought it was you messing about,' said George, and Anne nodded. Yes, of course,Timmy must have thought that any noises he heard had been made by her.
They took the path that led to the old cottage. George had Timmy well to heel. He knew he must notpush forward unless told to. His ears were pricked now, and he was listening hard.
They came cautiously to the cottage. They could see its dark outline in the starlight, but little else.
There was no light flashing there. Nor did there seem to be any noises at all.
All three stood still and quiet for about five minutes. Then Timmy moved restlessly. This was boring!
Why wouldn't George let him run forward and explore everywhere if she wanted to know if intruderswere about?
'I don't think there's a soul here!' whispered George into Anne's ear. 'They must have gone -unless you dreamed it all, Anne!'
'I didn't!' whispered back Anne indignantly. 'Let's go forward a bit and send Timmy into the cottage.
He'll soon bark if there's anyone there.'
George gave Timmy a little shove. 'Go on, then!' she said. 'Find, Timmy, find!'
Timmy gladly shot forward into the darkness. He trotted into the cottage, though it was impossibleeven to see him go to it. The two girls stood and listened, their heart-beats sounding very loud tothem! There was not a sound to be heard, except occasionally the rattle of Timmy's strong claws on astony slab.
'There can't be anyone there,' said George at last.
'Else Timmy would have sniffed them out. You're an ass, Anne - you dreamt it all!'
'I did not!' said Anne, indignant again. 'I know there was someone there - in fact, more than oneperson, because I'm sure I heard whispering!'
George raised her voice. 'Timmy!' she called loudly, making Anne jump violently. 'Timmy!
Come along. We've sent you on a silly wild goose chase - but now we'll go back to bed!'
Timmy came trotting out of the cottage and went obediently to George. She heard him yawn as hestood beside her, and she laughed.
'Anne had a bad dream, that's all, Timmy,' she said.
20
Anne felt cross - very cross. She said no more and they left the old cottage and went back to theirheather-bed. Anne climbed on to her side and turned over with her back to George. All right - letGeorge think it was a dream if she liked!
But when Anne awoke in the morning and remembered the happenings of the night before, she toobegan to wonder uneasily if she had dreamed what she had seen and heard in the old cottage.
'After all - Timmy would certainly have caught anyone who was there,' she thought. 'And he wasn't atall excited, so there can't have been anyone in the cottage. And anyway, why would they come? It'sjust silly!'
So, when George talked about Anne's dreaming in the middle of the night, Anne did not defendherself. She really could not be sure that it had really happened. So she held her tongue when Georgeteased her, and said nothing.
'Let's go and see that boy and his camp,' George said when they had eaten a few rather stalesandwiches and some shortbread biscuits. 'I'm beginning to feel bored, aren't you? I wish Timmy'sear would quite heal up. I'd go back home like a shot then.'
They set off in the direction of the camp with Timmy. They heard a chip-chipping noise as they camenear, and then something small and hairy shot out from a bush and rushed up, barking a welcome.
'Hallo, Jet!' said Anne. 'Don't you let Timmy have any more of your bones!'
The chipping noise had stopped. The two girls went on and came to a very messy piece of common.
It had been well dug over, in some places very deeply. Surely that boy couldn't have done so muchexcavating by himself?
'Hey! Where are you?' called George. Then she saw the boy below her, examining something in atrench he had dug out. He jumped and looked upwards.
Then he scowled. 'Look - you promised not to come and disturb me!' he shouted. 'You're mean.
Just like girls to break a promise.'
'Well! I like that!' said George, amazed. 'It was you who broke yours! Who came messing round ourcamp yesterday evening I'd like to know?'
'Not me!' said the boy at once. 'I always keep my promises. Now go away and keep yours. Girls!
Pooh!'
'Well, I can't say we think much of you,' said George, disgusted. 'We're going. We don't want to seeanything of your silly digging. Good-bye!'
21
'Good-bye and good riddance!' called the boy rudely, and turned back to his work.
'I think he must be quite mad,' said Anne. 'First he makes a promise - then last evening he broke hispromise and even said he hadn't made one - and now today he says he did make a promise and thathe'd kept his and we'd broken ours. Idiotic!'
They went up a little rabbit path, and into a small copse of birch trees. Someone was sitting therereading. He looked up as they came.
The two girls stopped in amazement. It was that boy again! But how had he got here? They had justleft him behind in a trench! Anne looked at the title of the book he was reading. Goodness -what a learned title - something about Archaeology.
'Another little trick of yours, I suppose?' said George, sarcastically, stopping in front of him.
'You must be a jolly good runner, I must say, to have got here so quickly. Funny boy, aren't you -very very funny!'
'Good gracious - it's those potty girls again,' groaned the boy. 'Can't you leave me alone? You talkeda lot of rubbish yesterday - and now you're talking it again.'
'How did you get here so quickly,' said Anne, puzzled.
'I didn't get here quickly. I came very slowly, reading my book as I went,' said the boy.
'Fibber!' said George. 'You must have run at top speed. Why do you pretend like this? It's only aminute or so ago that we saw you.'
'Now you're the fibber!' said the boy. 'I do think you two girls are awful. Go away and leave me aloneand never let me see you again!'
Timmy didn't like the tone of the boy's voice and he growled. The boy scowled at him. 'And just youshut up too,' he said.
Anne pulled at George's sleeve. 'Come on,' she said, 'it's no good staying here arguing. The boy'scrazy - just mad - we'll never get any sense out of him!'
The two girls walked off together, Timmy following.
The boy took absolutely no notice. His face was turned to his book and he was quite absorbed in it.
'I've never met anyone quite so mad before!' said Anne, rather puzzled. 'By the way, George -you don't suppose it could have been that idiotic boy last night in the cottage?'
'No. I tell you I think you dreamed it,' said George, firmly. 'Though that boy is quite idiot enough toexplore an old cottage in the middle of the night. He would probably think it a very good time 22to do so. Oh Anne, look - there's a pool - in that hollow down there. Do you think we could bathe init?'
It certainly shone very temptingly. They went down to have a closer look. 'Yes - we'll have a swimthis afternoon,' said George. 'And then I really think, Anne, we ought to go back to Kirrin Cottageand get a few more provisions. The sandwiches we've got left are so dry that we really shan't enjoyeating them - and as Timmy's ear isn't healed, it looks as if we'll have to stay a bit longer.'
'Right!' said Anne, and they went on back to the camp. They changed into their swim-suits in theafternoon and went off to the little pool. It was fairly deep, very warm and quite clean. They spent alovely hour swimming and basking and swimming again - then they reluctantly dressed and began tothink of going off on the long journey to Kirrin Cottage.
George's mother was very surprised to see the two girls and Timmy. She said yes, of course, theycould have some more food, and sent them to ask Joan for all she could spare.
'By the way, I've heard from Julian and Dick,' she said. 'They're back from France - and may be herein a day or two! Shall I tell them to join you or will you come back here?'
'Tell them to come and fetch us as soon as they get here!' said George, delighted. Her face shone.
Ah - the Five would be together again. How wonderful!
'Leave me directions to give them so that they can find you,' said her mother. 'Then you can all comeback - together. The boys can help to carry everything.'
What fun, what fun! Julian and Dick again, now things would be exciting, things would happen, asthey always did. What FUN!
5.莫名其妙
莫名其妙
乔治没有醒，安妮推了她半天，她却只是咕哝着翻了个身，差点从小石南床上翻下去。
“喂！乔治！快醒醒啊！”安妮哀求道，她还是不敢大声说话，生怕被别人听见。要是把陌生人引来这个小小的营地，天知道会发生什么奇怪的事！
乔治终于气呼呼地醒了。“到底怎么了，安妮？”她问道，声音很大，在寂静的夜里显得无比突兀。
“嘘……乔治，”安妮急忙叫道，“嘘……”
“怎么了呀？”乔治很是诧异，“这里就咱们两个人，我想说多大声就多大声！”
“乔治，你听我说！那个老庄园里有人！”安妮说完，乔治终于明白了她的意思，一下子坐了起来，认真地听着。
安妮将事情经过一一道来，虽然她的诉说听起来并没有多惊险，但乔治还是马上叫了蒂米过来。
“蒂米！”她也压低了声音，“我们去探险，好不好？过来吧，现在就走，不过，不许发出声音哦！”
乔治从石南床上滑下，站了起来。“你就待在这里，”她对安妮说，“我带着蒂米去看看，到底是谁在装神弄鬼。我们会很小心的。”
“啊，不要！我可不想一个人待在这里，”安妮立刻警觉地爬了起来，“我也去吧，只要有蒂米在，我就没那么害怕了。只希望遇到老庄园里的人之后，它不要乱叫，不管那是些什么人。”
“我看，它更可能认为是你弄错了。”乔治说。
安妮赞同地点了点头，是啊，蒂米肯定以为，刚才听到的声音都是我自己弄出来的呢。
她们沿着小路往老庄园走去，蒂米老老实实地跟在乔治的脚边。它知道，没有主人的命令，自己决不能擅自冲到前面去。此时，它的耳朵竖得笔直，努力地听着周围的一切动静。
她们小心翼翼地来到庄园前。在微弱的星光下，她们可以看见老庄园的轮廓，其他地方都是漆黑一片。那里什么都没有，没有忽闪忽闪的灯光，也没有一丝声响。
两人一狗静静地站了五分钟左右，蒂米悠闲地向前走了起来。
这也太没意思了！要是乔治真的那么想知道有没有闯入者，为什么不直接叫它跑在前面，把所有的地方好好检查一遍呢？
“我觉得里面连个鬼都没有！”乔治凑近安妮的耳朵，悄声说道，“他们很可能已经离开了，安妮，要不然就是你刚才在做梦！”
“我才不是做梦！”安妮愤愤地说，声音依然很小，“我们再走近一点，叫蒂米进去看看。如果里面有人，它马上就会叫起来的。”
乔治推了推蒂米，“那就去吧，”她说，“蒂米，好好地搜一搜。”
蒂米欢快地冲进了黑暗里，一溜小跑进了老庄园。天色那么黑，两人看不见蒂米的身影，只好站在原地侧耳听着，四周静得都能听到自己剧烈的心跳声。可是，她俩并没有听到什么异样，只听到蒂米的爪子重重地踩在石头路上，不时发出“咔嗒”声。
“里面不可能有人，”最后，乔治下了结论，“否则，蒂米早就闻出来了。安妮，你这个小笨蛋，你肯定是在做梦呢。”
“我不是在做梦！”安妮再次恼怒地强调，“我知道，里面肯定有人。而且还不止一个，因为我还听见有人在悄悄说话。”
乔治却没有理会安妮，她瞬间抬高了嗓门，“蒂米！”她大声喊道，吓了安妮一大跳，“刚才让你瞎忙了一场。现在咱们回去睡觉吧。”
蒂米从庄园里跑出来，乖乖地站在乔治面前，愣愣地打了个哈欠，乔治忍不住笑着说：“没事啦，蒂米，是安妮自己做了个噩梦。”
安妮生气了，非常生气。她一言不发地跟着乔治和蒂米回到了营地。安妮爬上床，转身背对着乔治。好吧，既然乔治非要认为是自己在做梦，就随她怎么想好了！
但当第二天早晨，安妮醒过来后，回想起昨晚发生的事，她自己也有些不确定起来。她也不知道，自己在庄园外的所见所闻，是否真的只是做梦而已。
毕竟，不管怎么说，如果里面真的有人，蒂米一定会发现，然后把他们揪出来的。可是，那时的蒂米一点也不兴奋，所以，庄园里应该不会有人才对。再说了，别人能去那里干什么呢？这么做真的太傻了。
因此，当乔治说起安妮昨晚做噩梦的事时，安妮也不再为自己辩解了。她自己也无法确定，那些事情是不是真的发生过，所以，无论乔治怎么笑话她，她都闭紧了嘴巴，一言不发。
“我们去看看那个男孩的营地吧，”吃完几块饼干和三明治后，乔治提议道，“没事做真无聊啊。你呢？真希望蒂米的耳朵快点痊愈，这样我就能早点回家去啦。现在的我可是归心似箭呢。”
两人带着蒂米朝另一块营地走去。一走近，就听见了一阵“咔嚓”声。紧接着，一道毛茸茸的小身影如箭一般从灌木丛底下蹿出来，对着她俩“汪汪”地叫着，似乎是在表示欢迎。
“你好啊，杰特，”安妮说，“今天，你会不会跟蒂米分享你的肉骨头啊？”
“咔嚓”的声音停止了。两个小姑娘走上前，眼前是惨不忍睹的地面——这里明显被挖了个底朝天，有些地方的坑还特别深。那个男孩，就他一个人，怎么可能完成这么大的工作量呢？不可能吧？
“嘿！你在哪里呀？”乔治话音刚落，便看见了下方的男孩——他站在深沟里，正仔细研究着挖出的东西。他一跃从坑里跳了出来，身形矫健。
但是，一见到女孩们，他就沉下了脸，“看看你们！不是答应过我，绝不会来打扰我的吗？”他吼道，“你们太卑鄙了，女孩们就是喜欢说话不算话！”
“我倒是想说话算话来着！”乔治瞪圆了眼睛，“可谁叫你先违背承诺的呀？我还想问问你呢，昨天傍晚，是谁鬼鬼祟祟地跑到我们营地附近转悠的？”
“不是我！”男孩毫不犹豫地回答，“我一向信守承诺，你们也不能出尔反尔！现在该你们履行承诺了，快走吧，离开这里！真讨厌！”
“哼，一开始，我们还觉得你很不错呢，”乔治气愤地说，“我们现在就走，再也不想看见你了！还有，挖得乱七八糟，有什么好看的！拜拜！”
“那我可真是解脱了，终于把你们打发走了。拜拜！”男孩粗声粗气地回了一句，便转身继续工作了。
“我觉得他真是个疯子，”安妮说，“首先是他自己做了个保证，然而，昨天傍晚他就食言了，还说自己从没说过那些话。今天，他又承认的确承诺过，并且从未违背诺言，反而是我们不遵守约定。
怎么会这样？他真是有病！”
两人沿着一条羊肠小道，走进了一片小小的桦树林。有个人正坐在那里看书，她俩一走近，他便抬起头来。
两个小姑娘惊讶地停住了脚步——又是那个男孩！他怎么会在这里？刚才还在深沟里呢。安妮瞥了一眼他手中的书，哎呀，好学术的名字——是考古方面的书。
“我说，这是你的又一个恶作剧吗？”乔治走到他面前，怒气冲冲地问，“我不得不承认，你还是个短跑健将呢！跑得真快啊！这么快就跑到我们前面了，你可真有意思，太——太——太有意思了。”
“唉，又是那两个傻丫头！”小男孩嘟囔了一声，“能让我一个人好好待着吗？昨天你俩说了一大堆废话，今天又跑来讲个不停！”
“你怎么这么快就跑到这里了？”安妮疑惑地问。
“我可没跑来这里，我是慢慢走过来的，边走边看书。”男孩回答。
“骗子！”乔治嚷道，“你一定是用最快的速度跑来的，为什么要做出这副样子，还装成是慢慢走过来的？我们一分钟前才见过你呢！”
“你才是骗子呢！”男孩说，“你们两个真是太讨厌了，快滚开！
让我静静吧，别出现在我面前了。”
蒂米不喜欢男孩说话的口气，低低地吼了起来。男孩立即怒视着它，“还有你！也给我闭嘴！”
安妮扯了扯乔治的衣袖。“走吧，”她说，“在这儿跟他吵来吵去有什么意思？那人是个神经病，真的，我们没法跟他讲道理。”
两人便一起离开了，蒂米紧紧跟在后面。
男孩没有理她们，继续低头看着手中的书，很快就入了迷。
“我真的从没见过这么荒唐的人！”安妮一脸郁闷地说，“顺便说一句，你说，昨晚在老庄园里的人，会不会就是那个神经兮兮的小男孩啊？”
“不会的，我都说了，那只是你在做梦而已。”乔治坚定地摇了摇头，“当然了，深更半夜跑去一所老房子探险，也就他做得出来这种傻事。说不定他还以为半夜去更好玩呢！哇！安妮，你快看呀！
那里有个小池子，就在洞下面。我们去里面游个泳怎么样？”
这会儿，池水在太阳下闪闪发光，非常有吸引力。她俩走近看了看。
“棒极了！下午我们就去游泳。”乔治开心地说，“还有，安妮，我真的觉得，我们该回一趟科林庄园了，去拿点食物和必需品。剩下的三明治都干巴巴的，实在难以下咽。而且，蒂米的耳朵还没有好，看样子，我们还要在这里待上几天。”
“好的。”安妮也很赞成，两人很快就回到了营地。到了下午，两人换上泳衣，来到了小池塘。池水很深，水暖洋洋的，很清澈。
她们一会儿游泳，一会儿爬上岸晒晒太阳，开开心心地玩了一个小时，然后，两人才极不情愿地换好衣服，踏上了回科林庄园的路。
那可是一段漫长的旅程呀！
见到两个小姑娘和蒂米，乔治的妈妈很惊喜。听说两人是回来拿食物的，便毫不犹豫地答应了她们的要求，让她们去找乔安娜，有多少就拿多少走。
“差点忘了说，我收到朱利安和迪克的信了，”妈妈说，“他们从法国回来了，可能这两天就会到科林庄园，到时候，是你们自己回来，还是叫他们去找你们？”
“哦！叫他们来找我们吧！”乔治眼睛一亮，高兴地说，“啊哈！
我们五个终于又能聚在一起了，真是太好了！”
“给我说个详细地址吧，不然我怎么告诉他们呀？”妈妈说，“玩够了你们几个就一起回来，男孩们还可以搬搬东西呢！”
太好了！太好了！朱利安和迪克又回来了！大家可以一起去探险，以后的每一天一定都有意思极了，就和以前一样！太好了！
Chapter 6 STORM IN THE NIGHT
Chapter 6 STORM IN THE NIGHT
It was fun to go back to their little camping-place again. It was growing dark, as they had stayed tohave a good meal at Kirrin Cottage, and Timmy had eaten a most enormous plate of meat, vegetablesand gravy. Then he had sat down and sighed as if to say 'That was jolly good! I could do with somemore!'
23
However, nobody took any notice of this, so he trotted off to have a good look round the garden tomake sure it was just the same as when he had left it a day or two before. Then it was time to startback to the camping-place, and Timmy heard George's whistle.
'Well, nobody laughed at Timmy this evening!' said Anne. 'Not even your father!'
'Oh, I expect Mother had told him not to,' said George. 'Anyway, I said I would stay away till Tim'sear is better, and I mean to.'
'Well, I'm quite willing,' said Anne. 'The only thing I'm a bit worried about is - do you suppose therewill be anyone snooping about in that old cottage again!'
'You dreamed it all!' said George. 'You admitted you did!'
'Well, yes, I did wonder if I had dreamed it,' said Anne, as they walked up the long Carters Lane tothe moor. 'But now that it will soon be dark, I'm beginning to think I didn't dream it - and it isn't avery nice feeling.'
'Oh, don't be silly!' said George impatiently. 'You can't chop and change about like that. Anyway,we've got Timmy - no one would dare to upset Timmy! Would they, Tim?'
But Timmy was ahead, hoping against hope that he might for once in a way catch a rabbit. Therewere so many about on the common at this time of the evening, peeping at him here, making fun ofhim there, and showing their little white bobtails as soon as he moved in their direction.
The two girls got safely back to their camp. The tent was still up, their heather-bed out in the open,covered with the old rug. They put down their loads thankfully, and went to the little spring for adrink.
George yawned. 'I'm tired. Let's get to bed at once, shall we? Or wait - perhaps it would be a goodidea to have a look in at that cottage to make sure no one is there to disturb us tonight.'
'Oh no - I don't want to look,' said Anne. 'It's getting dark now.'
'All right - I'll go with Timmy,' said George, and off she went. She came back in about five minutes,her little torch shining in front of her, for it was now almost dark.
'Nothing to report,' she said. 'Nothing whatever - except one bat flying round that big room.
Timmy nearly went mad when it flew down and almost touched his nose.'
'Oh. That's when he barked, I suppose,' said Anne, who was now curled up on the heather-bed. 'Iheard him. Come on, George - I'm sleepy.'
'I must just look at Timmy's ear once more,' said George and shone her torch on it.
'Well, buck up, then,' said Anne. 'That's about the thousandth time today you've examined it.'
24
'It does seem much better,' said George, and she patted Timmy. 'I shall be glad when I can take thisawful collar off him. I'm sure he hates it.'
'I don't believe he even notices it now,' said Anne. 'George, are you coming or not? I really can't keepawake one minute more.'
'I'm coming,' said George. 'No, Tim - you are not sleeping on our bed. I told you that last night.
There's hardly enough room for Anne and me.'
She climbed carefully on to the heather-bed, and lay looking up at the twinkling stars. 'I feel happytonight,' she said, 'because Julian and Dick are coming. I was down in the dumps when I thought theymight not be coming at all these hols. When do you suppose they'll be here, Anne?'
There was no answer. Anne was asleep. George sighed. She would have liked to plan what they weregoing to do when the boys came. Timmy's ear would surely be all right in a day or two -and the boys could carry everything back from this little camp to Kirrin Cottage - and then long daysof swimming and boating and fishing and all kinds of fun could begin - begin - begin - be...
And now George was asleep too! She didn't feel a small spider running over her hand, wonderingwhether or not to spin a web between her finger and thumb. She didn't hear the scramble of ahedgehog not far off - though Timmy did and pricked one ear. It was a very peaceful night indeed.
Next day the girls were very cheerful. They made a good breakfast of some of the food they hadbrought, and then spent some time getting more heather for their bed, which, under the weight oftheir two bodies, was now rather flat and uncomfortable.
'Now for a swim!' said George. They put on their swim-suits, threw cardigans over their shouldersand set off to the little pool. On the way they saw Jet, the little mongrel dog, in the distance, and theboy with him. Jet tore up to them and danced round Timmy excitedly.
The boy called to them. 'It's all right, don't worry, I'm not going near your place! I'm still keeping mypromise! Jet - come here!'
The girls took no notice of the grinning boy, but couldn't resist patting the little one-eyed mongrel. Jetreally was like a piece of quicksilver, darting in and out and round about. He shot back to the boy atonce.
The girls went on to the pool - and stopped in dismay when they came near. Someone was alreadythere, swimming vigorously!
'Who is it?' said Anne. 'Dear me, this lonely common seems absolutely crowded with people!'
25
George was staring at the swimmer in utmost amazement. 'Anne - it's that boy!' she said. 'Look -tousled hair and everything! But-but...'
'But we've just met him going in the opposite direction!' said Anne, also amazed. 'How extraordinary!
No, it can't be the boy!'
They went a little nearer. Yes - it was the boy. He called out to them. 'I'm just going out. I shan't be aminute!'
'How did you get here?' shouted George. 'We never saw you turn back and run.'
'I've been here for about ten minutes,' shouted back the boy.
'Fibber!' yelled back George at once.
'Ah - barmy as usual!' yelled the boy. 'Same as yesterday!'
He got out and walked off, dripping wet, in the direction of the trenches and pits which he wasdigging. George looked about for Jet, but she couldn't see him. 'Perhaps he's in the pool too,' she said.
'Come on, Anne - let's swim. I must say that that boy is extraordinary! I suppose he thinks it's funnyto meet people, then double back and appear again!'
'He was nicer the first time of all that we saw him,' said Anne. 'I liked him then. I just don'tunderstand him now. Ooooh - isn't this water lovely and warm!'
They had a long swim, got out and basked in the sun, lying on the heather, and then swam again.
Then they began to feel hungry and went back to their little camping place.
The day passed quickly. They saw no more of the puzzling boy, or of Jet. They occasionally heardthe sharp noise of metal on stone, or of chipping, from the place where the boy was presumably stilldigging in the old Roman camp.
'Or what he hopes is an old Roman camp,' said George. 'Personally I think he's so mad that I don'tsuppose he would know the difference between a Roman camp and a Boy Scout's camp!'
They settled down on their heather-bed that night, but saw no stars twinkling above them this time.
Instead there were rather heavy clouds, and it was not nearly so warm.
'Gosh - I hope it's not going to rain!' said George. 'Our tent wouldn't be much good against a realdownpour! We could squeeze into it all right, but it's not a proper waterproof tent. Do you think it'sgoing to rain, Anne?'
'No,' said Anne, sleepily. 'Anyway, I'm not getting up till I have to! I'm tired.'
She went to sleep, and so did George. Timmy didn't, though. He had heard the far-off growl ofthunder, and he was uneasy. Timmy was not afraid of thunderstorms, but he didn't like them.
26
They were things that growled like enormous dogs in the sky, and flashed angrily - but he nevercould get at them, or frighten them!
He closed both eyes, and put down one ear, leaving the other one up, listening.
Another thunder growl came, and one large and heavy drop of rain fell on Timmy's black nose.
Then another fell on his cardboard collar and made a very loud noise indeed, startling him. He sat up,growling.
The rain came closer, and soon large drops, the size of half-crowns, peppered the faces of the twosleeping girls. Then came such a crash of thunder that they both awoke in a fright.
'Blow! It's a thunderstorm!' said George. 'And thunder rain too. We shall be soaked.'
'Better get into the tent,' said Anne, as a flash of lightning forked down the sky and lighted upeverything with a quick brilliance.
'No good,' said George. 'It's soaked already. There's nothing for it but to get into the cottage, Anne. Atleast we'll have a roof over our heads or rather, a ceiling, for the roof's gone. Come on.'
Anne didn't in the least want to shelter in the old cottage, but there was absolutely nothing else to do.
The girls grabbed their rug and ran through the rain, George flashing her torch to guide them.
Timmy ran too, barking.
They came to the doorway of the cottage and went inside. What a relief to get out of the rain!
The two girls huddled down into a corner, the rug round them - but soon they were too hot and threwit off.
The storm passed overhead with a few terrific crashes and much lightning. Gradually the rain grewless and soon stopped. One star came out, and then others followed as the thunder-clouds swept awayin the wind.
'We can't go back to the tent - we'll have to stay here,' said George. 'I'll go and get our bags forpillows. We can lie on the rug.'
Anne went with her, and carried a bag back too. Soon the girls were lying in a corner on the rug, theirheads on the bags, and Timmy close beside them.
'Good night,' said Anne. 'We'll try to go to sleep again! Blow that storm!'
Soon they were both asleep - but Timmy wasn't. Timmy was uneasy. Very uneasy! And quitesuddenly he broke into a volley of such loud barks that both girls woke up in a panic.
'Timmy! What's the matter? Oh Tim, what is it?' cried George. She clutched his leather collar andheld on to him.
'Don't leave us! Timmy, what's scared you?'
6.暴雨骤降
暴雨骤降
返回营地的过程要有趣多了。她们留在科林庄园吃了一顿丰盛的晚餐，离开时，天色已经暗了下来。蒂米吃了一大盘肉，还有拌着肉汁的蔬菜，接着，它就坐在一旁不停地叹气，仿佛在说：“这一顿真是好吃到吃不够，就算再多来一点我也能吃完。”
可惜，并没有人注意到它的唉声叹气，它只好慢慢跑进花园里散散步，看看在自己离开的这一两天中，花园有没有什么变化。很快就到了回去的时间，蒂米听到了乔治的口哨声。
“瞧，今晚根本没人笑话蒂米嘛，”安妮对乔治说，“连你爸爸都没有。”
“我想，一定是妈妈和爸爸说好了，不许笑话蒂米的吧。”乔治说，“反正我说过，我要在外面露营，直到蒂米的耳朵好了才会回来。我可是说真的。”
“好吧，我也喜欢露营，”安妮赞同道，“我只担心一件事——到底有没有人在暗中窥视那个老庄园。”
“都说了你是在做梦！你自己都承认了。”乔治说道。
“是啊，我的确想过，那一切到底是不是我在做梦，”安妮回答道，她们正沿着长长的卡特斯路往公园走，“可现在天一黑，我又开始觉得，我并不是在做梦。这种感觉真是糟透了！”
“好了，别胡思乱想了，”乔治不耐烦地说，“你不能总这样反反复复的，不管怎么说，我们还有蒂米呢。我可不相信有人敢惹蒂米，是不是，蒂米？”
蒂米径自走在前面，抱着一线希望，希望能抓到一只兔子。在这个时间段，地里的兔子特别多，它们都在偷偷地看着蒂米，每当它一走近，那些兔子就摇着雪白的短尾巴逗弄它，蒂米恼火极了。
两个小姑娘终于回到了营地，帐篷依然好好地立在那里，帐篷外的石南床上，依然还铺着那张旧毯子。她们便安心地放下手中的行李，去泉水边喝水了。
乔治打了个哈欠，说：“我好累啊，咱们早点睡吧。哦，等一下，或许我们应该先去老庄园溜达一圈，确保今晚没人来打扰我们。”
“哦，不，”安妮拒绝了，“我才不想去呢，天都这么黑了！”
“那好吧，我和蒂米去看看就行了。”乔治说完就离开了。五分钟后，她拿着手电筒回来了，这时候，天已经完全黑了。
“没什么情况，”她说，“只有一只蝙蝠在那儿飞来飞去。蝙蝠冲下来的时候，差点撞到蒂米的鼻子，把它吓了一大跳。”
“哦？我猜，它就是那个时候叫起来的吧？”安妮说，她已经洗漱完毕，躺在了石南床上，“我刚才听到它的叫声了。别说了，乔治，赶紧睡觉吧。”
“不行啊，我得先瞧瞧蒂米的耳朵。”乔治用手电筒照着蒂米的耳朵看了看。
“好了，别看了，”安妮劝道，“你今天都看了几千遍了！”
“看起来好多了，”乔治说着，拍了拍蒂米，“要是能把这个讨厌的伊丽莎白圈拿下来，我就再开心不过啦！我猜，它肯定恨死这个硬纸圈了。”
“我不信它还在介意这个伊丽莎白圈。”安妮说，“乔治，你到底来不来睡觉啊？我真的连一分钟都撑不住了。”
“马上就来！”乔治说，“喂，蒂米！你不能睡在我们的床上，昨天就告诉过你了。安妮和我睡在这里就够挤的了。”
乔治轻手轻脚地爬上石南床，躺下来看着天上的星星。“今晚我很高兴，”她说，“因为朱利安和迪克要来了。我还以为，整个假期他们都不会来了，心情简直跌到了谷底。安妮，你说，他们什么时候才会到呢？”
安妮没有回答，她已经睡着了。乔治忍不住叹了口气，她真应该好好计划一下，等男孩们回来了，就一起去做点有意思的事。蒂米的耳朵再过一两天就会好了，至于营地里的东西，就通通搬回去好了，反正男孩们可以帮忙。然后就是整天整天的游泳啊、划船啊、钓鱼啊，还有其他各种各样好玩的事，一直玩啊玩啊玩啊……乔治想着想着，也进入了梦乡。她没感觉到，有一只蜘蛛爬过了她的手，似乎还在犹豫，该不该在她的食指和拇指间织个网；她也没听见，不远处一只刺猬爬过去的声音。蒂米却听见了，一只耳朵直直地竖了起来。这里的夜晚真是太安静了。
第二天，两人都精神振奋。她们选了选带回来的食物，做了一顿丰盛的早餐，接着，又捡来更多的石南，把床重新布置了一遍。
连续睡了两夜之后，她们的床已经被压得扁扁的，躺起来很不舒服。
“现在可以去游泳了！”乔治说。她们换上泳衣，外面套了一件开襟毛衫，穿着碎花小裙子，一蹦一跳地出发了。远远地，她们碰见了杰特——那只小小的混种狗，男孩则跟在杰特的后面。杰特一见到她们就冲了过来，围着蒂米兴奋地叫唤。
男孩朝她们喊道：“不用担心，我不会靠近你们的地盘！我会信守诺言的。杰特，快过来！”
她们没有搭理笑嘻嘻的男孩，但却很愿意摸摸小小的独眼狗。
杰特就像一条水蛇似的，在她们身边绕来绕去，一下子又冲回到男孩身边。
两个小姑娘继续往小池塘的方向走，快到的时候，她们猛地顿住了脚步，惊讶地发现，那儿已经有人了，正游得起劲呢。
“这是谁啊？”安妮非常好奇，“天啊，这个地方看起来冷冷清清的，却怎么到处都能看见人呀！”
乔治凝视着那个正在游泳的身影，吃惊得连话都说不出。“安妮！是——是那个男孩！”乔治惊叫道，“你看呀，乱糟糟的头发，还有其他的特征都很符合！可是……”
“可是，我们刚刚才见过面，他明明往相反的方向走了呀！”安妮也错愕不已，“这太神奇了！不，不可能是刚才那个男孩！”
两人又走近了一点，没错，就是那个男孩。他对她俩喊道：“我马上就出来，等我一分钟！”
“你怎么跑这里来了？”乔治大声问，“我们刚刚才见过你，你不是往相反的方向走了吗？”
“什么呀？我都来了快十分钟了！”男孩也大声回答。
“骗子！”乔治马上怒声嚷道。
“啊哈！又在胡说八道！”男孩也不甘示弱地回应道，“跟昨天一个样儿！”
他爬出池塘，湿漉漉地朝挖出的深沟走去。乔治想找找杰特，却没有找到。
“也许杰特还在池子里呢！”乔治说，“安妮，我们去游泳吧，我不得不说，那个男孩太厉害了。我看，他肯定觉得这样的出场方式很帅气。遇见我们一次，然后在不同的地方再遇见我们一次。”
“他第一次见到我们的时候，态度可友好了！”安妮感叹道，“我当时还挺喜欢他的。可现在，我却没法儿理解他了。哇，这水可真舒服，还很暖和呢！”
她们游了好长时间，爬起来后，又在石南丛里晒了一会儿太阳，接着又游了一会儿，后来，两人都觉得有些饿了，才回了营地。
那一天过得很快，她们再也没遇到那个令人疑惑的男孩，也没再碰见杰特。偶尔，她们会听见一阵金属划在石头上的尖锐响声，还有削东西的声音，大概是那个男孩还在古罗马营地里挖着什么吧。
“也许，只是他希望那是个古罗马军营遗迹而已，”乔治说，“我个人认为他是疯了。因为我根本不相信，他会了解古罗马军营和男孩子营地的区别。”
这一天晚上，她们在石南床上躺下，却没有看见星星在空中闪耀，取而代之的是厚厚的云层，而且，天也没那么暖和了。
“天啊，我希望不要下雨，”乔治说，“帐篷可没那么结实，没法应付一场倾盆大雨。我们可以在帐篷里挤一挤，可是，这个帐篷不太防水。你觉得今天会下雨吗，安妮？”
“不觉得，”安妮睡意蒙眬地回答，“无论如何，不到非起床不可的时候，我是绝对不会起来的。我累坏了。”
她很快就睡着了，乔治也是。蒂米倒没有睡着，它听到了远远传来的雷声，一下子变得紧张起来。蒂米不怕打雷，但它也不喜欢这样的天气。闪电不停地落下，像是一大群狗在咆哮，但蒂米碰不到它们，它的叫声也吓不住它们。
它闭上眼睛，一只耳朵耷下来，一只耳朵竖着，聆听着周围的动静。
又一阵雷鸣咆哮着传了过来，一颗雨滴重重地落在蒂米的黑鼻子上，又一滴落在它的伊丽莎白圈上，发出好大的声响，吓了它一跳。它坐起来，低声咆哮着。
雨越下越大。很快，和十便士硬币差不多大小的雨滴落下，砸在了两个小姑娘的脸上。片刻间，天边又传来一阵雷鸣，两个人都惊醒了。
“糟了，是暴风雨！”乔治惊呼道，“这么大的雨，我们会被淋个透的！”
“躲进帐篷里可能会好一点。”安妮说。就在这时，正好有一道闪电从空中划过，把周围的一切都照亮了。
“不好！”乔治急忙说，“帐篷都湿透了！这里也没有能避雨的地方，只有去那个老庄园躲躲了。那里起码有个屋顶可以挡雨啊，就算没有屋顶，有天花板也行。走吧！”
安妮一点也不想去老庄园，但现在已经没有别的办法了。两个小姑娘只好拿起毯子在雨中奔跑，乔治拿着手电筒照路，蒂米也跟在后面，一边跑一边大声叫着。
她们走进老庄园的门廊，摆脱了大雨。两人终于松了一口气，挤在角落里，用毯子将自己裹了起来。但是没过多久，她俩又觉得太热了，便把毯子扔到了一边。
暴风雨从头顶经过，伴随一道道闪电，发出一连串可怕的撞击声。慢慢地，雨变小了，不一会儿工夫又停了，厚厚的云层也被风吹散。一颗星星跑了出来，渐渐地，其他的星星也陆陆续续出现在了空中。
“我们不能回帐篷去，还得待在这里。”乔治想了想说，“我回去拿包来当枕头，总不能睡在毛毯上吧！”安妮和她一起去，拎了一包东西回来。不久，她俩就躺在了毯子上，头枕着包，蒂米紧紧挨着她们。
“晚安，”安妮说，“我们赶紧睡吧。暴风雨真讨厌！”
她们很快就睡着了，可蒂米没有。它觉得很不安，非常非常不安。它突然急促地叫唤起来，声音很大，女孩们一下子就惊醒了。
“蒂米，怎么啦？哦！蒂米，那是什么？”乔治惊叫起来。她抓紧了蒂米的伊丽莎白圈，不让它乱跑。
“别离开我们！蒂米，你在害怕什么？”
Chapter 7 QUEER HAPPENINGS
Chapter 7 QUEER HAPPENINGS
Timmy stopped barking and tried to get away from George's hand on his collar. But she would not lethim. George was not easily frightened, but what with the thunderstorm, the queer old cottage andnow Timmy's sudden excitement, she wanted him near her.
'What is it?' asked Anne, in a scared whisper.
'I don't know. I can't even imagine,' said George, also in a low voice. 'Perhaps it's nothing - just thethunderstorm that has upset him and made him nervous. We'll keep awake a bit, and see if we hearanything queer.'
They lay quietly in their corner, and George kept a firm hand on Timmy. He growled once or twice,but did not bark any more. George began to think it really must have been the storm that had upsethim.
A rumble of thunder came again - the storm was returning, or else another one was blowing up!
George felt relieved. 'It's all right, Anne. It must have been the thunder and lightning in the distancethat upset Timmy. You're silly, Timmy - scaring us like that!'
Crash - rumble - crash! Yes, certainly the storm was gathering force again! Timmy barked angrily.
'Be quiet! You make more noise than the thunder!' said George, crossly. 'No, you can't go out into therain, Timmy. It's begun again, as bad as before. You'd only get dripping wet - and then you'd want tocome and sit as close to me as possible and make me wet too. I know you!'
'No - don't let him go, George,' said Anne. 'I like him here with us. My word - what a storm! I hope itwon't strike this cottage.'
'Well, considering that it must have stood here for three or four hundred years, and have seenthousands of storms, I expect it will come safely through one more!' said George. 'Where are yougoing, Anne?'
28
'Just to look out of the window,' said Anne. 'Or out of the place where the window used to be! I liketo see the countryside suddenly lit up for just one moment in a lightning flash - and then go back todarkness again.'
She went to stand at the window. There came the crash of thunder, not far away, and a brilliant flashof lightning. Anne stared over the countryside, which had suddenly become visible in the flash - andthen disappeared like magic in a second!
Anne gave a sudden cry and stumbled back to George. 'George - George...'
'Whatever's the matter?' asked George, alarmed.
'There's someone out there - people!' said Anne, clutching George and making her jump. 'I saw themjust for an instant, when the lightning flashed.'
'People? What sort of people?' said George, astonished. 'How many?'
'I don't know. It was all so quick. I think there were two - or maybe three. They were standing someway off - quite still, out there in the storm.'
'Anne, those are trees!' said George, scornfully. 'There are two or three small trees standing againstthe sky out there - I noticed them the other day.'
'These weren't trees,' said Anne. 'I know they weren't. What are people doing out there in this storm?
I'm frightened.'
George was absolutely certain that Anne had seen the group of little trees that she knew were there -they would look just like people, in a quick flash of lightning. No sooner did you see something in astorm than it was gone!
She comforted Anne. 'Don't worry, Anne! It's the easiest thing in the world to imagine seeing thingsin a lightning flash. Timmy would bark if there were people around. He would...'
'Well, he did bark, didn't he?' said Anne. 'He woke us both up with his barking.'
'Ah yes - but that was just because he heard the storm coming up again,' said George. 'And you knowhe gets angry when he hears the thunder growling.'
Just at that moment the thunder crashed again - then the lightning flashed its weird and brilliant light.
This time both the girls screamed and Timmy gave an enormous bark, trying his hardest to get awayfrom George.
'There! Did you see that?' said Anne, in a shaky voice.
29
'Yes. Yes, I did. Oh, Anne, you're right! Someone was looking in at the window! And if we saw him,he must have seen us! Whatever is he doing here in the middle of the night?'
'Well, I told you I saw two or three people,' said Anne, still shakily. 'I expect it was one of them.
May be they saw the cottage in one of the lightning flashes, and thought they might shelter here -and sent one of their number to see.'
'May be. But what in the world is anyone doing, wandering about here at night?' said George.
'They can't possibly be up to any good. Let's go home tomorrow, Anne. I wish the boys were here!
They'd know what to do, they would have some good plan!'
'The storm's going off again,' said Anne. 'Timmy has stopped barking too, thank goodness. Don't lethim go, George. You never know - those people, whoever they are, might do him harm.
Anyway, I feel safer when he's with us!'
'I wouldn't dream of letting him go,' said George. 'You're trembling, Anne! You needn't be as scaredas that! Timmy won't let you come to any harm.'
'I know! But it wasn't very nice suddenly seeing somebody looking in at the window like that,outlined in a lightning flash!' said Anne. 'I can't possibly go to sleep again. Let's play some silly gameto take our minds off it.'
So they played the Alphabet game with Animals. Each had to think in turn of an animal beginningwith A, and a mark went to the one who could keep it up longest! Then they went on to B and to Cand to D.
They were doing the E's when they heard a loud and very comforting sound.
'Timmy's snoring,' said George. 'He's fast asleep. What an elephantine snore, Tim!'
'E for elephant,' said Anne, quickly.
'Cheat! That should have been my E!' said George. 'All right. E for Eland.'
'E for Egg-Eater,' said Anne, after a pause.
'Not allowed - you made that up!' said George. 'My mark!'
By the time they got to M, and Anne was two marks ahead, the dawn was breaking. It was a greatrelief to the two girls to see the silvering of the sky in the east and to know that soon the sun wouldbe up. They immediately felt much better. George even stood up and went bravely to the window,where there was nothing to be seen but the quiet countryside outside, with its stretches of heather,gorse-bushes and silver birches.
30
'We were silly to be so scared,' said George. 'I don't think we'll go back home today after all, Anne. Ihate running away from anything. The boys would laugh at us.'
'I don't care if they do,' said Anne. 'I'm going back. If the boys were here, I'd stay - but goodnessknows when they'll come - it might not be till next week! I'm just NOT staying here another night.'
'All right, all right,' said George. 'Do as you like - but for goodness' sake tell the boys it was you whowanted to run away, not me!'
'I will,' said Anne. 'Oh dear - now I feel sleepy all over again. I suppose it's because daylight is hereand everything seems safe, so I know I can fall asleep.'
George felt the same! They cuddled down together on the rug again and immediately feel asleep.
They did not wake till quite late - and even then something woke them, or they might have slept onfor hours, tired out with their broken night and the fright they had had.
They were awakened by something scuttling round them, making a very loud noise indeed. ThenTimmy barked.
The girls awoke and sat up, rather dazed. 'Oh, it's Jet!' said Anne. 'Jet, have you come to see if we'reall right, you dear, funny little one-eyed thing!'
'Wuff-wuff!' said Jet, and rolled over on his back to be tickled, his long thin tail wagging all the time.
Timmy leaped on him and pretended to eat him. Then a loud voice called to them.
They looked up. The boy was standing at the door, grinning widely.
'Hallo, sleepy-heads! I came to see if you were all right after that awful storm. I know I promised Iwouldn't come here, but I felt a bit worried about you.'
'Oh. Well, that's nice of you,' said Anne, getting up and brushing the dust from her skirt. 'We're quiteall right - but we had rather a queer night. We...'
She got a hard nudge from George and stopped suddenly. George was warning her not to sayanything about the people they had seen - or the person at the window. Did she think they might haveanything to do with this boy? Anne said no more and George spoke instead.
'Wasn't it a dreadful storm? How did you get on?'
'All right. I sleep down in a trench, and the rain can't get at me. Well - so long! Come on, Jet!'
The boy and the dog disappeared. 'That was nice of him,' said Anne. 'He doesn't seem crazy thismorning, does he - quite normal! He didn't even contradict us. I think I quite like him after all.'
31
They went to their soaked tent and got a tin of sardines out to eat with bread and butter. Just as theywere opening it, they heard someone whistling and looked up.
'Here comes that boy again!' said Anne.
'Good morning. I don't want to butt in - but I just wondered if you were all right after the storm,'
said the boy, without even a smile. The girls stared at him in amazement.
'Look - don't start being crazy all over again!' said George. 'You know jolly well we're all right.
We've already told you.'
'You haven't. And I didn't know!' said the boy. 'Well, I only came out of politeness. Sorry to see youare still balmy!'
And off he went. 'There!' said Anne, vexed. 'Just as we thought he was nice again, and not crazy, hestarts all over again. I suppose he thinks it's funny. Silly ass!'
They set their things out to dry in the sun, and it was half-past twelve before they were ready to packand go back to Kirrin Cottage. George was rather cross about going, but Anne was quite firm. Shewas NOT going to spend another night on the common.
George was just strapping a package on her bicycle, when the two girls heard the sound of voices- and then Timmy went quite mad! He barked wildly, and set off down a path at top speed, his tailwagging nineteen to the dozen!
'Oh! It can't be - surely it can't be Julian and Dick!' shouted George, in sudden delight, and she shotoff after Timmy.
It was! It was Julian and Dick! There they came, packs on their backs, grinning all over their faces!
Hurrah! The Famous Five were all together once more!
7.诡异的身影
诡异的身影
蒂米停止了叫唤，开始试着从乔治的手里挣脱出来，可她怎么会让它跑开呢？乔治倒是没那么胆小，但刚刚才下了暴风雨，身处古怪的老庄园里，又看着蒂米如此不安的样子，她还是希望它能留在自己身边。
“怎么回事呀？”安妮低声问道，她有些害怕。
“我不知道，也没法猜。”乔治也压低了嗓门回答，“也许根本什么事儿都没有，是暴风雨把它惹得这么烦躁，让它这么紧张的。我们还是先别睡了，看能不能听到别的动静。”
她们安静地躺在角落里，乔治依然紧紧抓着蒂米的伊丽莎白圈。蒂米叫了一两次过后，就安静了下来。乔治便理所当然地以为，惹它烦躁的就是刚才那场暴风雨。
又一阵雷鸣响起——要么是方才的暴风雨回来了，要么是又一场暴风雨来了。
乔治如释重负。“没事的，安妮。一定是刚才那阵雷鸣把蒂米吓着了。你真是太傻了，蒂米，瞧把我们吓成什么样了。”
“哗啦啦——轰隆隆——哗啦啦！”
确实是暴风雨又席卷而至，蒂米愤怒地咆哮起来。
“安静点！你的叫声比雷声还吵呢！”乔治气呼呼地说，“不行！
蒂米，你不能跑到雨里去，这么大的雨，比刚才还大，你跑出去一定会淋得全身湿透的！到时候你看见我，肯定又要跑来挨着我了，我还不知道你啊！”
“对，别放开它，乔治！”安妮说，“我想让它陪着我们。我的意思是，这该死的暴风雨，我真怕这个老庄园被淋坏了。”
“这倒不至于。仔细想想，这地方怎么说也有三四百年的历史，经历过的暴风雨至少也有上千场了，所以，就算再经历今天这一场，应该也没问题。”乔治没放在心上，“安妮，你去哪儿呀？”
“我去看看窗户外，”安妮回答，“或者说，去曾经的窗户边，看看外面的世界。我就想看看，在闪电划过照亮黑暗的瞬间，外面是什么样子的。”
她走过去站在窗前，不远处又传来“轰隆隆”的声音，接着是一道亮得刺眼的闪电划过。安妮静静地注视着窗外的乡间景色，它们在闪光下能一览无余，却又在下一秒变成一片黑暗。太神奇了，简直像变魔术一样。
突然，安妮惊叫了一声，跌跌撞撞地跑回乔治身边，碱道：“乔治！乔治！”
“你又怎么了？”乔治十分惊讶。
“外面有人！有人！”安妮慌忙说着，一把抓住乔治的胳膊，吓得乔治差点跳起来，“我刚才无意间看见的，就在闪电闪过的时候。”
“人？什么样的人啊？”乔治问，她也很震惊，“有多少人？”
“不是很清楚，我觉得是两个，也有可能是三个。他们就在不远处，一动不动地站在雨里。”
“安妮，那是树吧？”乔治轻蔑地说，“那边是有两三棵树，笔直地站在天空下，一动不动，我之前早就注意到了。”
“才不是树呢！”安妮不肯相信，“我知道那不是树。这么大的暴风雨，那些人想做什么呀，我好害怕！”
乔治确定，安妮看到的就是那几棵小树，她之前也见过的，乍看之下确实有点像人，尤其是在稍纵即逝的闪电里。“等暴风雨过去，你就不会有那样的错觉了，”乔治安慰道，“别担心啦，安妮。
在打雷闪电的时候，以为自己看到了什么东西，这种情况很常见呀。如果真的有人的话，蒂米一定会叫的，对不对？它还会……”
“哎呀，它刚刚叫过呀，不是吗？”安妮说，“当时，就是它的叫声把我们俩惊醒的，你忘了吗？”
“没错，它是叫过，可那只是因为，它听见暴风雨又来了嘛。”乔治解释道，“你也知道，它只要一听见轰隆隆的雷声，就会很愤怒。”
就在此时，又一阵雷声响起，紧接着，闪电在天边划出一条长而明亮的光线。两个小姑娘都尖叫起来，蒂米发出一声低吼，便奋力挣开乔治，冲了出去。
“就在那儿！乔治，你看见没有？”安妮用颤抖的声音说。
“是呀是呀！我——我看见了。哦，安妮，你没有胡说，真的有人在朝窗户里看，但是，如果我们都能看见那个人，那他肯定也能看见我们！大半夜的，他究竟跑这里来做什么？”
“我都说了，我看见了两三个人。”安妮说，她仍然在颤抖，“我猜，我们看见的人就是其中之一。也许，他们在闪电中看到了老庄园，觉得这里可以避雨，就先派一个人来看看情况。”
“也许吧，可是三更半夜的，他们来这里晃来晃去，到底是想干吗？”乔治说，“那些人肯定没安什么好心。安妮，我们明天就回家去吧，要是朱利安和迪克在这里就好了，他们一定知道该怎么办，也一定能想出好主意来。”
“暴风雨停了，”安妮道，“蒂米也不叫了，谢天谢地！可千万别让它再跑出去了，乔治。我们不知道那是些什么人，他们很可能会伤害蒂米。更何况，我也觉得，有蒂米在才更安全。”
“我才没想过放蒂米出去呢！”乔治毫不犹豫地说，“安妮，你还在发抖啊！不用这么害怕，蒂米不会让你受到伤害的。”
“我也明白，可是在闪电中，突然有一张脸，像刚才那样出现在窗口，真的好吓人呀！”安妮惊惶地说，“我不敢再睡觉了，咱们玩游戏吧，别再想那些可怕的事了。”
于是，两人玩起了动物字母表的游戏。每个人说出一个以“A”开头的动物名称，谁说的词最长，谁就能得一分。接下来，她俩一直说到了以“B”“C”“D”开头的动物。
就在她们玩到“E”的时候，突然听到一个很响亮，但却让两人都安心不少的声音。
“是蒂米在打呼噜！”乔治说，“这么快就睡着了，呼噜打得跟大象一样！”
“E，大象 ！”安妮马上反应过来。
“不算不算，要说也该是我说呀，”乔治道，“重来重来，E，羚羊！”
“E，吃蛋兽。”安妮顿了顿，回答道。
“不行，那是你瞎编的，”乔治立即说，“这次该我得分。”
时间一点点过去，她们说到了“M”，安妮领先了两分。这时已经是黎明时分了，两个小姑娘看着天边透出的鱼肚白，知道太阳就要出来了，不由得都松了口气。两人瞬间觉得心情好多了，乔治甚至站起来，勇敢地跑到了窗户边——那里除了广阔的庭院和满院子的石南、荆豆和白桦树，就看不见别的什么了。
“我们居然被吓成这样，真是傻透了。”乔治说，“安妮，我觉得，今天完全没必要回家去了，无论发生什么事，我们都要勇敢面对才行。要不然，朱利安和迪克会笑话我们的。”
“我才不怕被笑话呢！”安妮可不同意乔治的看法，“我要回去！
如果他俩在这儿，我倒还会留下，但是，谁知道他们什么时候来，说不定要等到下个星期呢！在这里，我可一个晚上也待不下去了。”
“好吧，好吧，就照你的意思办吧，”乔治妥协了，“不过，对天发誓，你一定得告诉男孩们，要逃回家是你的主意，不是我的主意！”
“告诉就告诉，”安妮一点也不害怕，“天哪，我突然觉得好困，也不知道是不是因为天亮了，一切都能看得好清楚，我也觉得安全了不少。所以，我好想睡一觉啊！”
乔治也有同样的感觉。她们紧挨着彼此，重新在毯子上躺下，很快就进入了梦乡。这一睡就睡了好久，要不是真的有事打扰到她们，两人一定会再睡上好几个小时。前一天晚上，她俩真的是筋疲力尽，吓得不轻。
有什么东西从她们身边急急跑过，闹出了好大的动静，两人醒了过来。接着，蒂米也叫了起来。
两人茫然地坐起身。“啊呀！是杰特！”安妮惊呼，“杰特，你是担心我们才来的吗？真是太善良了，你这个可爱的独眼小家伙。”
“汪汪！”杰特叫了两声，翻过身去，小小的背在地上蹭啊蹭，似乎是在挠痒痒，细长细长的尾巴摇个不停。蒂米猛地扑上去，装作要吃掉杰特的样子跟它玩闹，就在这时，一道响亮的声音叫住了它。
大家抬起头，便看见一个男孩站在门边，咧着嘴，露出大大的笑容。
“你们好啊，两个大懒虫。昨晚下了那么大的暴风雨，我来看看你们怎么样了。我知道，我保证过不会再来这边，但我实在很担心你们。”
“真是太谢谢你了，”安妮一边说，一边站起身，清理短裙上的尘土，“我们挺好的，就是昨晚发生了点怪事，我们……”
这时，乔治用胳膊肘撞了她一下，她立刻闭上了嘴——乔治这是在提醒她，千万别把昨晚看到了那些人、还有窗口那张脸的事告诉男孩。难道乔治是认为，那些人跟这个男孩有什么关系吗？安妮想到这里，便没有再说下去，让乔治接过了话头。
“对啊，暴风雨真的太可怕了，不是吗？那你是怎么度过的？”
“我倒还好，睡在深沟里，雨淋不到我。哎哟，出来这么久了，我们也该回去了，走吧，杰特！”男孩说完便带着狗狗离开了。
“他心地挺好的，”安妮说，“这会儿，他没那么神经兮兮了，对不对？看上去正常多了，也没有老和我们抬杠拌嘴。我觉得，我还是挺喜欢他的。”
过了一会儿，她们来到湿淋淋的帐篷前，取出一罐沙丁鱼罐头，准备就着黄油吃面包。刚打开罐头，就听见有人在说话，便双双抬起了头。
“那个男孩又来了！”安妮叫道。
“早安！我本来不想来的，但昨晚下了那么大的雨，我想看看你们怎么样了。”男孩板着脸说。听到这话，两个小姑娘惊讶地睁大了眼。
“瞧瞧，他又在说疯话了！”乔治回道，“你知道我们没事的呀，刚才不是都告诉你了吗？”
“没有啊，我怎么会知道呢？”男孩说，“算啦，我过来只是出于礼貌而已。你们还是整天疯言疯语的，真遗憾！”
他说完就走了。
“又来了！”安妮很恼火，“刚刚还觉得他不错呢！什么正常多了，这会儿又开始发作了！难道他认为这样逗我们很好玩吗？真是傻透了！”
吃完饭，两人把东西一样一样拿出来晒干。等到打包好行李，准备回科林庄园的时候，已经十二点半了。乔治一点也不想离开，安妮却死活都要回去——她再也不想在这个鬼地方过夜了。
谁知，乔治刚把行李绑在自行车上，就听到了别的动静，安妮也听见了——蒂米简直像疯了一样，它先是叫得特别厉害，接着就用最快的速度跑了出去，尾巴也剧烈地摇摆着。
“啊！肯定是——肯定是朱利安和迪克来了！”乔治欢呼道，她高兴极了，撇下自行车，也跟着蒂米跑了出去。
没错，是真的！是朱利安和迪克，他们来了，像往常一样，背着行李，脸上笑呵呵的。哈哈！著名的“疯狂侦探团”终于又聚在一起了！
Chapter 8 ALL TOGETHER AGAIN!
Chapter 8 ALL TOGETHER AGAIN!
There was such excitement at the arrival of the boys that at first nobody could make themselvesheard. Timmy barked at the top of his very loud voice and simply would not stop! George shouted,and Dick and Julian laughed. Anne hugged them, and felt proud of two such brown, good-lookingbrothers.
32
'Ju! We never guessed you'd come so soon!' said the delighted George. 'Gosh, I'm pleased to see you!'
'We got fed up with French food,' said Dick. 'I came out in spots and Julian was sick, and it was SOhot. Phew! Next time I go there I'll go when it's cooler.'
'And we kept on thinking of Kirrin and the bay, and you two girls and Timmy,' said Julian, givingGeorge a friendly punch. 'I think we really got a bit homesick. So we packed up before we should,and flew home.'
'Flew?' said George. 'You lucky things! And then did you come straight down here?'
'We spent the night with Mother and Dad at home,' said Julian, 'and then caught the first train herethat we possibly could this morning - only to find that you weren't at Kirrin!'
'So we packed camping-out things in smaller bags and came straight along to you!' said Dick. 'I say,George, old thing, do you think you could possibly make Timmy stop barking? I'm going a bit deaf!'
'Shut up, Tim,' ordered George. 'Let other people bark a bit. Do you notice his collar, Julian?'
'Can't help seeing it!' said Julian. 'He looks a scream in it, doesn't he? Ha ha! You're an Elizabethandog with a ruff, Timmy - that's what Uncle Quentin told us - and that's what you look like, oldfellow!'
'He looks most comical, I must say,' said Dick. 'Enough to make a cat laugh, hey, Timmy!'
Anne looked at George. Goodness, what would she say to hear Julian and Dick laughing at Timmyand making fun of him! Would she lose her temper at once?
But George only grinned. In fact she gave a little laugh herself. 'Yes - he does look funny, doesn't he?
But he doesn't mind a bit!'
'You know, we came here to camp because George couldn't bear people laughing at ...' began Anne,thinking that she wouldn't let George get away with this! But George gave her such a beseechinglook, that she stopped at once. George could never bear to look small in front of Julian and Dick. Sheprided herself on being just like a boy - and she was suddenly certain that her two cousins wouldthink she was 'just like a girl' if they heard of the fuss she had made about people laughing atTimmy's collar.
'I say - you two seem to be packing up,' said Julian, looking at the package strapped to the back ofGeorge's bicycle. 'What's happened?'
33
'Well - it got a bit lonely and Anne was...' and then in her turn George caught a beseeching loop fromAnne! She knew what it meant 'I didn't tell tales of you - so don't tell tales of me - don't say I wasscared!'
'Er - Anne was certain that there was something queer going on here,' went on George, who had quitemeant to say that Anne was scared and insisted on going home. 'And we didn't feel that we couldtackle it ourselves - though if you had been here we wouldn't have dreamed of going home, ofcourse.'
'What do you mean - something queer?' asked Dick.
'Well - you see - it began like this,' said George, but Julian interrupted.
'If there's a tale to tell, let's have it over a meal, shall we? We've had nothing to eat since six o'clockthis morning, Dick and I - and we're ravenous!'
'Yes. Good idea,' said Dick, and began to undo a big package which he took out of his bag. 'I've apicnic lunch here from your mother, George - a jolly good one, I can tell you. I think she was sorelieved to think that she was going to get rid of us that she really surpassed herself! We've got amarvellous piece of boiled ham - look! It'll last us for ages - if we don't give bits to Timmy. Getaway, Tim. This is not for you! Grrrrrr!'
George suddenly felt so happy that she could hardly speak. It had been fun camping with Anne -but what a difference the boys made! So confident of themselves, so merry, full of jokes, so idiotic,and yet so dependable. She felt that she wanted to sing at the top of her voice!
The sun had been hot again that morning and had dried the common beautifully. It wasn't long beforethe Five were sitting down in the heather with a very fine feast before them.
'I wouldn't sell anyone my hunger for a hundred pounds,' said Dick. 'Now then - who's going to carvethis magnificent piece of gammon?'
There were no plates, so they had to make sandwiches of the ham. Dick had actually brought somemustard, and dabbed it generously over the slices of ham before George put them between pieces ofbread. 'Aha, Tim - this is one way of making sure you won't get even a bite of these wonderful hamsandwiches!' said Dick. 'You can't bear mustard, can you? Ju, where's the meat we brought for Tim?'
'Here. Pooh - it smells a bit strong,' said Julian. 'Do you mind taking it to a nice secluded corner,Tim?'
34
Timmy immediately sat down close to Julian. 'Now - don't be so disobedient!' said Julian, and gaveTimmy a friendly push.
'He doesn't understand the word 'seclucled',' said George, with a grin. 'Tim - buzz off a bit!'
Timmy understood that and took his meat a little way away. Everyone took a ripe red tomato, and alittle lettuce heart from a damp cloth brought by Julian, and settled down happily to munchsandwiches.
'Lovely!' said Anne, contentedly. 'Goodness gracious - I can hardly believe we had such a peculiartime last night!'
'Ah - tell us all about it!' said Dick.
So first Anne, then George related all that had happened. Anne told of the night she had seen a lightin the old cottage and had heard whispers and footfalls inside.
'We did think I might have been dreaming,' she said, 'but now we don't think I was. We think I reallydid see and hear those things.'
'What next?' asked Julian, taking his third sandwich. 'This all sounds most interesting. Quite FamousFive-ish, in fact!'
George told of the storm in the night, and how they had had to leave their heather-bed and go toshelter in the old cottage - and how, in the flashes of lightning, Anne had seen two or three peoplestanding outside - and then how they had both seen someone standing silently, looking in at thewindow.
'Queer,' said Julian, puzzled. 'Yes - something is up. I wonder what? I mean - there's absolutelynothing on this lonely bit of common that's at all interesting.'
'Well - there are the remains of an old Roman camp,' said Anne. 'And a boy there who is examiningthem to see if he can find anything old and interesting.'
'A completely mad boy,' said George. 'He doesn't seem to know what he says or doesn't say.
Contradicts himself all the time - or, to put it another way, tells the most idiotic fibs.'
'And he apparently thinks it's awfully funny to meet us somewhere, and then double round on histracks and appear suddenly somewhere else,' said Anne. 'Sometimes I can't help liking him -other times he's too fat-headed for words.'
'He's got a little one-eyed dog called Jet,' said George, and Timmy gave a sudden bark as he heard thename. 'You like Jet, don't you, Tim?'
35
'This all sounds most interesting,' said Dick. 'Pass me the tomato bag, Ju, before you eat the lot.
Thanks. As I said, most interesting - a one-eyed dog, a mad boy, Roman remains - and people whocome to an old ruined cottage in the dead of night and look into windows!'
'I wonder you two girls didn't pack up and go home,' said Julian. 'You must be braver without us thanI thought possible!'
George caught Anne's eye and grinned mischievously, but said nothing. Anne owned up, red in theface.
'Well - I did tell George I was going home this very morning, I was so scared last night. George didn'twant to, of course, but she was coming, all the same. But now you've turned up, things are different.'
'Ah - well, do we stay on, or don't we, Ju?' said Dick. 'Are we scared or are we not?'
Everyone laughed. 'Well - if you go back I shall stay on alone!' said Anne. 'Just to show you!'
'Good old Anne!' said Dick. 'We all stay, of course. It may be nothing - it may be something - wecan't tell. But we'll certainly find out. And the first thing to do is to have a look at the Roman remainsand the mad boy. I'm looking forward to meeting him, I must say! After that we'll tackle the ruinedcottage!'
Timmy came up to see if he could get any tit-bits. Julian waved him away. 'You smell of too-strongmeat, Timmy,' he said. 'Go and get a drink. By the way, is there anything to drink here, George?'
'Oh yes,' said George. 'A lovely spring. Not far off, either. Let's take the remains of our meal there,and the mug. We've only got one unfortunately, so it's no good getting water unless we all sit by thespring and take turns at the mug. Come on!'
The boys thought that the spring was a really splendid one. They grouped themselves around it andtook turns at filling the mug and drinking from it. They were now eating slabs of Joan's fruit-cake andit was very good.
'Now, you girls unpack again,' said Dick, when they had finished their meal. 'Goodness, I did enjoythat! We'd better unpack too, Julian.'
'Right, Where shall we put our things?' asked Julian, looking around. 'I don't somehow like to leaveeverything under that little tent, with a mad boy about, and a one-eyed dog. I feel that both of themmight like the rest of that ham.'
36
'Oh, it's too hot to leave ham out in this sun,' said George. 'We'll have to put it into the old cottage, ona shelf. We'll put everything there, shall we? Move in properly, in case it rains again at night. It's sotiresome to have to bundle everything indoors in the dark and the rain.'
'I agree,' said Dick. 'Right. We'll move into the ruined cottage. What fun! Come on, everyone!'
They spent the next half-hour taking their things into the cottage and putting them in corners or onshelves. George found a dark corner behind the fireplace where she put the food, for she was half-afraid that Jet, nice little dog though he seemed, might perhaps smell the ham and gobble up most oftheir food.
'Now!' said Julian, 'are we ready to go and see the Roman remains and the Mad Boy? Here we go,then - the Famous Five are off again, and who knows what will happen!'
8.重聚
重聚
男孩们的到来，让两个小姑娘兴奋不已，一时间别的什么都不在乎了。蒂米的叫声达到了最高分贝，怎么也不肯停。乔治尖叫着，朱利安和迪克哈哈大笑着，安妮上前抱住了他们。她一向为两个哥哥感到自豪——两个多么帅气可靠的男孩啊！
“朱利安，真没想到，你们居然这么快就来了！”乔治欣喜地说，“天啊，终于见到你们了，我可高兴坏了！”
“我们受够了法国菜，”迪克说，“我得了点小毛病，朱利安也病了一场。那边太热了，下次一定要等天冷的时候再过去。”
“还有啊，我们想死科林庄园了，想这里的海湾，更想你们两个和蒂米。”朱利安说着，友好地捶了捶乔治，“我觉得，我们的思乡之情简直犹如滔滔江水啊！所以，事情一办完，我们就立马打包行李飞回家了。”
“飞回家？”乔治惊呼了一声，“你们两个可真走运！一回家，你们就直接过来了吗？”
“在家陪了爸爸妈妈一晚上，”朱利安说，“然后，今天特意赶了早班车过来，结果——你们却不在科林庄园！”
“所以，我们只好打包带好露营要用的东西，第一时间来找你们了！”迪克接着说道，“我说，乔治，能不能让蒂米别叫了？我的耳朵都要被震聋了！”
“蒂米，闭嘴！”乔治命令道，“就不能让别人好好说会儿话吗？
朱利安，你注意到蒂米的伊丽莎白圈了吗？”
“怎么可能看不见！”朱利安笑道，“它戴着那东西看起来太好笑了，哈哈哈！蒂米，你现在倒不像狗狗啦，更像是戴着飞边的伊丽莎白女王——这是昆廷叔叔告诉我们的，说得太对了，真的好像啊，老伙计！”
“看上去真是太滑稽了！”迪克也笑着说，“就算猫见了也要发笑的，嘿，蒂米！”
安妮看了乔治一眼，心里有些忐忑——天哪，朱利安和迪克这样拿蒂米逗趣，还取笑它，乔治听了会怎么想呀！她不会发脾气吧？
但乔治却笑了，而且，她自己也加入了嘲笑蒂米的阵营：“是啊，它看上去的确很滑稽，对不对？可它自己一点也不介意。”
“你们知道吗？我们出来露营，就是因为乔治受不了别人嘲笑……”安妮急忙换了个话题，她是在想，万一乔治气得跑开了怎么办。可就在这时，乔治给了她一个哀求的眼神，安妮便及时停下了。在朱利安和迪克面前，乔治不想表现得那么孩子气，她最引以为傲的就是，自己平时跟男孩子没什么两样，可在那一瞬间，她突然想到——就因为别人嘲笑蒂米的领圈，她就惹了那么多麻烦，要是两个堂兄知道了这事儿，一定会觉得她娇气得像个女孩子。
“我说，你们刚才是在收拾东西吗？”朱利安看着绑在乔治自行车上的行李，惊讶地问，“准备去干什么呢？”
“哦，在这里待着怪冷清的，还有，安妮她……”这下轮到乔治了——安妮正可怜巴巴地望着她，乔治瞬间就明白了安妮的意思——刚才我没有把你的糗事说出来，你也不许说我的，千万别告诉他们是我害怕了。
“呃……安妮觉得，这里发生了些怪事，”乔治接着说道，她没有说安妮害怕了，非要嚷着回家，“我们都觉得，就我们两个肯定解决不了。当然了，要是当时你们在的话，我们就不会有回家的念头了。”
“什么意思？发生了什么怪事啊？”迪克问。
“行，你们也听听吧，事情是这样的，”乔治刚起了个话头，就被朱利安打断了，“故事很长吗？那还是先吃点东西吧，好不好？早上六点过后，我们就粒米未进了，迪克和我都快饿死了！”
“是啊，刚好说到我心坎儿里了。”迪克附和道，他转身从自己带的行李中取出一个大包裹，“乔治，你妈妈给我们准备了好多东西，都是野餐用得上的，别说我没告诉你哦，真的很丰盛！我想，她可能自己都惊讶得不得了，竟然这么放心把我们丢在外面。我们带了好几块烤火腿，你们看！这样一来，我们就不会缺食物了——前提是不能给蒂米吃太多。走开，蒂米，这不是给你的，快走开！”
乔治顿时高兴得说不出话来。和安妮一起露营当然也很有意思，但有男孩们在，真的太不一样了。他们那么自信，那么活泼，那么风趣，满脑子都是奇思妙想，那么疯疯癫癫，却又那么可靠！
想到这里，她不禁想放声歌唱。
这天早晨，天气又热了起来，公园没有了雨水，笼罩在阳光下，别提有多漂亮了。不一会儿，四人就坐在了柔软干燥的石南上，面前摆满了各种各样的食物。
“就算有人拿一百英镑来买我的食物，我也不会卖！”迪克怪模怪样地说，“那么，问题来了——这个好吃的熏肉该怎么弄啊？”
由于没有盘子，他们只好将火腿都夹在了三明治里。迪克还带了些芥末，乔治本想把芥末抹在面包片里吃，迪克却抢先一步，全抹在了切成片的火腿上。“啊哈，蒂米！不想让你把这些美味的火腿三明治都啃光光，就只有这么办喽！”迪克得意地说，“我记得，你受不了芥末的味道，是吧？朱利安，我们给蒂米带的肉呢？”
“在这儿呢！噗……腥味太重了！”朱利安受不了地说，“蒂米，你能把肉叼到一个偏僻点的地方再吃吗？”
蒂米却立即紧挨着朱利安坐了下来。“蒂米，别这么顽皮行不行，听话！”朱利安说着，推了推蒂米。
“它可不知道‘偏僻’是什么意思。”乔治抿嘴一笑，“蒂米，走远一点！”
蒂米马上就明白了，于是，它叼着自己的肉跑开了。现在，每个人手中都拿着一个红彤彤的番茄，又从朱利安带来的湿布袋里取出小份的生菜，开心地坐好，大口大口地啃起了三明治。
“太好了！”安妮满足地赞叹道，“真是难以想象，我们竟然度过了一个那么特别的夜晚！”
“啊呀！快说快说！一五一十地告诉我们！”迪克催促道。
安妮便说了起来，乔治则不时地补充一下，把所有事情都告诉了两个男孩。安妮先讲了昨晚老庄园的闪电，以及她听到的屋内的低语声和脚步声。
“我们还都以为，是我在做梦呢！”她说，“但是现在，我们都不这么想了。我们觉得，那时我看到的和听到的都是真的。”
“然后呢？”朱利安啃着第三块三明治，问道，“听起来好刺激啊！这才是我们‘疯狂侦探团’的风格嘛！”
乔治讲了昨晚的暴风雨，讲她们如何离开石南床，跑去老庄园避雨；在闪电中，安妮如何看到两三个人站在外面；还有她们如何发现，有人站在窗外，一声不吭地朝屋内看。
“确实是怪事，”朱利安也很疑惑，“没错，这里肯定有什么问题，可到底是什么问题呢？我的意思是，这么偏僻的庄园里，竟然会有这样的怪事，真是太有意思了！”
“唔，这里还有个古罗马军营的遗迹，”安妮补充说，“有个男孩一直在附近探索，似乎想看看能不能找到好玩的古董。”
“那男孩完全是个神经病！”乔治说，“他好像总记不清自己说过什么，没说过什么，说话做事总是自相矛盾，总之就是，对我们撒各种无聊的谎，也太傻了！”
“还有，他经常在一个地方遇见我们之后，又立刻以两倍的速度向前跑，然后出现在另一个地方，再遇见我们一次。他可能觉得这样很好玩。”安妮无奈地说，“有时候我特别喜欢他，有时候却觉得，真不知道说他什么好。”
“他有一只独眼狗，名叫杰特，”乔治接着说，旁边的蒂米一听见这个名字，突然叫了一声，“你也很喜欢杰特，是不是，蒂米？”
“这一切——所有的事情，听上去都好刺激！”迪克说，“朱利安，把装番茄的包递给我！要不然都被你吃光了！就像我说的，真的再刺激不过了——一只独眼狗，一个疯疯癫癫的男孩，古罗马遗迹，还有深更半夜出现在老庄园外的偷窥者。”
“我真希望，你们没有打包行李准备回家，”朱利安说，“你们总要学会面对啊，就算我们不在，你们也要勇敢一点才行。”
乔治看到安妮的眼神，忍不住呵呵笑了起来，什么也没说，安妮却不由自主涨红了脸。
“早上是我对乔治说，一定要回家去的。昨晚我确实吓坏了。我知道，乔治一点也不想回去，但她还是答应了。就是这样。当然，现在既然你们来了，情况自然就不一样啦！”
“啊——是啊，朱利安，我们是离开，还是留下呢？”迪克故意问道，“我们会不会害怕呀？”
大伙儿都笑了起来。
“哼！就算你们都回去，我也要一个人待在这里！”安妮不满地说，“你们就看着好了！”
“安妮好样的！”迪克赞道，“我们当然要留下了，到底会不会再有怪事发生，我们也无法确定，但是我们可以查呀！那么现在要做的第一件事，就是去看看古罗马军营，还有那个疯疯癫癫的男孩。
不得不说，我太希望见到他啦！再然后，咱们就去废弃的老庄园看看吧。”
蒂米匆匆跑上前，似乎也想听听四人的计划，却被朱利安毫不留情地推开了。
“蒂米，你刚刚吃完生肉，嘴巴好臭啊！”他嫌弃地说，“去喝点水吧。对了乔治，这附近有能喝水的地方吗？”
“当然有了，”乔治回答，“有一眼泉水，离这里不远。要不，咱们把剩下的食物带过去吃吧？但是只有一个杯子，这就是唯一的坏处啦——取水太不方便了，我们只能坐在泉水边，轮流用杯子接水喝，走吧！”
男孩们也很喜欢这眼泉水，水很甜，四人围坐在泉水边，一个接一个拿着杯子接水喝。这会儿，他们吃的是乔安娜做的水果蛋糕，真的太好吃啦！
“现在，你们两个把行李拿出来吧。”吃完饭后，迪克说，“老天，我最喜欢做这种事了。朱利安，我们也要把东西收拾出来。”
“好！可是，把东西放哪儿好呢？”朱利安四下看了看，问道，“我可不想把行李都放在那个小帐篷里。毕竟，这里有个疯疯癫癫的男孩，还喜欢带着一只狗四处转悠，依我看，他们很可能会觊觎剩下的火腿！”
“唉，天气这么热，不能把火腿放在外面。”乔治提议道，“我们把火腿拿到老庄园去吧，那里有架子，把所有东西都搬过去，怎么样？这样比较保险，要不然，夜里下雨了怎么办？在晚上，尤其是下雨的时候，还是把行李放在室内更叫人放心。”
“我同意！”迪克立即接过话，“不错，我们就把东西全搬进老庄园吧。这样挺有意思，行动起来吧，伙计们！”
接下来的半个小时，他们把行李搬进老庄园，分别堆在了角落里和架子上。乔治在壁炉后找到一个黑漆漆的角落，将食物藏了进去。因为她有些担心杰特——那只可爱的小狗，她怕它闻出火腿的味道，把大部分食物都卷走。
“大功告成！现在，”朱利安问道，“准备好了吗？我们去看看古罗马遗迹，还有那个疯疯癫癫的男孩，马上出发！然后——咱们‘疯狂侦探团’的征程又开始啦，天知道会发生什么好玩的事情呢！”
Chapter 9 A LITTLE EXPLORATION
Chapter 9 A LITTLE EXPLORATION
The Five walked off together, Timmy at the back, delighted to have all his friends with him again. Hekept nudging first one person's heels and then another, just to remind them that he was there.
As they came near the old camp, they saw a boy sitting beside a bush, reading.
'There's that boy we told you of!' said George. 'See?'
'He looks fairly ordinary,' said Dick. 'Very absorbed in his book, I must say. Determined to take nonotice of us!'
'I'll speak to him,' said George. So, as they drew near, she called to the boy.
'Hallo! Where's Jet?'
The boy looked up, annoyed. 'How do I know?'
'Well, he was with you this morning,' said George.
'He was not,' said the boy. 'He's never with me! Please don't disturb me, I'm reading.'
'There you are!' said George to the others. 'He came to see us this morning with Jet - and now he saysthe little dog is never with him. Quite, quite mad!'
'Or plain rude,' said Dick. 'Not worth bothering about, anyway. Well, if he's not doing any excavatingin his Roman Camp, perhaps we can explore it without being ordered off!'
37
They walked on slowly and came to the camp, and at once heard a cheerful whistling going on, andthe sound of someone digging. George looked over the top of the dug-out trench in surprise.
She almost toppled in, she was so amazed at what she saw!
The boy was there, digging carefully, whistling as he did so! He brushed his tousled hair from his hotforehead and caught sight of George and the others. He looked rather astonished.
'How on earth did you get down here so quickly?' said George. 'Do you have wings or something?'
'I've been down here all the afternoon,' said the boy. 'For at least an hour, I should think.'
'Fibber!' said George. The boy looked very angry, and shouted back at once.
'I'm tired of you two girls - and now you've brought your friends too, I suppose you think you cancome and aggravate me even more!'
'Don't be a fathead,' said Dick, feeling as puzzled about this boy as George and Anne had been.
How in the world had he run around them and got down in the trench so quickly? Did he enjoyplaying tricks like that? He really didn't look mad!
'Is this your property, this old camp?' asked Julian.
'No. Of course not. Don't be daft!' said the boy. 'As if I could own a whole camp like this! It wasdiscovered by my father some time ago, and he gave me permission to work here for the hols. It'spretty exciting, I can tell you. See my finds?'
He pointed to a rough shelf where stood a broken pot, something that looked like an old brooch, along pinlike thing, and part of a stone head. Julian was at once interested. He leapt down into thetrench.
'I say - you've certainly got something there!' he said. 'Any coins too?'
'Yes - three,' said the boy and put his hand in his pocket. 'I found this one first - then these two closetogether yesterday. They must be hundreds and hundreds of years old.'
By this time all the others were down in the trench too. They looked about with much interest.
Evidently the place had been well excavated by experts, and now the boy was working here and thereon his own, hoping to find something that had been overlooked.
Dick went out of the trench and began to clamber about over the great stones and rocks. A smallanimal suddenly caught his eye - a young rabbit.
It stared at him in fright and then disappeared behind a slab of stone. It peeped out at Dick again, andhe was amused. He went cautiously over to the slab, and the little rabbit disappeared - but 38soon two or three whiskers poked out. Dick got down on hands and knees and looked behind the slab.
A dark hole was there.
Dick pulled out his torch and flashed it into the hole, wondering if the small rabbit was hiding there,or whether it was the entrance to a burrow.
To his surprise there was a very big hole indeed - a hole that seemed to go down and down and down- his torch could make out no bottom to it.
'It's far too wide for a rabbit-hole,' thought Dick. 'I wonder where it leads to, I'll ask that boy.'
He went back to where the boy was still showing his things to Julian, talking eagerly. 'I say,'
began Dick, 'there's a most interesting hole behind one of the stone slabs over there - what is it?'
'Oh that - my father says it was explored and that it was only a place for storages - meat in hotweather, or loot, or something like that. Actually nothing whatever was found there - mostuninteresting. As a matter of fact it may be nothing to do with the Camp at all.'
'I say, look - here's another shelf with things on it,' said George, suddenly spying a little collection ofthings on a rough shelf in another part of the trench. 'Are these yours too?'
'Those? No,' said the boy. 'Nothing to do with me at all. Don't touch them, please.'
'Whose are they then?' asked George, curiously. The boy took no notice whatever of her question andwent on talking to Julian. George took down a beautiful little round pot.
'Hey! I told you NOT to touch those!' yelled the boy, so suddenly and angrily that George almostdropped the pot. 'Put it back - and clear out if you can't do what you're told.'
'Easy, old man, easy!' said Julian. 'No need to yell at her like that. You scared that little dog of yoursand made him jump almost out of his skin! We'd better go, I think.'
'Well - I don't like being disturbed too much,' said the boy. 'People always seem to be wanderingaround. I've turned off quite a lot.'
'People?' said Julian, remembering Anne's story of two or three figures standing outside the cottagethe night before, and of someone looking in. 'What kind of people?'
'Oh - nosey ones - wanting to get down and explore - disturbing me - it's surprising how many idiotsthere are wandering about this lonely place,' said the boy, picking up a tool again and setting to work.
He grinned suddenly. 'I don't mean you. You really know something about this kind of thing.'
'Was anyone about last night?' asked Julian.
39
'Well - I rather think so,' said the boy. 'Because Jet here barked like mad. But it might have been thestorm that frightened him - not that he's usually frightened of storms.'
'What's your name?' asked Dick.
'Guy Lawdler,' said the boy, and Dick whistled.
'My word - is your father the famous explorer, Sir John Lawdler?' he asked. The boy nodded.
'Well, no wonder you're so keen on archaeology!' said Dick. 'Your father's done pretty well in thatline, hasn't he?'
'Come on, Dick!' said George. 'Let's go now. We might have time for a swim in the pool. We forgotto tell you about that.'
'Right,' said Dick. 'Come on, Julian. Good-bye, Guy!'
They left the rather desolate old camp and went back to the cottage to get their swim-suits andchange. It wasn't long before they were running over the heather to the pool.
'Hallo - Guy's having a swim!' said Dick, in surprise. Sure enough, a boy was there, his hair fallingover his forehead as usual.
'Hey, Guy!' shouted George. 'Have a swim with us!'
But the boy was already getting out of the water. Dick shouted. 'Wait a minute - don't go. We'd liketo have a swim with you, Guy!'
The boy turned defiantly. 'Don't be an ass!' he said. 'My name's not Guy!'
And, leaving four astonished people behind him, he ran lightly over the heather and disappeared.
'There you are - he's mad after all!' said Anne. 'Don't bother about him. Come on in - the water'slovely and warm.'
They lazed about afterwards and began to feel hungry. 'Though how any of us could feel hungry aftereating about fifty sandwiches between us at dinner-time, I don't know!' said Dick. 'Race you back tothe cottage, Ju!'
They changed back into ordinary clothes and then had tea - fruit cake, shortbread biscuits, and tinnedpineapple on bread. They kept the juice and diluted it with cold spring water - it was simplydelicious.
'Now let's explore the cottage,' said Dick.
'We already have, Anne and I,' said George. 'So I don't expect you'll find anything much.'
40
They went methodically through the old house, and even up the old stone stairway to the two roomsupstairs - though they could hardly be called rooms, for they had very little roof and not much wall!
'Nothing much here, that's certain,' said Dick clattering down the stone stairway. 'Now let's go to theout-buildings - not that there's much left of them either!'
They examined everything, and came last of all to the old stables. It was dark inside, for the windowswere very small, and it was some seconds before anyone could see properly.
'Old mangers,' said Dick, touching them. 'I wonder how long ago it is since they were used -and...'
'I say!' said George, suddenly. 'There's something funny here. Anne, look - this bit of floor wasundisturbed yesterday, wasn't it?'
Anne looked down at the big white flagstone on which George was standing. It was quite obviousthat it had been lifted, for the edges were not as green with moss as the others were, and the stone hadbeen put back a little crookedly.
'Yes - someone's been interested in this stone - or in what is beneath it!' said Dick. 'I bet something isburied underneath!'
'Those men last night - that's what they came about!' said George. 'They went into these stables andlifted this stone. Why?'
'We'll soon find out!' said Julian. 'Come on everyone, loosen it with your fingers - then we'll heave itup!'
9.白色石板
白色石板
四个人一起出发，蒂米走在最后。小伙伴们又聚在一起了，蒂米高兴得不得了，不时蹭一蹭四人的脚后跟，提醒他们自己的存在。
一靠近营地，他们就看见一个男孩坐在灌木丛边，正在看书。
“那就是我们说的那个男孩，”乔治对两个男孩说，“看到了吗？”
“他看起来挺正常的啊！”迪克不解地说，“完全沉浸在书里了，好认真啊！看样子他不想理我们。”
“我来跟他说！”乔治说道。几个人来到男孩面前，乔治开口问男孩：“你好！杰特去哪儿了？”
男孩恼怒地抬起头，答道：“我怎么会知道？”
“不知道？可是，它早上还和你在一起啊！”乔治纳闷了。
“没有啊，”男孩说，“它什么时候和我在一起了？别打扰我，我在看书呢！”
“你们看吧，”乔治对其他三人说，“就在早上，他还带着杰特来看过我们呢。现在他却说，小狗根本就没和他在一起过，真的是太……太神经了！”
“真没礼貌，”迪克咕哝了一声，劝道，“算了，别争了，一点意义都没有！咦？他这会儿没在古罗马军营搞研究，那我们正好可以过去查看查看，到时候，总不会有人把我们赶出来了！”
他们继续向前，慢慢走到了古罗马军营的遗迹处。这时，他们听到了一阵欢快的口哨声，还有挖东西的声音。乔治循声望向挖得深深的壕沟，惊讶极了，眼睛瞪得圆圆的，往前伸长脖子差点掉进壕沟里，因为她真的不敢相信自己的眼睛！
那个男孩正在壕沟里全神贯注地挖着，他撩起额前湿答答的刘海，一眼就看到了乔治他们。他看上去更吃惊。
“到底怎么回事？你怎么又这么快就跑过来了？”乔治诧异地问，“难道你有翅膀吗，还是用了什么工具？”
“我整个下午都在这儿呀！”男孩回答，“估摸着，至少待了一个小时了。”
“骗子！”乔治嚷道。男孩似乎生气了，也朝她吼道，“我受够你们两个疯丫头了！现在你们还把朋友也带过来，难道真的想一次又一次地打扰我、一次又一次地惹怒我吗？”
“说什么傻话呢！”迪克说，他也同安妮和乔治一样，对眼前的男孩充满了疑惑——他怎么可能在他们毫无察觉的情况下，这么快就跑过来跳进壕沟里呢？还有，他真的这么喜欢这种恶作剧吗？可他看上去，真的一点也不疯呀！
“这个旧营地是你家的吗？”朱利安问。
“不不不，当然不是了！可别问这种傻问题了，”男孩急忙否认，“我怎么可能拥有这么大一块营地啊？这是我爸爸前段时间发现的，他允许我假期过来做研究。我告诉你们，真的很有意思！看到我的发现了没有？”
他说着，指向一个简陋的架子。那上面放着一个破罐子，几样胸针模样的旧物，一件长长的东西，看着有点像别针，还有半尊石像。朱利安一见就被吸引住了，他一下子跳进了深沟里。
“我说——你还真的找到了不少好东西啊？”他好奇地问，“有硬币之类的吗？”
“有啊！找到三枚，”男孩一边回答，一边将手伸进裤兜，“我最先发现了这一枚，昨天又发现了另外两枚。依我看，应该有上千年的历史了吧！”
这会儿，所有人都跳进了深沟，众人四处张望着，感兴趣极了。很明显，这里早就被专家们仔细勘探过了。这个男孩现在到处挖坑，无非是心中尚有一线希望，看能不能跟在专家们身后捡捡漏。
迪克爬出深沟，在旁边的石堆上爬来爬去，突然，一个小东西引起了他的注意——是一只小小的兔子。
它惊恐地望着他，忽然消失在一块石头后面，不到片刻又蹿出来，出现在迪克眼前。迪克不禁一乐。他小心翼翼地爬向那块石头，可那只小兔子又不见了，只有几根胡须从石头后探了出来。迪克趴下身子，朝石头缝里看去，却发现那里有一个黑乎乎的洞。
迪克拿出手电筒照向洞里，想看看兔子是不是就藏在那里面，或者，那会不会是某个地洞的入口呢？
令他吃惊的是，这个洞可真大，里面黑沉沉的，似乎没有尽头，他的手电筒照不到底。
“这么大个洞，怎么可能是兔子洞呢？”迪克想，“真想知道它通往哪里啊，我还是去问问那个男孩吧。”
他回到深沟里，男孩正在给朱利安看挖到的东西，两人聊得很投机。“我说，”迪克打断了他们，“那边的石堆后有个大洞，很神秘的样子，是个什么洞啊？”
“哦，那个啊？我爸爸说，他们进去看过，应该算是个地窖吧，当时的人们用来藏东西的，夏天放点肉啊，平时放点战利品什么的。其实，他们在里面什么也没找到，所以也没什么意思。或许，对当时的军营来说，并没有什么大用处吧。”
“咦？那儿还有个架子，放了好多东西啊！”乔治眼尖地看向深沟的另一端，那里也有个简陋的架子，上面放着几样东西，“那些也是你的吗？”
“那些？不是，”男孩回答，“没一件是我的，所以，请别乱碰好吗？”
“那是谁的啊？”乔治好奇地问。男孩没有理会她的问题，转身继续同朱利安交谈起来。乔治取下一个漂亮的圆形罐子，放在手中细看。
“喂！我说了叫你别碰那些东西！”男孩骤然冲乔治怒吼了一声，吓得乔治差点把手中的罐子摔在地上，“快放回去！还有，把它弄干净！都说了别碰，你听不懂吗？”
“嘿，冷静，伙计，冷静一下吧，”朱利安连忙安抚道，“没必要那样吼她，真的。你吓着自家的狗了，你瞧，它魂儿都快没了。我看，我们还是离开吧。”
“也行。我实在不喜欢被打扰，”男孩终于平静下来，“总有些人喜欢在四周晃荡，我都被耽误不少工作了。”
“人？”朱利安心中一动，突然想到安妮说起过的，昨晚站在老庄园外的两个人，还有窗前的偷窥者，便问道，“什么人？”
“哦，一群整天闲着没事儿干的人呗！总想偷偷摸摸地跟着我下来看看，成天打扰我。这么个偏僻的地方，居然也有这么多人在这儿闲逛，真是太不可思议了！”男孩说着拿起一件工具，埋下头接着工作。忽然，他又笑了笑，“不是说你们，最起码在我看来，你们对这方面还是有一定的了解的。”
“那昨晚，附近有人吗？”迪克问道。
“唔，我想应该有吧，”男孩回答，“因为，杰特昨晚叫得很厉害，但也有可能是被暴风雨吓着了，毕竟，它向来都挺怕暴风雨的。”
“你叫什么名字？”迪克问。
“盖伊•劳德勒，”男孩平静地回答。迪克一听，却差点跳起来。“我的天！你爸爸是不是那个著名的考古探险家约翰•劳德勒先生？”他问。男孩点了点头。
“哇哦！怪不得你对考古学这么精通呢！”迪克感叹道，“你爸爸在这个领域真的很权威！”
“过来啊，迪克！”乔治喊道，“我们该走了，去池子里游会儿泳吧，之前忘记告诉你们了。”
“好啊！”迪克说，“走吧，朱利安。盖伊，再见！”
四人离开了荒凉的旧营地，回老庄园拿泳衣等东西，没过多久，他们就穿过石南丛，来到了池子前。
“哈喽！盖伊也在游泳呢！”迪克惊讶地说。没错，水里有个男孩，他的刘海一如既往地垂在额头上。
“嘿，盖伊！和我们一起游吧。”乔治招呼道。
男孩却一声不响地离开了水池。迪克叫道：“等等——别走啊！
盖伊，我们想和你一起游泳！”
男孩别扭地转过身，“你们傻不傻啊？”他说，“我可不叫盖伊。”说完，他便飞快地穿过石南丛，消失不见了，只留下四人惊愕地愣在原地。
“你们看吧，他果然是个疯子啊！”安妮说，“别理他了，快过来吧，这水好暖和啊！”
四人懒洋洋地游了一会儿，就觉得饿了。“中午吃了那么多三明治，竟然还饿得这么快，我真想不通，简直没天理啊！”迪克说，“朱利安，咱们快点儿回老庄园吧！”
他们换好衣服回了老庄园，一起喝了下午茶，吃了水果蛋糕、几块黄油甜酥饼，还有菠萝罐头面包，又用冰凉的泉水把水果汁稀释了一下——真的好好喝啊！
“我们在老庄园里逛逛吧。”吃完东西，迪克提议道。
“安妮和我早就逛过了，”乔治说，“所以，我不觉得你们会有什么新发现。”
四人慢悠悠地在老房子里逛起来。他们甚至爬上楼梯，去了楼上的两个房间，当然，称之为“房间”实在是太勉强了，因为屋顶塌了一大半，墙也早已破烂不堪。
“确实没什么特别的，”迪克踩在阶梯上，发出“嘎吱嘎吱”的声响，“要不，咱们去外屋看看吧。这里实在没什么好看的。”
他们又四处看了看，最后来到了破旧的马厩前。窗户太小，所以马厩里很暗，过了好一会儿，几人才把屋内的情形看清楚。
“好破的食槽啊！”迪克蹲在地上，轻轻抚摸着食槽，“我真想知道，这东西有多久的历史了。还有……”
“我说！”乔治突然嚷道，“我有个大发现！安妮，你快过来看，这块石板和昨天不一样了，对不对？”
安妮垂下头，看着乔治脚下的白色大石板，很显然，它被掀开过，因为这块石板旁没有绿油油的杂草，而其他石板旁却都有。而且，这石板歪歪斜斜的，明显是掀开它的人没有将它回归原位。
“没错！有人对这块石板很感兴趣，应该说，是对石头下面的东西很感兴趣。”迪克说，“我敢肯定，底下一定藏了什么东西！”
“昨晚那些人，一定就是为这个而来的，”乔治也明白了，“他们进了马厩，掀开了这块石板。可是，为什么呢？”
“原因，我们很快就会知道了，”朱利安说，“大家快过来！咱们使劲，把石板抬起来！”
Chapter 10 WHAT CAN BE HAPPENING?
Chapter 10 WHAT CAN BE HAPPENING?
Forty fingers and thumbs were very hard at work trying to loosen the heavy stone. At last Julian gothold of a corner which could be held more easily than any other part of the stone. He tried to lift itand it came away a little.
'Help me this side, Dick,' said Julian, and Dick put his strong fingers there too. 'Heave-ho!' he said -and up came the stone.
41
It went over with a crash and Timmy barked loudly, jumping aside. Everyone peered down - and thenlooked exceedingly disappointed!
There was nothing there at all. Not even a hole! The black earth, hard as iron, lay underneath, andnothing else.
They all stared down at the dry, hard earth, puzzled. George looked up at Julian.
'Well - that's queer, isn't it? Why should anyone lift up this heavy stone if there is nothing hiddenunderneath?'
'Well, it's clear that whoever was here didn't find anything - nor did he hide anything either,' saidJulian. 'Dear me - why should anyone lift up a heavy stone and put it back - just for nothing?'
'He was obviously looking for something that wasn't here,' said Anne. 'The wrong stone, probably!'
'Yes. I think Anne's right,' said Dick. 'It's the wrong stone! Probably there is something veryinteresting under the right stone! But which one is it?'
They all sat and looked at one another, and Timmy saw it too, wondering why all this fuss was madeabout a flat white stone. Julian thought hard.
'From what you've told me, Anne - about seeing a light in the cottage that first night you were here -and hearing voices - and then seeing those figures outside last night in the storm - it looks as ifsomeone is urgently hunting for something round about here.'
'Yes - something under a stone. Treasure of some sort, do you think?' said George.
Julian shook his head. 'No. I hardly think that much treasure would be hidden anywhere about thisold cottage - all the people who lived here must have been fairly poor. The most they would havehidden would have been a few pieces of gold, and that would have been found long ago.'
'Well - someone modern might have hidden something valuable here - even something stolen,'
said Anne.
'Yes. We can't tell. It's obviously important and urgent to somebody,' said Dick. 'I wonder if thepeople that Guy said came bothering him were anything to do with this?'
'They may have been,' said Julian. 'But they have clearly decided that what they are looking for ishere now, whatever it is. And they must have been most annoyed to find you and Anne here lastnight, George. That's why someone came and looked in at the window, I expect - to make sure youwere asleep! And you weren't.'
42
'I don't know whether I want to stay on here or not now,' said Anne, alarmed. 'If they haven't foundwhat they want, they'll probably come again - in the night too.'
'Who cares?' said Dick. 'We've got Timmy, haven't we? I'm not turning out of here becausesomebody's got a habit of turning up big stones!'
Julian laughed. 'Nor am I. Let's stay on! And I don't see why we shouldn't do a bit of pulling up ofstones ourselves! We might come across something very interesting!'
'Right. It's decided that we stay on then, is it?' said Dick. 'What about you, Anne?'
'Oh yes - of course I'll stay,' said Anne, not wanting to in the least, but knowing that she simply couldnot bear not to be with the others.
The Five walked round and about the cottage for a while, trying to make out where the people thatthe girls had seen the night before had come from - from what direction did they come and go?
'The figures I saw first in the lightning stood about there,' said Anne, pointing. 'Let's go and see ifthere are any foot-prints. It was pouring with rain and the ground must have been very muddy.'
'Good idea,' said Dick, and off they went to where Anne had pointed. But it was a heathery piece ofground, and difficult to tell even if anyone had trodden there, for the heather was thick and springy.
'Let's look just outside the window now - the one where Anne saw someone looking in,' said Dick.
And there they had a find! Just in front of the window were two quite deeply-printed footmarks. Onewas slightly blurred as if the maker of them had turned his foot sideways as he waited. The other wasvery clear indeed.
Dick got out a piece of paper. 'I rather think I'll measure these,' he said, 'and make a note of thepattern on the soles. They had rubber soles and heels - look at the markings - crepe rubber I shouldthink.'
He measured the prints. 'Size eight shoes,' he said. 'Same as yours, Ju. Then he carefully drew anexact picture of the sole and heel markings.
'You're quite a detective, Dick,' said Anne, admiringly, and he laughed.
'Oh, anyone can copy foot-prints!' he said. 'The thing is to match them up with the owner!'
'I have a feeling it's getting on for supper-time - if anyone wants any supper,' said George. 'It's half-past eight! Would you believe that the time could fly so fast.'
'I don't really feel very hungry,' said Dick. 'We've done pretty well today.'
43
'Well, don't waste our precious food if you don't feel hungry,' said George. 'We shall have to keepgoing home for more if we eat everything too quickly.'
Nobody felt terribly hungry. They made a cosy corner in the cottage and had a slice of cake and abiscuit each, with a drink of pineapple juice and spring-water. George had had the bright idea offilling the big empty pineapple tin, and they each filled a mug from it in turn, and drank.
'It's getting dark,' said Julian. 'Are we going to sleep inside the cottage or out?'
'In,' said Dick, promptly. 'We'll make things just as difficult for any night-prowlers as possible!'
'Right,' said Julian. 'I bet they won't be pleased to find old Timmy here too. Shall we go out and getsome heather for beds? I don't fancy sharing a thin rug between the four of us.'
Soon they were all dragging in armfuls of the springy heather. They laid it in the front room, in twocorners, for the boys thought they would rather be in the same room as the girls, in case of danger.
'You need an awful lot of heather to make a soft bed,' said Dick, trying his. 'My bones seem to goright through the clumps and rub against the floor!'
'We can put our macs over our heather,' said Julian. 'That will help. The girls can have the rug.
We shan't need any covering, it's so hot.'
By the time they had finished, it was dark. George lay on her heather and yawned. 'I'm going tosleep,' she announced. 'We don't need to keep guard or anything like that do we? Timmy will bark ifanyone comes near.'
'You're right. I really don't think we need take turns at keeping awake,' said Julian. 'Move up, Dick -you've left me no room.'
Julian was the last to go to sleep. He lay awake puzzling over the lifted stone slab. It was clear thatsomeone had expected to find something under it. How did they know it was that particular slab? Hadthey a map? If so, it must have shown the wrong stone - or perhaps the searchers read the mapwrong?
Before he could work it out any further, he was asleep. Timmy was asleep too, happy because all theothers were under his care. He had one ear open as usual, but not very much open!
It was enough to let him hear a small mouse of some kind run across the floor. It was even enough forhim to hear a beetle scraping its way up the wall. After a while his ear dropped down and he didn'teven hear a hedgehog outside.
44
But something caused his ear to listen again and it pricked up. A noise crept inside the cottage - anoise that got louder and louder - a weird and puzzling noise!
Timmy woke up and listened. He pawed at George, not knowing whether to bark or not. He knew heshould not bark at owls, but this was not an owl. Perhaps George would know.
'Don't, Timmy,' said George sleepily, but Timmy went on pawing her. Then she too heard the noiseand sat up in a hurry.
What a truly horrible sound! It was a whining and a wailing, rising and falling through the night.
A sound of misery and woe, that went on and on.
'Julian! Dick! Wake up!' called George, her heart beating wildly. 'Something's happening.'
The boys awoke at once and so did Anne. They sat and listened to the weird noise. What in the worldcould it be? There it went again - wailing high in the air, and then dying away with a moan, only tobegin again a few seconds later.
Dick felt the roots of his hair pricking. He leapt off the heather-bed and ran to the window.
'Quick! Come and look at this!' he cried. 'What is it?'
They all crowded to the window, Timmy barking now as loudly as he could. In silence the othersgazed at a very strange sight.
Blue and green lights were shining here and there, sometimes dimly, sometimes brightly. A curiousround white light was travelling slowly in the air, and Anne clutched George, breathing fast.
'It won't come here,' she said. 'It won't, will it? I don't like it. What is happening, Julian?'
'I wish that awful wailing, whining noise would stop,' said Dick. 'It gets right inside my head. Do youmake anything of all this, Julian?'
'Something's queer abroad,' said Julian. 'I'll go out with Timmy and see what I can find.' And beforeanyone could stop him, out he went, Timmy barking beside him.
'Oh Julian - come back!' called Anne, listening as his footsteps became distant. They all waitedtensely at the window - and then suddenly the wailing noise stopped and the strange lights began tofade.
Then they heard Julian's footsteps coming back firmly in the darkness.
'Ju! What was it?' called Dick, as his brother came in at the doorway.'
'I don't know Dick,' said Julian, sounding very puzzled. 'I simply - don't - know! Perhaps we can findout in the morning.'
10.夜半惊魂
夜半惊魂
四人一起发力，紧紧扣住石板，试图把它搬开，可石板却纹丝不动。过了一会儿，朱利安仔细看了看这块石板，终于在某个角落找到一个着力点。他使劲搬了搬，石板总算挪动了一点点。
“快到这边来帮我，迪克！”朱利安喊道，迪克急忙跑过来帮忙，“抬！”他猛地吼道，石板一下子就被搬开了。
随着“哐当”一声巨响，蒂米吓得叫了起来，慌忙逃到了另一边。几人不约而同地往下看去，却又齐齐露出了失望的神色。
石板下面根本什么都没有，连个洞也瞧不见，只有黑乎乎、坚硬如铁的地面。
他们愣愣地盯着干巴巴的地面，心中充满了疑惑。乔治抬头看向朱利安，说：“唉，这不是太奇怪了吗？既然下面什么都没有，这么重的一块石板，为什么那些人非要搬开呢？”
“是啊！很明显，那些人在这里什么也没找到，也不曾藏下什么东西，”朱利安也迷惑不已，“天啊！为什么他们要把石板搬开又放回去呢？这里什么也没有，他们也太无聊了吧，我怎么都想不通。”
“他显然是想找东西，最后却没找到。”安妮分析道，“那么有没有可能，不是这块石板呢？”
“没错！安妮说得有道理！”迪克赞同道，“那些人是找错了石板！这么说，只要咱们找对了石板，就一定会发现有意思的东西喽？可是，究竟是哪一块呢？”
四人又重新坐下来，对着那块被搬开的石板发呆。蒂米也将视线投了过去，它不明白，就这么一块笨重的大白石板，怎么会惹出这么大的动静呢？为这件事，朱利安更是绞尽了脑汁。
“安妮，从你告诉我们的事情说起吧。先是第一个晚上，你看见老庄园里透出了一束灯光，听见了别人的说话声；然后，昨晚在那么大的暴风雨里，你又看到了几个人。这样看来，倒像是附近有人在煞费苦心地找什么东西。”
“没错，他们肯定在找藏在石板下的东西。你们说，会不会是什么宝藏啊？”乔治问。
朱利安摇摇头，说：“不会的。依我看，不可能有什么宝藏藏在这个老庄园里。以前住在这里的人，大约富不到哪里去，最有可能藏下的也就是几块金子了。但即使是金子，应该也在很久以前就被发现了。”
“好吧。那么，是后来的人又藏了值钱的东西进来吗？呀！也有可能是偷来的赃物！”安妮说。
“是有可能，不过，我们也没办法判断。可是，既然那些人那么急着找到这东西，就说明，对他们来说，这东西一定很重要。”迪克也加入了讨论，“盖伊不是说过，有几个人老去烦他吗？你们说，会不会就是那伙人啊？”
“也许吧，”朱利安也不确定，“但现在最重要的一点是，无论那是什么东西，他们都已经决定了，要到这里来找。乔治，昨晚看见你和安妮在老庄园，那些人一定恼火极了，所以才会派人在窗口偷看，我想，就是为了确定你们睡着没有吧。可是，你们整晚都没有睡。”
“真是这样的话，我可不确定要不要继续待在这里了！”安妮惊叫道，“没找到想要的东西，他们迟早会再来的！晚上可能又会出现！”
“那又怎么样？”迪克满不在乎地说，“有什么好怕的，我们还有蒂米呢！难道就因为有人喜欢搬开大石板，我就要离开这里给他们让道吗？我才不要呢！”
朱利安哈哈笑了起来，然后说：“我也不走，我们就留下吧。而且我有一个想法——为什么我们不自己想想办法，把那块对的石板找出来呢？到时候，一定会发生很刺激的事！”“对呀，那就这么定了，我们都留下来，好不好？”迪克兴奋不已，“你呢，安妮？”
“哦！当——当然！我也不会走的！”安妮急忙回了一句，暗暗下定决心，一定要和其他人待在一起，绝对不能单独行动。
四人带着蒂米又在庄园里转了一会儿，想查一查那些人的踪迹，看看他们是从哪个方向进来，又从哪里出去的。
“闪电的时候，我头一次看到的人就站在那边！”安妮伸手指着一个方向，“我们过去看看吧，说不定还有足迹呢。昨晚下了那么大的雨，现在地面也一定没干。”
“好主意！”迪克赞了一声。四人来到安妮指的地方，可令人失望的是，那块地上长满了密密麻麻的石南。因为石南丛太茂密，枝叶上还沾满了雨水，所以，实在很难看出到底有没有人来过。
“咱们去窗户外瞧瞧吧，安妮不是说，昨晚有人在那里偷窥吗？”迪克提议道。在那儿，四人果然有了一个发现——窗前有两排深深的足迹，一排已经看不大清楚了，或许是那人在等待的时候，转身来回走了好几遭；另一排足迹却很清晰。
迪克拿出一张纸，“我来量一下吧，”他说，“记一记鞋底的图案。他们的鞋是橡胶底，你们看这排足迹，尤其是脚后跟这里，我敢肯定，这是白绉橡胶。”
他量好了足迹的尺寸。“是八码的鞋，”他说，“朱利安，和你的一样大呢。”说完，他认真地将鞋底的图案画了出来。
“你就像个侦探一样，迪克！”安妮佩服地说。迪克却只是笑了笑。
“拜托，量个脚印而已，谁都会的好吗？”他不在意地说，“现在最重要的问题是，怎么通过脚印找到它的主人。”
“我说，要不等晚餐后再继续吧——如果有人要吃晚餐的话，”乔治突然说，“都八点半了！时间怎么过得这么快啊！真是难以置信。”
“我倒是不怎么饿，”迪克说，“白天的时候咱们可吃得不少呢。”
“行吧！如果不饿的话，就别浪费我们宝贵的食物了，”乔治说，“要是吃得太快，咱们又得回家去拿。”
最后，大家都说没怎么饿。几人便在老庄园找了个舒服的角落，每人吃了块切片蛋糕、几块饼干，把菠萝汁和泉水兑在一起喝了一点。乔治出了个主意——用菠萝罐头的罐子来装泉水。于是，四人便将罐子里的水倒进杯子，每个人喝了一杯。
“已经这么晚了呀！”朱利安问，“我们是睡在庄园里面，还是外面呢？”
“里面吧，”迪克第一时间回答，“我们不是还要调查吗——看今晚会不会再来个偷窥者。”
“行啊！”朱利安也同意了，“要是看到蒂米在这里，那些人肯定会气坏的，哈哈！咱们出去捡些石南铺张床吧，那么小一张毯子，我可不想四个人都挤在上面。”
没过多久，四人就抱了好大一捆石南回来。他们将石南铺在两个角落之间的前厅里，因为男孩们也认为，还是和女孩们一样，住在一个房间里比较保险。
“你得多拿点石南，把床铺软一点才行。”迪克躺上去试了试，“天啊，这样直接睡，我的骨头都硌得慌！”
“要不，把雨衣铺在石南上吧，”朱利安说，“一定管用的。女孩们有床毯子，我们就不用盖了吧，太热了。”
铺好床，天已经完全黑了下来。乔治躺在自己的石南床上，打了个呵欠。“我要睡觉了，”她宣布道，“对了，留一个人站岗守夜什么的，就没必要了吧？有蒂米在，只要有人靠近，它就会叫起来。”
“没错，确实没必要，”朱利安也这么认为，“过去一点，迪克！
我连睡的地方都快没有了！”
朱利安是最后睡的。他躺在床上，仍在想那块被掀开的石板。
很显然，有人想找石板下面的东西，那么，他们是怎么知道，哪一块石板最特别呢？难道那些人有地图？如果真的有，那么地图上一定标错了，或者说，是那些人看错了？
想来想去，他也没能找到答案，便迷迷糊糊地进入了梦乡。蒂米也睡着了。眼见四个小伙伴都在自己的守护之下，它高兴极了，像往常一样半竖着耳朵。
小耗子从地板上跑过的声音，它听见了；甲壳虫撞到墙上的声音，它也听见了。过了一会儿，它的耳朵慢慢垂了下来，因此，屋外刺猬爬过的声音，它没有听见。
但没过多久，它的耳朵又竖了起来，完全张开了。老庄园里响起一个声音，越来越大、越来越大，古古怪怪的，令人心生疑惑。
蒂米醒了过来，仔细地听着。它用爪子挠了挠乔治，犹豫着，不知道该不该叫醒她。它明白，自己不能朝猫头鹰大叫，但那不是猫头鹰啊。也许，乔治会懂的吧。
“别挠我，蒂米。”乔治迷迷糊糊地说，可蒂米仍然在挠她，再然后，乔治也听到了那个声音，吓得一下子坐了起来。
好可怕的声音啊，像鬼哭狼嚎似的，在深沉的夜里起起伏伏，划破了夜空的宁静。声音里充满了痛苦和悲伤，不停地响着，响着……
“朱利安！迪克！快醒醒！”乔治大喊道，她的心脏剧烈地跳动着，“出事了！”
两个男孩立刻醒了，安妮也是。他们坐起来，屏住呼吸听着周围的动静。那究竟是什么声音呢？高昂的哀号声响彻夜空，然后，随着一声悲叹，渐渐消失了，可没过几秒，便又响了起来。
迪克觉得自己的汗毛都竖了起来，头皮也有些发麻。他跳下石南床，跑到窗户边，“快！你们快过来看呀！”他叫道，“那是什么东西？”
他们急忙来到窗前，蒂米也叫了起来，声音大得不得了。其他人沉默着望着彼此，神色极为古怪。
只见窗外到处都闪着光圈，有蓝色的，还有绿色的，时而明亮，时而微弱，在那其中，有一道诡异的、圆圆的白色光圈在空中缓缓移动着。安妮紧紧抓住乔治的手，呼吸异常急促。
“它不会过来的！”她颤抖着说，“不会来的，对不对？我不喜欢那个东西，朱利安，发生什么事了？怎么会这样？”
“那个古怪的鬼哭狼嚎声，要是能快点消失就好了！”迪克说，“吓死我了，这会儿我脑子里乱得不得了。朱利安，那是什么东西，你有印象吗？”
“外面有些古怪，”朱利安平静地说，“我和蒂米出去瞧瞧，看能不能发现点什么。”说完，不等众人阻止，他就带着蒂米匆匆跑出去了。
“啊！朱利安，你快回来！”安妮连忙喊道，却什么回应也没得到，只听见他渐行渐远的脚步声。三人站在窗前焦急地等待着，不到片刻，那鬼哭狼嚎似的声音却突然消失，诡异的光圈也渐渐退去了。
紧接着，在黑暗中，他们又听到了朱利安回来的脚步声。
“朱利安，发现什么没有？那是什么东西啊？”朱利安一出现在门口，迪克就迫不及待地问道。
“我也不清楚，迪克，”朱利安回答，看样子他也迷惑极了，“真的不清楚。也许，到了明天早上，我们就能找到答案了。”
Chapter 11 INTERESTING DISCOVERIES - AND A PLAN
Chapter 11 INTERESTING DISCOVERIES - AND A PLAN
The four sat in the dark and talked over the horrible noises and the weird blue and green and whitelights. Anne sat close to Julian. She really was frightened.
'I want to go back to Kirrin,' she said. 'Let's go tomorrow. I don't like this.'
'I didn't see a thing just now,' said Julian, puzzled, his arm close round Anne. 'I seemed to go quiteclose to those wailing sounds - and then they stopped as soon as I got fairly near. But althoughTimmy barked and ran around, there didn't seem to be anyone there.'
'Did you get near the lights?' asked Dick.
'Yes, fairly near. But the odd thing was that they seemed high up when I got near them - not near theground as I expected. And again Timmy couldn't find anyone. You would have thought if there wasanyone about, playing the fool, that Timmy would have found them. But he didn't.'
'Woof,' said Timmy, dolefully. He didn't like this queer business at all!
'Well, if nobody's making the noises and lights, it makes it even worse,' said Anne. 'Do let's go home,Julian. Tomorrow.'
'All right,' said Julian. 'I don't feel particularly thrilled about all this myself. But there is one idea I'vegot in my mind which I'd like to sort out tomorrow.'
'What's that?' said Dick.
'Well - it may quite well be that somebody very badly wants us out of here for some reason,' saidJulian. 'And that somebody may want to come and lift other stones and have a thorough search allover the place - which he can't do with us around. So he's trying to frighten us out!'
'Yes - I believe you are right, Julian,' said Dick. 'Those noises - and lights - they would be enough toscare anyone out of a place. Too eerie for words! Well - let's have a good snoop round in thedaylight, to see if we can find any trace of a trickster!'
'We will - but it's extremely odd that Timmy didn't find him,' said Julian. 'Timmy can smell anyoneout of any hiding-place! Yes - we'll have a very very good hunt round tomorrow.'
'And if you find nothing and nobody, we'll go home?' asked Anne.
'Yes, we will. I promise you,' said Julian, hugging Anne. 'Don't worry. You shan't have to stay hereone night longer, unless you want to! Now - let's try and go to sleep again!'
46
It took the four a long time to go to sleep after all this excitement in the middle of the night.
Anne kept listening for the wailing noises again, but none came. She kept her eyes shut tightly in caseshe should happen to see any more of the queer lights outside the window.
George and the boys lay awake too, puzzling out the problems of lights and noises which were notapparently caused by anyone! Julian especially was puzzled.
Only Timmy was unconcerned. He went to sleep before anyone else, though he kept one ear wideopen - and up went the other one when George moved, or Dick whispered to Julian.
The excitement of the night made them all sleep late.
Julian awoke first, and stared at the low ceiling in surprise. Now - where was he? In France? No.
Ah, of course he was in the old ruined cottage!
He woke Dick, who yawned and stretched. 'Remember those queer lights and noises last night?'
asked Dick. 'What a fright they gave us! It seems silly to think we were all so puzzled and scared,now that the sun is shining in at the window, and we can see the countryside around for miles!'
'I'm pretty certain someone is trying to scare us away,' said Julian. 'We are in their way here -they want to do some thorough explorations and they can't, because of us! I've a good mind to takethe girls home, Dick, and come back here with you.'
'Anne might go, but George wouldn't,' said Dick. 'You know what old George is - good as any boy,and as full of courage as any boy, too. Let's not decide anything till we have had a look round thismorning. I don't really believe there's anything spooky about this at all - I agree with you that it's justa few tricks to frighten us away.'
'Right,' said Julian. 'Let's wake the girls. Hey, George! Anne! Sleepyheads! Get up and get usbreakfast! What are girls for if not to get our meals?'
George sat up, looking furious, as Julian intended. 'You jolly well get your own m...' she began, andthen laughed as she saw Julian's amused face.
'I was only just striking a little match to set you alight!' said Julian. 'Come on - let's all go for a swimin the pool!'
They set off together happily in the warm sunshine, Timmy padding along, his tail wavingvigorously. As soon as they got to the pool, they saw the boy there, floating lazily on his back.
'There's Guy!' said Anne.
47
'I wonder if he will admit to his name or not this morning!' said George. 'Remember how he told ushis name was Guy - and then said it wasn't a little while after? Silly ass! I can't make out if he's quitemad, or just thinks its funny to keep playing the fool!'
They came to the pool. The boy waved to them, grinning. 'Come on in - it's fine!'
'Is your name Guy this morning or not?' called George.
The boy looked surprised. 'Of course it's Guy!' he said. 'Don't be idiotic! Come on in and have agame.'
They had a fine swim and a mad one. Guy was like an eel, swimming under the water, catching theirlegs, splashing, swimming away fast, doubling round and going underwater just as they got up tohim!
At last they all sat panting on the edge of the pond, the sun shining down warmly on them.
'I say, Guy - did you hear anything strange last night?' asked Dick. 'Or see anything?'
'I didn't see anything strange - but I thought I heard somebody wailing and crying in the distance,'
said Guy. 'Just now and again when the wind brought the sound this way. Jet didn't like it at all - didyou, Jet? He went and hid under my legs!'
'We heard it too - quite near us,' said Julian. 'And saw strange lights.'
They discussed the matter for some time, but Guy could not really help them, because he had notbeen near enough to the noises to hear them as clearly as the others had.
'I'm getting hungry,' said George, at last. 'I keep thinking of ham and tomatoes and cheese. Let's goback to the cottage.'
'Right,' said Julian. 'Good-bye, Guy - see you sometime soon. Good-bye, Jet, you mad little thing.'
They went off together, their swim-suits almost dry already in the sun.
'Well, Guy was perfectly sensible this morning,' said Anne. 'Funny! I wonder why he's so sillysometimes.'
'See - isn't that him - running down the path there - to the right, look!' said George, suddenly.
'Now how did he get there so quickly? We left him by the pool!'
It certainly looked like Guy! They called to him, but he didn't even look round or wave, though hemust have heard them. They went on, puzzled. How could one person be so different each time - andwhy? What was the point?
48
They had a good breakfast and then went out to look round and see if they could find anything toexplain the strange happenings of the night before.
'The noises seemed to come from about here, when I came out last night,' said Julian, stopping nearthe little group of trees. 'And the lights seemed to start about here too - but not near the ground - theywere high up, above my head.'
'Above your head?' said Dick, puzzled. 'That seems odd.'
'It doesn't!' said Anne. 'Not a bit odd! What about those trees there? Couldn't somebody climb upthem and do the wailing and whining there, with some strange instrument - and set off the weirdlights?'
Julian stared up at the trees and then round at Anne. He grinned suddenly.
'Anne's got it! Clever girl! Of course someone was up there - or maybe two people - one doing thenoises with some weird instrument and the other playing about with fireworks of some kind.
Not the noisy kind - just coloured fire or balloons lighted up from inside.'
'Yes! That's why the lights seemed to be so high up, when you came out!' said Dick. 'They were sentout by someone up in a tree!'
'And floated away to scare us,' said Anne. 'Golly - I do feel glad that it was silly tricks like that thatfrightened us so. They wouldn't frighten me again!'
'It explains something else too,' said George. 'It explains why Timmy didn't find anyone! They weresafely up trees! I bet they hardly breathed when they knew Tim was down below.'
'Yes. Of course! That puzzled me too,' said Julian. 'It was too spooky for words when even old Timcouldn't find anyone real about - just noises and lights!'
'Here's something, look - a wrinkled little rubber-skin - pale green!' said Dick, picking something upfrom the ground. 'That's what those lights were - balloons lighted up from inside in some way andsent floating away in the air.'
'Most ingenious,' said Julian. 'I expect they had quite a lot of funny tricks at their disposal last night.
Yes - they certainly mean to scare us away!'
'Well, they won't,' said Anne, unexpectedly. 'I'm not going, for one. I won't be scared away by stupidtricks!'
'Good old Anne!' said Julian, and clapped her on the back. 'Right - we'll all stay - but I've got an idea.'
'What?' asked everyone.
49
'We'll pretend to go!' said Julian. 'We'll pack up everything - remove our things from here - and goand camp somewhere else. But Dick and I will hide somewhere here tonight - and watch to see ifanyone comes, and where they look for whatever it is they're hunting for, and why!'
'That's a wizard plan,' said Dick, pleased. 'We'll do it! Roll on, tonight! Adventure is about - and we'llbe ready for it!'
11.计上心头
计上心头
四人坐在黑暗中，讨论着那可怕的鬼哭狼嚎声，还有那诡异的蓝色、绿色和白色的光圈。安妮紧挨着朱利安坐着，她真的吓坏了。
“我想回科林庄园了，”她说，“我们明天就回去吧，我不喜欢这里。”
“到目前为止，我们还什么都没有发现。”朱利安伸出胳膊揽住安妮，纳闷地说，“我似乎已经离那些声音很近了，可当我再走近一点，那声音就消失了。蒂米又叫又奔走查探，似乎也没有发现任何人。”
“你靠近那些光圈了吗？”迪克又问。
“嗯，离得非常近了，但奇怪的是，我走近了才发现，那些光圈是飘在空中的，我原本以为是在地面。蒂米这次也没发现人的踪迹。你们一定想着，只要有人在搞这些无聊的恶作剧，蒂米就一定能把他找出来，可它并没有。”
“汪！”蒂米叫了一声，似乎在说，“我一点也不喜欢这样的怪事！”
“好吧。可是，如果那些光圈和声音都不是人弄出来的，事情不就更糟糕了吗？”安妮不安地说，“我们还是回家吧，朱利安，明天就回去。”
“没问题，”朱利安道，“我自己倒没觉得有什么好怕的，但我突然想到一件事，才觉得明天我们还是收拾收拾东西，别继续住在这儿了。”
“什么事？”迪克问。
“这个嘛，很显然，因为某些原因，有人非常不想让我们继续待在这里。”朱利安答道，“那些人想进这个庄园，挪开所有石板，把这个地方里里外外搜查一遍。但只要我们在这里，他们就没法成事，所以，他们才装神弄鬼来吓唬我们，想让我们主动搬出去。”
“你说的有道理啊，朱利安，”迪克点头道，“那些声音和光圈，确实足够把人吓得搬出去，太可怕了，简直一言难尽。这样吧，等天一亮，我们就出去找找，看能不能发现那些夜行者的踪迹。”
“行，那就去找找吧，可是，连蒂米都找不到人，不是太奇怪了吗？”朱利安说，“只要周围有人，不管他藏在哪里，蒂米都能闻出来。算了，明天我们就去好好搜索一番吧。”
“是不是只要没找到任何东西、任何人，我们就可以回家了？”安妮问。
“对，就是这样，我保证。”朱利安抱了抱安妮，安慰道，“别担心了，如果你不想留下，那我答应你，今晚就是你在这里过的最后一个晚上。现在什么也别说了，咱们还是继续睡吧。”
经过半夜的这场闹腾之后，四人很久才再次睡着。安妮侧耳倾听着四周的动静，以为还能听见那古怪的鬼哭狼嚎声，可那声音始终没再出现。她紧紧闭着双眼，生怕再看到窗外忽明忽暗的诡异光圈。
乔治和两个男孩也都醒着，想着声音和光圈的事——那明显不是人弄出来的。朱利安是最疑惑的一个。
只有蒂米对这些事漠不关心，它最先睡着，虽然它只留了一只耳朵张得大大的，但只要乔治一动或者迪克一和朱利安说悄悄话，另一只耳朵就会高高地竖起来。
当然，头一天晚上的闹腾，让所有人都起晚了。
朱利安第一个醒过来，他注视着低斜的天花板，心中困惑不已——他这是在哪儿呢，是在法国吗？啊，不是，他当然是在荒废已久的老庄园里了。
他先叫醒了迪克，迪克打了个呵欠，伸了个懒腰，“还记得昨晚古怪的声音和光圈吗？”迪克问，“真的把我吓坏了！可现在想想，咱们可真够傻的，居然思考了那么久，还被吓成那个样子。这会儿既然太阳也出来了，我们就可以把方圆几英里都好好搜一遍了。”
“我十分肯定，就是有人想把我们吓走，”朱利安说，“因为我们碍着他们的事了。那些人想进来找东西，可是因为我们在，他们不方便进来！迪克，我想先把两个女孩子送回家，然后再和你一起回来。”
“安妮可能会走，但乔治一定不肯离开。”迪克没有同意，“你也了解乔治，她一直都像个男孩一样，那么优秀，那么勇敢。我想，在把周围搜遍之前，还是先别做任何决定吧。鬼神这些玩意，我从来都不信。我还是更倾向于你的推测——只是那些人搞了些小把戏，想把我们吓走。”
“也行，”朱利安说，“先把女孩们叫醒吧。嘿！乔治！安妮！两个大懒虫，快起床吧！去准备早餐！”
如朱利安所料，乔治果然醒了，她气呼呼地说：“你们最好自己去做早……”可她话还没说完，就看见了朱利安怪里怪气的样子，顿时被逗得哈哈大笑。
“我只是想逗逗你们，让你们都振作起来，”朱利安说，“快起来，咱们去池子里游个泳吧。”
四人迎着明媚的阳光，欢欢喜喜地出发了。蒂米走在最前面，尾巴欢快地摇晃着。一靠近池塘，他们就看见一个男孩在水里游得正起劲呢。
“盖伊也在！”安妮嚷道。
“我更想知道的是，他今天会不会承认这个名字。”乔治揶揄道，“可别忘了，是他先说自己叫盖伊，过了一会儿，他又不承认了，真是神经！我现在真的无法确定，他到底是真的疯了，还是单纯地认为这样的把戏很有意思。”
四人来到水池前，男孩朝他们挥了挥手，笑着喊道：“快下来呀，水里太舒服了！”
“那现在，你的名字还是不是盖伊呀？”乔治问道。
男孩一脸错愕。“当然是了，我就叫盖伊呀！”他说，“别说这些傻话了，快来一起玩吧！”
五个人好好地游了一场，玩得很疯。盖伊像条鳗鱼一样，在水里游来游去，不时地抓一下四人的脚，又飞快地游开，以两倍的速度向岸边游，一见他们游过来抓他，又一下子钻到水池底了。
最后，五人气喘吁吁地爬到池塘边，温暖的阳光调皮地洒在他们身上。
“我说盖伊，昨晚，你有没有听到奇怪的声音啊？”迪克问，“还有，有没有看到奇怪的东西？”
“奇怪的东西吗？我没看见。不过，恍惚中似乎听到了一阵鬼哭狼嚎，好像还有人在大声哭，”盖伊回答，“可那时，这里的风太大了，我也没听清楚。杰特可讨厌那个声音了，是不是呀，杰特？当时，它第一时间就跑到我脚边躲起来了。”
“我们也听见了，离得非常近，”朱利安说，“还看到了古怪的光圈。”
五个人就这个问题讨论了一会儿，盖伊没能给他们提供任何线索，因为他隔得太远了，不像乔治他们听得那么清晰。
“我饿了！”过了一会儿，乔治说，“我现在满脑子都是火腿肉、番茄还有奶酪。咱们回老庄园吧。”
“好吧！”朱利安说，“拜拜，盖伊，下次再见！拜拜，杰特，你这个可爱的小东西。”
四人离开了，走在阳光下，身上的泳衣也很快被晒干。
“唔，刚才盖伊还是挺友好的嘛，”安妮说，“真有意思。可为什么，有时候他又那么傻呢？我太好奇啦！”
“你们看！那不是盖伊吗？从那边的小路上跑下来的那个，咦？
又往右边去了！”乔治突然惊呼道，“他究竟是怎么到这儿的呀？明明他刚才还在池塘边呢！”
那人看上去的确就是盖伊，四人喊着他的名字，他们非常肯定，他一定听得见的，可他却不加理睬，头也不回。四个人只好一边继续向前走，一边在心里思忖着：“一个人每次出现，表现得都那么不一样，这到底是为什么呢？问题的关键点在哪里？”
他们美美地吃了一顿早餐，就外出查看了，也不知道能不能发现点儿什么，好解释解释昨晚出现的怪现象。
“昨晚我出来的时候，声音似乎就是从这里发出来的。”朱利安停在几棵树下，说道，“光圈似乎也是在这里出现的，但不在地面，飘在空中，比我头顶还高呢。”
“比你头顶高？”迪克纳闷地说，“那也太奇怪了吧！”
“不奇怪！”安妮忽然插话道，“一点也不奇怪！你们说，为什么偏偏是树这里呢？会不会是有人爬上树，用某种乐器弄出了那些古怪的声音，又放出了诡异的光圈？”
朱利安闻言，抬头看了看树枝，然后猛地转身看向安妮，突然笑了起来。“安妮说得没错，你真是太机灵了！那人一定是先爬到树上——也可能是两个人，一个人利用乐器，弄出了那种鬼哭狼嚎的声响，另一个人则用烟花——不是咱们常见的那种，是没有响声的烟花，五光十色的，放出了光圈。唔……也有可能是点燃了什么东西，放在气球里。”
“有道理！怪不得你出去的时候，发现光圈飞得很高呢！”迪克恍然大悟，“原来是有人从树上放出来的。”
“然后，就这样飘出来吓唬我们？”安妮也反应过来了，“天呀，我真高兴！原来是真实的东西，是有人故意用那些东西吓我们！放心吧，那些愚蠢的把戏，再也吓不着我了！”
“那么，另一件事也可以解释通了。”乔治接话道，“这就能解释，为什么蒂米一个人也没发现了。原来他们好好地待在树上呢！
我敢说，当蒂米走到树下的时候，那些人一定大气儿也不敢出！”
“是啊，当然喽！要知道，这件事我也一直想不通呢！”朱利安说，“蒂米在这边转来转去，却始终没有找到人，真是太奇怪了，不是吗？就只有那些声音和光圈。”
“你们看！这里还有东西！是一块小小的橡胶，绿色的！”迪克从地上捡起一小块东西，惊叫道，“这就是那些绿色光圈的原形了！
原来真是在气球里装了燃料，点燃后又放出来，所以才能飘在空中嘛。”
“心思还真够巧妙的！”朱利安哼道，“昨晚闹出那么大的动静，他们一定花了不少心思吧！现在再也没什么好疑惑的了，那些人就是想把咱们吓跑。”
“哼！吓不跑的！”令大家意外的是，安妮开口了，“我才不走呢！至于理由么，只有一个——我才不会被这些傻了吧唧的把戏吓跑呢！”
“安妮，好样的！”朱利安拍了拍她的背，夸奖道，“好吧，我们留下来。不过，我还有个主意。”
“什么主意？”其他人异口同声地问。
“我们可以假装离开嘛，”朱利安说，“把所有东西打包，从老庄园搬出去，到别的地方另建一个营地。但是今晚，我和迪克会找个地方藏起来，如果真有人来，就看看他们究竟在哪里找东西，找到了什么，拿去干什么用。”
“好主意啊！”迪克眼前一亮，“就这么办，今晚就行动！冒险即将开始，我们已经准备好啦！”
Chapter 12 A GOOD HIDING-PLACE
Chapter 12 A GOOD HIDING-PLACE
The Five spent quite a pleasant day, but when late afternoon came, they decided that it was time tocarry out their plan and pack as if they were leaving.
'I imagine someone is spying on our doings,' said Dick. 'And won't he be pleased to see us apparentlyon the point of leaving!'
'How can anyone be spying?' asked Anne, looking all round as if she expected to see someone behinda bush. 'Timmy would be sure to sniff out anyone in hiding.'
'Oh, he won't be near enough for Timmy to smell out,' said Dick. 'He'll be a long way off.'
'Then how can he possibly see us - or know that we're leaving?' asked Anne.
'Anne - I don't know if you've heard of field-glasses,' began Dick, solemnly. 'Well, they're things thatcan spot anything half a mile away...'
Anne went red and gave Dick a punch. 'Don't be an ass! Of course - that's it! Field-glasses used bysomeone on a hillside somewhere - trained on the old cottage.'
'Actually I think I know where the someone is,' said Dick. 'I've caught sight of a little flash every nowand again on the hill yonder - the kind of flash that is made by the sun on glass - and I somehow thinkthat our spy is sitting near the top of the hill, watching us carefully.'
Anne turned to look at the hill, but Julian at once spoke sharply. 'No - don't stand and stare up there,anyone. We don't want the watcher to know that we know we are being watched.'
They went on with their packing, and soon began to stagger out with their bundles. George was toldto strap her things to her bicycle, and stand well out in the open as she did so, so that the watcher onthe hill would be able to observe all her doings.
50
Julian was in the midst of carefully folding up his things to go into his knapsack, when Anne gave asudden exclamation.
'Someone's coming!'
Everyone looked round, imagining that they would see a sinister-looking foreigner, or someonepeculiar in some way.
But all they saw was a country-woman hurrying along, a shawl over her head, and a basket under herarm. She wore cheap glasses, had no make-up on, and her hair was pulled straight back under theshawl. She stopped when she saw the Five.
'Good afternoon,' said Julian, politely. 'Isn't it glorious weather!'
'Beautiful,' said the woman. 'Are you camping out - you've chosen a good time!'
'No - actually we're packing,' said Julian. 'We've been sleeping in the old cottage, but we've decidedto move out. Is it very, very old?'
'Oh yes - and it's supposed to have queer things happening in it at nights,' said the woman.
'We know that!' said Julian. 'My word - we were pretty scared last night, I can tell you - weird noisesand horrible, ghastly lights. We decided not to stay there any longer.'
'That's right,' said the woman. 'Don't you stay! You get as far from this place as you can! I can tellyou, I wouldn't come by it at night. Where are you going?'
'Well, our home is at Kirrin,' said Julian, evading the question. 'You know - on Kirrin Bay.'
'Ah yes - a fine place,' said the woman. 'Well, don't you stay another night! Good-bye!'
She hurried off, and was soon lost to sight.
'Go on packing,' said Julian to the others.
'The watcher is still up in the hills. I caught sight of a flash again just then.'
'Julian - why did you tell all that to the woman?' asked Anne. 'You don't usually say so much whenwe are in the middle of something queer!'
'My dear, unsuspecting Anne - do you mean to say that you thought that woman was really what shepretended to be - a woman from a nearby farm?' said Julian.
'Well - wasn't she?' said Anne surprised. 'She looked like one - no make-up - and that old shawl -and she knew all about the old cottage!'
'Anne - farm-women don't have gold fillings in their teeth,' said Julian. 'Didn't you notice them whenshe smiled?'
'And her hair was dyed,' said George. 'I noticed it was blonde at the roots and black above.'
51
'And what about her hands?' said Dick. 'A farmer's wife does a great deal of hard, rough work, andher hands are never white and smooth - they are rough and brown. This woman's hands were as whiteas a princess's!'
'Well yes - I did notice them,' said Anne. 'And I did notice too that she sometimes spoke like acountry-woman and sometimes not.'
'Well, there you are!' said Julian. 'She's one of the unpleasant gang that tried to scare us last night- and when the watcher on the hill reported that we appeared to be packing up and going, she wastold to go and make sure. So she pretended to be a country woman and came by - but unfortunatelywe weren't quite so stupid as she thought we would be!'
'You certainly stuffed her up well!' said Dick, with a grin. 'The gang will be down here tonight,digging up all the big stones they can find. You and I will have a marvellous time, snooping roundthem.'
'You'll be careful they don't see you, won't you?' said Anne. 'Where will you hide?'
'We haven't planned that yet,' said Dick. 'Now - come on and we'll make a new camp somewhere thatwon't be easily seen. You and George and Timmy can sleep there tonight, and Ju and I will come andwatch here.'
'I want to come too,' said George at once. 'Anne will be all right with Timmy.'
'You aren't joining us this time, George,' said Ju. 'The fewer people watching, the better. Sorry, oldthing - but you'll have to stay with Anne.'
George scowled and looked sulky at once. Julian laughed and slapped her on the shoulder. 'What alovely scowl! One of your best! I haven't seen it for quite a long time. Keep it up, George - go on,scowl a bit harder, it suits you!'
George grinned unwillingly, and pulled herself together. She hated being left out of anything -but she did see that it was no use having a crowd of people watching that night. All right - she wouldstay with Anne and keep her company.
It seemed as if the watcher on the hills must have gone, because there were no more sudden flashessuch as came when he lifted his field-glasses to watch the Five.
'That disguised country-woman has convinced the watcher that we're going! Any ideas, anyone,where we can go? Not too far away - but somewhere where the watcher can't follow us with hisglasses, if he's still up there.'
52
'I know a place,' said George. 'There's a simply colossal gorse-bush on the other side of the spring.
And underneath it is all hollow and dry. It's almost like a kind of gorse-cave.'
'Sounds all right,' said Julian. 'Let's go and find it.'
George led the way, trying to remember exactly where it was. Timmy followed, still in his enormouscardboard collar, which was now rather the worse for wear. George stopped when they had gone alittle way past the spring.
'It was somewhere here,' she said. 'I know I could still hear the sound of the spring when I found thehollow under the bush. Ah - there's the bush!'
It certainly was a great bush, green and spiky outside, with a few yellow blooms on it still. Under itwas a big hollow place, where the ground was soft and fine, scattered with dry old prickles.
The main trunk - for it was almost a trunk that supported the big bush - was not quite in the middle,so there was a good bit of room. Julian caught hold of the branches that hid the hollow, using afolded sheet of brown paper to hold them by, for the bush was very prickly.
'This is fine,' he said. 'Plenty of room for you two girls - and Timmy. My word, he'll have difficultywith his collar though, won't he - squeezing in and out!'
'Take it off!' said Dick. 'His ear really is practically healed now. Even if he scratches it, he can't domuch damage. Dear old Timmy, we simply shan't know you without your collar.'
'Right,' said George. She took a quick look at the ear. It was still covered by a piece of elastoplast, butit was quite obvious that the ear was healthy. She cut the thread that bound the two ends of thecircular collar - and then bent it so that it came off.
They all stared at Timmy, who looked most surprised. He wagged his tail gently as if to say'Well - so you've taken off that thing - I wonder why?'
'Oh Tim - you look sort of undressed without that collar now!' said Anne. 'It is nice to see youwithout it, though. Good old Tim! You'll guard me and George tonight won't you? You know thatwe're in the Middle of Something again, don't you?'
'Woof,' said Timmy, wagging his tail violently. 'Woof!' Yes - he knew all right!
12.试探
试探
他们快快乐乐地过了一整天，直到傍晚，几人才想起，是时候实施计划，收拾行李假装离开了。
“我猜，肯定有人在暗中监视我们，”迪克说，“见我们这时离开，一定满意极了。”
“怎么会呢？怎么监视呀？”安妮朝四周看了看，好像灌木丛下会突然跑出一个人似的，“不管别人躲在哪里，蒂米都能闻出来的呀！”
“哦！那人可能离得比较远，这样一来，蒂米就闻不到他的味道啦！”迪克说，“他可能离这里有好长一段距离呢！”
“可是，这样的话，他又怎么看得见我们呢？或者说，又怎么知道我们准备离开了呢？”安妮不解地问。
“安 妮， 你 难 道 没 有 听 说 过‘望 远 镜’吗？”迪 克 怪 叫 着 反问，“唔，有了那东西，即使在半英里外，也能把我们看得一清二楚！”
安妮涨红了脸，轻轻推了迪克一下，“当然听过了。原来如此——有人躲在附近的某座小山上，拿着望远镜窥视着老庄园的一切动静。”
“说实话，我想，我知道那个人在哪里了！”迪克说，“那边的山上之前会投过来几道反光，我都看见好几次了。这种反光，是阳光打在玻璃上反射出来的。所以依我看，那个偷窥者就坐在山顶附近，严密地监视着我们呢！”
安妮立刻条件反射似的望向山顶，却被朱利安喝止住了：“不要！别傻呆呆地站着往那边看！大家都别看，不能让那些人发现我们已经知道自己被监视了！”
于是，四人继续收拾起行李来，没过多久，就拖着几大包行李走了出来。按照计划，乔治将自己的行李捆在自行车后座上，站在外面的空地上等着，如此一来，她的一举一动就完全在偷窥者的视线之内了。
朱利安正认认真真地把自己的东西叠好，往背包里放，这时，安妮突然惊叫了一声：“有人过来了！”
几人不约而同地往外望去，以为会见到一个面色阴郁的陌生人，至少也是古里古怪的人。
谁知，出现在眼前的只是一个匆匆疾行的农妇。她头上包着围巾，手里提着一个篮子，戴着廉价的太阳镜，没有化妆，头发严严实实地包裹在围巾里。一看见孩子们，她便停下了脚步。
“下午好啊！”朱利安礼貌地打着招呼，“今天天气可真不错！”
“是啊，太好了！”妇人回答道，“你们是出来露营的吗？可真选了个好时候啊！”
“也不是啦，事实上，我们正收拾东西准备回去呢！”朱利安说，“原本，我们是住在老庄园里的，但现在已经决定搬出去了。这地方真的太旧了，非常旧，不是吗？”
“呃……是啊！而且到了晚上，还经常有怪事发生呢！”妇人附和道。
“深有同感！”朱利安说，“昨天晚上，我们真的被吓坏了！那些古怪的鬼哭狼嚎声，诡异的、吓人的光圈！所以我们才决定，再也不要住在这里了。”
“这个决定太明智了！”妇人说，“千万别待在那儿，有多远就离多远吧！说实话，一到晚上，连我都不敢靠近这个鬼地方！对了，你们准备搬到哪里去啊？”
“这个嘛，我们的家在科林庄园，”朱利安没有回答她的问题，“就在科林湾那边，你听过吗？”
“哦，当然听过了，那真是个好地方啊！”妇人说，“记住啊，可千万别在老庄园那儿过夜了！拜拜！”
妇人说完便匆匆离开了，过了一会儿，她的身影消失在众人的视线里。
“继续收拾吧，”朱利安对其他人说，“那个监视我们的人还在山上，我刚才又瞥见反光了。”
“朱利安，为什么……你要把所有事情告诉那个女人啊？”安妮好奇地问，“通常来说，在发生怪事的时候，你是不会跟别人说这么多的。”
“天啊，安妮！你真是单纯啊！你以为刚才那个女人是什么身份？难道真的像她装出来的那样，只是个来自附近农场的村妇吗？”朱利安反问道。
“啊？难道不是吗？”安妮诧异地说，“她看上去挺像的啊！素面朝天，围巾那么破，还有，她对老庄园的情况那么了解……”
“安妮，一个普通的村妇，怎么可能会镶金牙呢？”朱利安无奈地解释，“刚才她笑的时候，你没注意到吗？”
“她的头发也染过，”乔治也说，“我看见了她的头发，发根是黑色，发尾却是金色的。”
“还有一点，你们留意到她的手了吗？”迪克补充道，“一般来说，农民的妻子每天都要干很多粗活，所以双手不可能那样光滑白皙，会慢慢变得粗糙，手上的肤色也会变成深棕色。但刚才那个女人的手呢？那么白，都赶得上公主王后的手了吧。”
“啊！是啊，当然，我当然也注意到了，”安妮急忙补充道，“我还发现，她说话有时带着这里的乡音，有时则没有。”
“没错，大家都说对了！”朱利安总结道，“她就是那些讨厌的家伙中的一个！昨晚一定也吓过我们！事情应该是这样的，山上的偷窥者报告说，我们好像在打包行李，准备离开，她便奉命前来核实真假，所以，她才会装成一个路过的村妇。不过，他们太不幸啦！
我们可没她想象的那么傻！”
“你把他们的心思全猜透了！”迪克笑着说，“这么说，那些家伙今晚一定会过来，把能找到的石板都挖出来。那么，你和我就负责监视他们吧，今晚一定会惊险刺激得不得了！”
“你们要小心点，千万不能被发现了，知道吗？”安妮叮嘱了一声，又问，“你们准备藏在哪里呀？”
“这个……还没想好呢！”迪克说，“现在就出发吧，我们去找个不容易被发现的地方，再建个新营地。你、乔治和蒂米晚上就睡在那里，朱利安和我过来看着就行了。”
“我也想来！”乔治毫不迟疑地说，“安妮和蒂米在一起，不会有事的。”
“这次你不能和我们一起，乔治，”朱利安没有答应，“监视这件事，当然是人越少越安全了，不好意思啦，老朋友，你真的只能和安妮待在一块儿。”
乔治立刻皱紧了眉头，看上去有点生气。朱利安却哈哈笑着，拍了拍她的肩膀，说：“皱着眉多可爱啊！这可是你的长处之一！我都好长时间没见过了！继续再皱紧一点！这个表情太适合你了，真的！”
乔治虽然还有些不高兴，但还是忍不住笑了起来，很快就恢复了平静。她讨厌被排除在外，可她心里也明白，大晚上的，这么多人一下子跑过去，也实在起不了什么作用。好吧，那她就留下来陪着安妮吧。
山上的偷窥者应该已经离开了，因为在用望远镜监视时才会发出的反光，再也没有出现过。
“假村妇一定说服那个人离开了，那么现在，大家有什么主意吗？我们该去哪儿呢？不能走太远，但如果那人还会回到山上的话，我们就要找个望远镜看不到的地方，隐蔽起来才行。”迪克说。
“我倒是知道一个地方，”乔治立马回答说，“那里有一丛好大的荆豆灌木，就在泉水的另一边。那下面有一块空地，很干爽，就像个荆棘洞穴一样。”
“听起来还不错，”朱利安说，“那我们就去看看吧。”
乔治在前面带路，她绞尽脑汁地想着具体的地点。蒂米跟在她身后，仍然戴着硬纸板做的应急伊丽莎白圈——现在戴着越来越不舒服了。离泉水还有一小段路的时候，乔治停下了脚步。
“应该就在这附近，”她说，“我敢肯定。因为钻进灌木丛下面的空地的时候，我还听到了‘叮咚’的泉水声呢。啊！就在那儿！”
灌木丛的确很大，藤蔓绿油油的，枝叶上长满了尖尖的刺，顶端则开满了黄色的小花。下方有一大块空地，地面软软的，却覆盖着干干的老刺。
一根树干支撑着这一大片灌木，因为这树干不在正中，所以留下了更大的空间。朱利安抓住空地旁的一根枝条，取出一张棕色的厚纸，将枝条严严实实地包裹了起来，因为那上面尖刺太多了。
“这样就可以了，”他说，“对你们两个女孩子来说，地方够大了。还有蒂米，我的意思是，戴着那么大个纸圈，太碍事了，不是吗？进进出出都很费劲。”
“取下来吧，”迪克建议道，“它的耳朵真的已经痊愈了，就算挠一两下，也不会有什么事的。亲爱的蒂米，要是取下那个大纸圈，说不定我们都认不出你了呢。”
“好吧。”乔治答应了，她快速地检查了一下蒂米的耳朵，那里仍然有一道浅浅的伤疤，但很显然，耳朵已经没事了。她剪断了连接伊丽莎白圈两端的线，再轻轻一拧，领子就掉了。
大伙儿齐齐看向蒂米，它十分惊讶，摇了摇尾巴，似乎在说：“哦！终于把这东西取下来了。可是，为什么呀？”
“哦，蒂米！你取了伊丽莎白圈，看上去就像没穿衣服一样，太好玩了！”安妮惊叫道，“不过，终于取下来了，我还是挺为你高兴的。好伙计，蒂米，今晚你会保护我和乔治的，是不是呀？你也知道，我们现在有要紧事要做，对吧？”
“汪！”蒂米叫了一声，尾巴猛烈地摇了起来，“汪汪！”当然了，还有什么它不知道的呀！
Chapter 13 ON WATCH IN THE COTTAGE
Chapter 13 ON WATCH IN THE COTTAGE
It was getting dark - and under the gorse-bush it was very dark indeed! All the Five had managed tosqueeze in there, and Timmy too. One torch only was allowed to be used at a time, to save thebatteries of the others.
The Five were having supper. The ham was now practically finished, but there were still a fewtomatoes and plenty of cake.
Julian opened the last tin of sardines, and made some sandwiches for himself and Dick to take withthem. He also wrapped up two enormous chunks of cake and pocketed two slabs of chocolate each.
'We shall need something to while away the time when we're on the watch tonight!' he said, with agrin. 'I don't know if the Weepies and Wailies and Floating Lights will be along to give us a show -but I fear not. They would be wasted on an empty cottage!'
'I do hope you'll be careful,' said Anne.
'Anne - that's the seventh time you've said that,' said Dick. 'Don't be an ass. Don't you understand thatJu and I are going to enjoy ourselves? You'll be the one that has to be careful.'
'How?' asked Anne, surprised.
'Well - you'll have to be careful of that big black beetle squatting over there,' said Dick. 'And mindthat the hedgehog doesn't sit down on your bare legs. And be careful in case a snake wants to sharethis nice safe warm place with you...'
'Now you're being an ass!' said Anne, giving him a punch. 'When will you be back?'
'We shall be back at exactly the moment you hear us squeezing under here,' said Julian. 'Now Dick -what about it? I think we might be going, don't you?'
'Right,' said Dick, and began to squeeze out carefully so as not to be pricked more than he could help.
'Oh - why are gorse bushes so horribly spiteful! Jab jab - anyone would think the bush was trying toprick me!'
The two girls sat quite still when the boys had gone from the bush. They tried to hear their footsteps,but they couldn't. Dick and Julian trod too softly on the wiry grass.
'I do so hope they'll be...' began Anne, and George groaned.
'If you say that again I shall slap you, Anne! Honestly I shall.'
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'I wasn't saying it,' said Anne, 'I was only going to say that I hope they'll be successful tonight.
I'd like to get back to Kirrin and have some fun bathing and boating, wouldn't you?'
'Yes. And some of Joan's marvellous cooking,' said George. 'Sausages and mash - and tomatoes withit.'
'Yes. And fried plaice fresh from the sea with Joan's best chipped potatoes,' said Anne. 'I can almostsmell it.'
'Woof,' said Timmy, sniffing hard.
'There! He thought I meant it!' said Anne. 'Isn't Timmy clever?'
They had a pleasant talk about how very very clever Timmy was, and Timmy listened and waggedhis tail so hard that he made quite a dust in the gorse-hollow.
'Let's go to sleep,' said Anne. 'We can't talk all night - and keeping awake won't help the boys!'
They curled up on the rug they had brought and cuddled together - not so much for warmth, becauseit was a hot night, but because there was so little room! Anne put out her torch, and the little placeimmediately became black and dark. Timmy put his head on George's tummy. She groaned.
'Oh Tim - be careful, please! I had rather a lot of supper!'
Anne giggled and pulled Timmy's head close to her. It was comforting to have old Timmy there.
She agreed with George that he was the best dog in the whole world.
'I wonder what the boys are doing now,' she said, after a while. 'Do you suppose they are in themiddle of something exciting? Perhaps they are!'
But they weren't! Julian and Dick were feeling extremely bored at that minute. They had gonecautiously to the cottage when they had left the girls, not using their torches at all, for fear of givinganyone warning that they were about. They had debated beforehand where would be the best place tohide, and had decided that it would be a good idea to climb up the little stone stair and hide in theroofless rooms above.
'There's no roof there - and hardly any walls,' said Dick. 'We can peep over any side to watch -and no one would guess that anyone was above them, spying down! It's a good thing it's such a starrynight - once we get used to the dim light, we shall be able to see fairly well. Pity there's no moon.'
They had approached the cottage very cautiously indeed, stopping at every step and listening withbated breath for any sound. But there was none.
55
'Not even the light of somebody's torch, either,' said Dick, in Julian's ear. 'I don't think anyone is hereyet. Let's get into the cottage and up those stairs as soon as we can.'
They tiptoed into the cottage, not daring to put on their torches. They fumbled across to the littlestone stairway, and climbed it with as little sound as they could. Holding their breath made theirhearts thump loudly.
'Can you hear my heart thumping?' Dick whispered to Julian, as they at last stood on the floor of theroofless rooms above.
'No. Mine's just the same, thumping away! Well, we're safely here. Let's just shuffle to and fro andsee if there are any loose stones we might fall over, and so give ourselves away!'
They cleared away a few loose stones, and then sat down silently on the low broken wall of the tworuined rooms. The wind blew gently but warmly. Everything was still except the rose- ramblerclimbing over the old house. It moved a little in the wind and made a faint scraping noise. Dickcaught his hand on a thorn, and sucked his finger. The rambler was everywhere, across the floor, andover the walls and even up what was left of the little chimney!
The boys had been there for about three-quarters of an hour when Julian gave Dick a slight nudge.
'Here they come!' he whispered. 'See - over there!'
Dick looked round and about and then caught sight of a small, moving light, just a prick in thedarkness. It cast a faint glow before it.
'A torch!' he whispered. 'And another - and another! Quite a procession! A slow one, too.'
The procession made very little noise. It made its way to the cottage, and then split up.
'Having a look to see if we really are gone,' whispered Julian. 'Hope they won't think of coming uphere.'
'Let's get behind the chimney, in case,' whispered back Dick. So very quietly they rose and made theirway to where the remains of the chimney stood, a dark shadow in the starry night. The chimney wasquite big, though rather crumbly. The two boys crouched close to it, on the side farthest from wherethe stone stairway came up in the corner.
'Someone is coming up!' whispered Dick, his sharp ears catching the sound of someone's feet on thestone stairs. 'I hope he gets caught by the rambler - there's a big spray near the top!'
'Sh!' said Julian.
56
Someone came right up the stairway, and gave an exclamation of annoyance near the top. 'Good!'
thought Dick, 'he has got caught by the rambler!'
A torch shone out over the ruined rooms, the crumbling walls and the remains of the chimney.
The boys held their breath, and stood like statues. The light of the torch played over the place for onesecond and then a voice called down the stairs.
'No one here. The kids have gone. We can get on with the job!'
The boys let out a long breath. Good - they were safe - for the time being at any rate! The visitorsdown below were no longer cautious - they spoke in ordinary voices and torches flashed all over theplace. Then someone lighted two lanterns, and the little cottage shone quite brightly.
'Where do we start?' said a voice. 'Here, Jess - where's that plan?'
'I've got it. I'll spread it on the floor,' said a voice that the boys recognized at once. It was the voice ofthe 'country-woman' who had spoken to them that day! 'Not that it's much use. Paul's no good atdrawing!'
Evidently the searchers were now leaning over the plan. Voices came up the stone stairway.
'All we know for certain is that we have to find that white stone slab - and we know the size. But wedon't know the place, except that we think it must be here. After all - we've searched the old Romancamp, and there are no slabs there that size!'
Julian nudged Dick. So some of the visitors that Guy had complained of must have been thesesearchers! Whatever was it they were looking for, hidden behind a slab of stone?
He knew a minute later! A drawling voice said: 'If we have to get up every great slab in thisneighbourhood, we will. I'm going to find that secret way if it's the last thing I do! If we don't findthat, we don't find those blue-prints - and if we don't find them, we might as well go into the poor-house for the rest of our lives.'
'Or prison!' said someone.
'Not prison,' said the drawling voice. 'It'll be Paul who goes to prison. He managed to steal them, wedidn't!'
'Can't you get Paul to draw a better plan than this?' said the voice of the 'country-woman'. 'I can'tunderstand half that's written here.'
'He's ill - almost off his head, too,' said someone. 'No good asking him. He had such a time escapingwith those prints, he nearly died. No good asking him, I say.'
'I can't make out this word here,' said the woman. ' 'W-A-D-E-R' - whatever does it mean?'
57
'I don't know - wait, though, I do! It might be W-A-T-E-R - water. T not D in the middle.
Where's the well? Anywhere in this kitchen? That's it, that's it. Water! I bet there's a slab over thewell. That's the way to the secret hiding-place!'
Julian clutched Dick. He was as excited as the man down below. They listened eagerly, strainingtheir ears.
'Here's the old sink - and this must be the remains of the pump. The well's underneath this slab -and see, the stone is just about the right size. Get busy! Buck up, get busy!'
13.初现端倪
初现端倪
天色暗了下来，灌木丛下一片漆黑，四个人加上蒂米都挤在里面，为了节省电池，大伙儿只打开了一只手电筒。
他们正在吃晚餐，火腿已经吃完了，番茄和蛋糕还有很多。
朱利安打开最后一罐沙丁鱼罐头，做了些三明治，准备带上和迪克在路上吃。他还带了两块蛋糕，在自己和迪克的口袋里各放了一块巧克力。
“今晚监视的时候，我们总要拿点东西来打发时间嘛。”他呵呵笑着说，“今晚，那些鬼哭狼嚎的声音，还有飘来飘去的光圈，也不知道会不会出现，但我猜应该不会了吧。我们一走，就剩下一座空荡荡的老庄园，他们才不会把时间浪费在那上面呢！”
“你们要小心点！”安妮不放心地说。
“安妮！这话你已经说了七遍啦，”迪克说，“别像个小傻瓜似的。难道你不知道？朱利安和我今晚只是去玩玩而已。你们才该小心呢！”
“为什么？”安妮满脸错愕。
“这个嘛，你得小心附近爬来爬去的大黑甲虫哦！”迪克坏笑道，“还要当心，刺猬会不会坐在你赤裸的小腿上，还有，这个空间这么温暖舒适，万一有蛇想和你们分享怎么办呢？”
“你才是个小傻瓜呢！”安妮气急败坏，捶了他一拳，“你们什么时候回来？”
“当你们听到有人挤进这里的声音，那就是我们回来啦。”朱利安回答，“现在，迪克，都怎么样了啊？我们该出发了吧？”
“没错，走吧。”迪克说完，便蹑手蹑脚地往空地外挤，以免被灌木的刺给戳到，“哎哟！为什么荆豆这么多刺啊？太可怕了！戳啊戳啊的，换成谁都会认为，这荆豆是故意要扎人的吧。”
男孩们离开之后，两个小姑娘依然安静地坐着，她们想听听男孩们的脚步声，却什么也没听见。迪克和朱利安踩在柔软的草地上，脚步声轻得几乎听不见。
“我真希望他们能……”
安妮刚开口，乔治就抱怨了起来：“如果你再说‘小心一点’，我就要拍你了，安妮，我真的会的！”
“我才不是要说那个呢！”安妮反驳道，“我只是想说，希望他俩今晚能成功。我好想回到科林庄园，舒舒服服地洗个澡，开开心心地划个船什么的，难道你不想吗？”
“是啊！再吃点乔安娜做的无与伦比的美味，”乔治说，“香肠土豆泥，上面再加上番茄。”
“对呀，还有刚捕捞的、新鲜的比目鱼，煎得金黄金黄的，再配上乔安娜做的顶级炸薯条。”安妮一边回味，一边说，“我简直能闻到那个香味了！”
“汪汪汪！”蒂米叫了一声，使劲向四周嗅了嗅。
“你看！它把我的话当真了！”安妮惊叫道，“蒂米真聪明，是不是呀？”
蒂米到底有多聪明呢？两人就这个话题进行了一番讨论，蒂米也在一旁听着，它摇着尾巴，把荆棘洞穴折腾得灰尘弥漫。
“咱们睡吧，”安妮说，“总不能聊一整晚，就算我们不睡觉，也帮不了朱利安和迪克什么呀！”
她们爬上自己带来的毯子，相互依偎着，却不是为了取暖。这个时节，就算到了晚上，也还是很热，但洞穴实在太小了，她俩只好靠得近一点，再近一点。安妮关上手电筒，小小的空地里立刻漆黑一片。蒂米把头搁在乔治的肚子上，乔治忍不住呻吟起来。
“哎哟，蒂米！你当心点呀。我今晚可吃了不少东西呢！”
安妮“咯咯”笑着，把蒂米的脑袋拉到自己这边来。有老伙计蒂米在身边，真是太叫人安心啦，安妮想。此时，她无比赞同乔治的看法——蒂米是这世上最好的狗。
“我真想知道男孩们这会儿在干什么，”过了一会儿，安妮说，“你猜，他们会不会正在经历特别刺激的事呀？很有可能吧？”
然而，他们并没有。此刻，朱利安和迪克正觉得无聊呢。同两个小姑娘分开之后，两人就小心翼翼地回到了老庄园。他们没有用手电筒，因为手电筒的光很可能会让别人发现他们。在来之前，他俩已经研究过，最好的藏身之处是哪里，最后一致认为，爬上石梯，藏在那些没有屋顶的房间里，是个不错的主意。
“那里没有屋顶，墙也几乎塌光了，”迪克说，“我们藏在那里，想从哪个角度观察，就可以从哪个角度观察。没人会注意到有人从他们的头顶向下张望。要是今晚繁星满天，就最好不过了。这样一来，再借着昏暗的光线，咱们就能看得更清楚啦。唯一遗憾的是，今晚没有月亮。”
他们小心翼翼地靠近老庄园，爬上一层台阶，就坐下来缓口气，以免因呼吸太急促而发出任何声音。但是，老庄园里始终静悄悄的。
“竟然连手电筒的光都没有，”迪克凑近朱利安的耳朵，压低了嗓门说道，“依我看，这里现在还没有人。咱们还是赶紧进老庄园，尽快上楼吧。”
两人踮着脚走进老庄园，还是没敢打开手电筒。他们摸索着穿过大厅，来到石阶前，尽可能安静地爬了上去。为了屏住呼吸，他们的心脏跳得特别厉害。
“你听到我的心跳声了吗？”终于到达没有屋顶的小房间时，迪克低声问朱利安。
“没有啊！我的心跳声也一样。好了，到这里就安全了。咱们来回摸索一下吧，看有没有松动的石板，万一不小心踩到，我们的行迹可就暴露了。”
他们清理掉几块松动的石板，然后紧挨着破旧的矮墙坐了下来。一阵风吹来，温暖而轻柔，老庄园的一切都静止着，只有爬满房屋的蔷薇在风中轻轻舞动，发出模糊的刮擦声。迪克的手碰到一处荆棘，连忙吮了吮了手指。蔷薇生得到处都是，穿过了地板，覆盖了墙壁，甚至还爬上了一个破旧的小烟囱。
两人在那儿足足待了45分钟，这时，朱利安用手肘轻轻推了推迪克。
“他们来了！”他悄声说，“你看，就在那边！”
迪克闻言，四下张望了一圈，目光捕捉到一束小小的、正在移动的灯光，就像黑暗中的一根小刺，而小刺前方，还有一道模糊的光芒。
“手电筒！”他低呼道，“又来一个！还有一个！这是来了一队人啊，走得还挺慢。”
那伙人几乎没有发出声音，他们走到老庄园前，就突然分开了。
“那些人一定想检查一下，看我们是不是真的离开了，”朱利安低声道，“只希望，他们没人想到要来楼上看一看吧。”
“咱们躲到烟囱后面去，这样比较保险。”迪克也低声说。于是，他俩非常安静地站起身，走到破损的烟囱后。烟囱在星光里投下一大片影子，虽然烟囱很大，但破损太严重了，两人只好走到离石梯的角落最远的一边，蜷缩了起来。
“有人上来了！”迪克再次低呼道。他的耳朵灵敏地捕捉到了一个走上石梯的脚步声，“我希望他被蔷薇藤绊一下，那顶上可有一大片水沫呢。”
“嘘……”朱利安连忙示意。
有人上了楼梯，紧接着，在靠近屋顶的地方，那人发出了一声恼火的尖叫。好极了！迪克想，那人果然被蔷薇藤绊了一跤。
一束手电筒的光在废墟般的房间里闪了一下，掠过脆弱的墙壁和破损的烟囱。男孩们立刻屏住呼吸，站得像雕塑一样，一动不动。手电筒的光芒亮了一秒钟后，楼下传来一个声音。
“这里没人！那些小孩都走了，我们可以继续干活了。”
男孩们长长地舒了一口气。太好了，他们安全了，最起码，暂时安全了。
楼下的来访者不再小心谨慎，他们用正常的音量说话，手电筒的光芒闪来闪去，不一会儿，又有人拿来了两只灯笼，小小的庄园顿时明亮了起来。
“我们从哪里开始？”一个声音问，“过来，杰斯，咱们的平面图呢？”
“带着呢！我把它铺在地上吧，”又一个声音回答道，男孩们一听这个声音就知道是谁了——正是今天同四人搭讪的那个村妇。“也没什么大用处吧，保罗向来都不擅长画画。”
接下来，搜查者们应该在看平面图。这时，楼下又响起了一个声音。
“唯一能确定的是，我们一定要找到那块白色的石板。石板的大小我们也知道，但却不清楚具体在哪个方位。不过我确定，应该就在这里。毕竟，咱们已经搜索过古罗马军营了，那里可没有这般大小的石板。”
朱利安立刻推了迪克一下，说：“盖伊抱怨过的那些来访者，应该就是这群人了吧。不管他们究竟在找什么，那样东西一定是藏在一块石板下面喽！”
“马上就能知道了，”一个有气无力的声音说，“如果有必要把附近的所有石板都搬开，我们会去做的。现在的首要问题是，如果我们找不到密道，就没法找到设计图。如果这两样东西都找不到，那么下半辈子，我们就只能在贫民窟里度过了。”
“或者在监狱里度过。”有人补充道。
“不会是监狱，”有气无力的声音又说，“要进监狱也该保罗去才对，偷东西的是他，又不是我们。”
“你就不能让保罗画张好点的平面图吗？”那个村妇说，“他写的字，我有一半都看不懂。”
“他生病了，脑子不好使嘛。”有人说，“问他也没用。他带着图逃亡了那么久，早就半死不活了。说真的，在他那儿问不出什么的。”
“这里写的字是什么意思？我没看懂。”女人说，“‘W-A-D-E-R’是什么意思？”
“不知道啊！——等等！我明白了！难道他想说的其实是‘水’？
中间的字母不是‘D’，而是‘T’。井呢？井在哪里？是在厨房吗？就是这个意思！就是这个意思！水！我敢打赌，井上肯定有一块石板，井下就是通往密道的路。”
朱利安一把抓住迪克，他同楼下那些人一样激动。两人急忙伸长了耳朵，急切地听着。
“这里有个旧水池，应该是抽水泵遗留下来的。井口就在石板下面。快看！这块石板的大小正好符合，快动起来吧！振作些，都给我动起来！”
Chapter 14 AN EXCITING NIGHT - AND A SURPRISING MORNING
Chapter 14 AN EXCITING NIGHT - AND A SURPRISING MORNING
Soon there came the sound of loud breathing and grunts, as the searchers tried to prise up the stone bythe pump. It was obviously very heavy, and very difficult to move, for it had become almost part ofthe floor itself, through the centuries!
'Drat the thing! It's tearing my hands to pieces!' said a voice. 'Lend me that jemmy, Tom - you don'tseem to be doing much good with it!'
After a lot more struggling and panting the stone was loosened. 'Up she comes!' said a voice, and upcame the stone so suddenly that it sounded as if most of those pulling at it had sat down very hard onthe floor!
The two hidden boys were beside themselves with interest and excitement. How they wished theycould go and watch! But it was impossible. They must just listen and try to make out what washappening from what the men said below them.
'Is it a well down there? Yes, it is! My, the water's pretty far down - and black as pitch too.'
There was a silence as the well was examined in the light of torches. Then an exasperated voice, theone with the drawl, said: 'This is no secret way! Who's going to get through that water! It's just anordinary small well, and nothing else. That word can't have meant Water.'
'All right, boss. What does it mean then?' said the woman. 'I don't know. This isn't a plan, it's a riddle!
Why couldn't Paul have made it clear where this stone slab is - he just goes and does a lot of scribbleround it - and all we can make out is that it's on this common, somewhere near here -and the secret way is behind the slab!'
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'And all we have to do is to go and look behind dozens of heavy slabs!' said someone else. 'I'm fedup. We've lifted slabs in that wretched camp - we've lifted some here - and we still don't know ifwe're anywhere near the right one.'
'Shut up,' said the voice of the drawler but now the voice was sharp and angry. 'If we have to pull thiscottage down, if we have to lift every slab there is, if we have to take over that camp, I'll do it! I tellyou, this makes all the difference between wealth and poverty! Anyone who wants to back out can doso - but he'd better be careful!'
'Now boss, now boss, don't you fly off the handle!' said the woman. 'We're all in this! We'll do all yousay. Look, let's start by lifting a few more slabs. There are not so very many that are the size that Paulfigured on this plan.'
Then began a boring time for the two hidden boys, as slab after slab was lifted and put back.
Nothing was found under any of them, apparently.
The men went to the out-buildings too, leaving the woman in the cottage. The boys thought she hadgone as well, and Julian moved a little, feeling rather cramped after being still for so long.
The woman's ears must have been sharp for she called out at once.
'Who's there? Is it you, Tom?'
The boys stiffened and stood like statues. The woman said no more. It was not long before the mencame back, talking among themselves. It sounded as if there were three of them.
'No go,' said the drawler. 'I think we'll have to search that camp really well again.'
'That's going to be difficult with someone already there,' said the woman.
'We'll deal with him,' said a voice, grimly. Julian frowned. Did that mean that Guy was in danger? Hehad better warn him!
'I'm fed up with this place,' said the woman. 'Let's go. I don't think the slab is anywhere here!
We're wasting our time!'
To the boys' great relief, the four searchers left the cottage and went off together. Julian and Dickleaned over the crumbling wall of the room they stood in, and watched the lights of the torches andlanterns getting dimmer and dimmer over the common. Good! Now they could go back to the girls!
'I'm stiff!' said Dick, stretching himself.
'Well, Ju - we know a lot more now, don't we? It's clear that someone called Paul has stolen somevaluable blue-prints of something - maybe a new plane, or battleship perhaps - and has 59hidden them in some secret place he knew of about here - and to get to it you have to lift a slab ofstone of a certain size.'
'Yes. And we know the size because we've already seen the one they lifted in the old stables,'
said Julian. 'I vote we go there and measure it - or measure the one by the sink. I should think that theright slab will be somewhere in the old camp. We'd better tell Guy and let him into the secret. He'llhelp us to search!'
'What a peculiar business this is to find ourselves mixed up in,' said Dick. 'All because George didn'tlike people laughing at old Timmy with a cardboard collar round his neck! Timmy's the cause ofthis!'
The boys went down the stone stairs, and, of course, Dick quite forgot about the rambler, whichcaught him neatly round the ankle and almost tripped him headlong down the stairs!
'Blow!' he said, clutching Julian and nearly making him topple too. 'Sorry. It was that rambler again.
It's ripped my ankle all round. Put on the torch for goodness' sake.'
They carefully measured the stone slab by the sink and then made their way out of the cottage and uptowards the spring, hoping that they would find the great gorse-bush in the dark. They tried to getunder the wrong one at first, but at last found the right one. They heard a small welcome bark fromTimmy.
'Oh! Julian! Dick! Is it you?' said Anne's voice, as the boys squeezed through into the hollow middle.
'Oh, what AGES you've been! We haven't slept a wink. Keep still, Timmy, do - this place is too smallfor you to rampage about in!'
The boys settled down and torches were put on. Julian related the curious happenings to the twointerested girls. George was thrilled.
'Oh I say! Fancy all this springing up out of the blue so suddenly! What are you going to do?'
'Warn Guy first thing in the morning - and then get in touch with the police, I think,' said Julian.
'We ourselves can't stop the men searching the camp, and as soon as they do find the slab they'relooking for, they can easily get what they want and go off with it!'
'Well, it's really thrilling,' said George. 'I wish I'd been with you. I'll never go to sleep tonight!'
But they did manage to drop off to sleep, for they were all very tired. After a few hours, just as dawnwas breaking, Timmy lifted his head and growled. George awoke at once.
'What is it, Tim? I can't hear anything.'
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But Timmy could, that was certain. George woke Julian, and made him listen to Timmy's continuousgrowling.
'What do you think he's growling at?' she asked. 'He keeps on and on. I can't hear a thing, can you?'
'No,' said Julian, listening. 'Well, it's no use my creeping out and going searching in the dark forwhatever Timmy's growling at. It might be something silly like a weasel or a hedgehog or a stoat.
Shut up, Tim. That's enough.'
Although it was as dark as night under the thick old gorse-bush, outside it was just getting light.
What was Timmy growling at? Were there people about again? Or was it just one of the hedgehogshe so heartily disliked?
He stopped growling at last and put his head down on his paws, closing his eyes. George patted him.
'Well, whatever it was, it's gone. Are you comfy, Julian? It's very cramped in here - and hot too, isn'tit?'
'Yes. We'll get up fairly early and go to warn Guy - then we'll have a swim,' said Julian, yawning. Heswitched off his torch and went to sleep again.
It was late when they awoke. Dick was the first, and he looked at his watch. He gave an exclamation.
'Gosh! It's half past eight! Hey, Ju - Anne - George - wake up, it's almost afternoon!'
Everyone felt stiff and cramped, and they went off to have a swim and to warn Guy. As they camenear the camp, they stopped in amazement.
Someone was howling down in the trench, howling so miserably and so broken-heartedly that theFive felt quite panic-stricken. Whatever in the world could have happened? They ran to the edge ofthe excavations and looked down into the trench.
The boy was there, lying on his face, sobbing. He kept lifting his head and howling, then putting itdown again.
'Guy! GUY! Whatever's happened?' shouted Julian. He leapt down beside the boy. 'Are you hurt'? IsJet hurt? What's the matter?'
'It's Guy! He's gone! They've taken him,' howled the boy. 'And I was so awful to him. Now he's gone.
He'll never come back, I know he won't!'
'Guy's gone? But - but you're Guy!' said Julian in astonishment. 'What do you mean?'
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He felt sure that the boy really was mad now - quite mad - talking about himself like that. He pattedhim on the shoulder. 'Look - you're ill. You come along with us. You need a doctor.'
The boy sprang to his feet, his face swollen and stained. 'I'm not ill! I tell you Guy's gone. I'm notGuy. He's my twin. There are two of us.'
Everyone gasped. It took half a minute to think about this and get everything straight - and then, ofcourse many things were clear! There was not one mad boy, there were two ordinary boys -but they were twins! There wasn't, as they had thought, just one boy who contradicted himself all thetime, who seemed continually to appear suddenly and unexpectedly, and who was sometimes niceand sometimes not.
'Twins! Why on earth didn't we think of that before?' said Julian. 'We thought there was only one ofyou. You were never together.'
'No. We quarrelled - quarrelled bitterly,' said the boy, tears in his eyes again. 'And when twinsquarrel, really quarrel, it's worse than any quarrel there is! We hated one another then - we really did!
We wouldn't be with one another, we wouldn't eat together, or dig together, or sleep together. We'veoften quarrelled before, but not like this - not like this! I just pretended that he didn't exist - and hedid the same with me!'
'What a to-do!' said Julian, astonished and worried. 'Well now - what's happened to make you soupset? Tell me!'
'Guy wanted to be friends with me again last night,' said the boy. 'And I wouldn't. I hit him andwalked away. Then this morning I was sorry and went to find him and be friends - and - and...'
He stopped and howled again. Everyone felt very sad and uncomfortable. 'Go on, tell us,' said Julian,gently.
'I was just in time to see him fighting two men, and screaming at them, and kicking - then theyhustled him away somewhere!' said the boy. 'I fell down in the trench and hurt my leg - and by thetime I dragged myself up, Guy had gone - and so had everyone else!'
He turned away and wept again. 'I'll never forgive myself, never! If I'd made friends last night I couldhave helped him - and I didn't!'
14.惊闻
惊闻
很快，楼下就传来一阵杂乱而沉重的喘息声——是那些搜查者在搬抽水泵旁边的石板。显然，石板太重了，没办法轻易挪开，因为经历几个世纪的变迁，它早已变成了地面的一部分。
“天啊！这倒霉玩意儿，我的手都要裂开了！”一个声音抱怨道，“汤姆，把那个铁锹给我，你拿着一点用都没有！”
那些人使出浑身的劲儿撬了好久，石板终于松动了。
“动了！动了！”又一个声音激动地喊道。随着一声巨响，石板一下子就被撬开了。而撬石板的人，似乎全都重重地跌坐在了地上。
藏在暗处的两个男孩紧紧靠着彼此，心里也激动得不得了。他们多想冲上前看看呀，但那是不可能的，所以，两人只好静静地待在原地，默默地听着楼下那伙人的说话声，以此来判断发生了什么事。
“下面有井吗？啊！有！井水还很浅呢，就是黑漆漆的。”
手电筒的光照到井里之后，楼下沉默了一阵。随后，那个有气无力的声音响起——听起来他是头儿。他说：“根本没有密道！难道还要谁跳到井里去吗？这就是一口再正常不过的小水井而已，别的什么都没有。那个字一定不是说‘水’！”
“可是，老板，那又是什么意思呢？”女人问。
“我怎么知道？这根本不是一张平面图，简直就是个谜语嘛。石板的具体位置，保罗为什么不标注清楚呢？他就那么草草地提了一下。我们只知道就在这一带，这附近，还有，密道在一块石板后面。”那个有气无力的声音回答。
“还有！我们只能检查这些重得不得了的石板！来来回回地检查！”另一个人吼道，“我受够了！我们在那个荒凉的老军营撬了那么多石板，在这里也撬了不少，然而到现在我们还没搞清楚，要找的那块究竟在哪里！”
“给我闭嘴！”带头人厉声喝道，这一次，他的声音尖利起来，并且充满了怒火，“就算要拆掉这个老庄园，就算要把这里的每一块石板都撬开，就算要把古罗马军营翻个底朝天，我也要继续干下去！别忘了，这是我们改变命运的机会！贫穷还是富贵，就在此一举了！有谁想离开的，现在就给我滚吧，但他可得给我小心着点！”
“好了，老板，好了，老板，别生气，别生气！”女人急忙安抚道，“我们都在这儿呢，没人会走的。您怎么说我们就怎么做。接下来，再多搬开几块石板看看吧。保罗所说的那种大小的石板，也没有多少了。”
楼下的人便继续干起活儿来，把沉重的石板撬开，再一块块放回去，如此反复了不知多少次。躲在暗处的两个男孩也渐渐无聊起来，最后，那群人依然什么发现都没有。
男人们一起去了外屋，只留下女人一个人在老庄园里。男孩们以为她也会马上离开，所以，朱利安忍不住动了动身子——在暗处保持一个姿势这么久，他俩的手脚都有些发麻了。可那女人的听觉太灵敏了，朱利安一动，她立刻大声问道：“谁在那儿？汤姆！是你吗？”
男孩们顿时全身一僵，再次像个雕塑似的站着，一动也不敢动，大气儿也不敢出。女人没有再说话，没过多久，男人们都回来了，几人小声地讨论了一会儿。听声音，男人一共有三个。
“不行，”带头人说，“我还是觉得，应该再去那个老营地搜查一遍！”
“这不太好办啊，那里早就有人在了。”女人为难地说道。
“我们会解决的。”一个严肃的声音说。
听到这里，朱利安皱紧了眉头，这是不是意味着，盖伊会有危险？不行，他一定要去给盖伊提个醒。
“我受够这个鬼地方了，”女人说，“咱们走吧，那块石板肯定不在这里，我们这是在浪费时间。”
四个人走出老庄园，头也不回地离开了。两个男孩终于松了一口气。朱利安和迪克斜倚在房间破烂的矮墙上，看着手电筒和灯笼的光芒越来越远，越来越暗，直至完全消失在庄园的方向。太好了！他们终于能回到女孩们身边了！
“我的手脚都僵了！”迪克说着，伸展了一下四肢，“唔，朱利安，咱们知道的也不少了，对吧？事情已经很清楚了，一个叫保罗的人，偷了一张很宝贵的设计图——也许是新飞机的，也许是新战舰的，然后藏在了这里的某个地方。要取走那张设计图，就必须先找到一块确定大小的石板。”
“没错，石板的大小不是问题，毕竟，我们早就看到老马厩旁的那块石板了，那也是他们搬开的。”朱利安说，“我们去量一下吧。
要不，量旧水池旁边的这块也行。我有种感觉，对的那块石板应该就在古罗马军营，我们最好去找盖伊，把所有的事情都告诉他，相信他也会帮咱们找的。”
“瞧瞧，我们卷进了一件多么惊险刺激的事情里啊！”迪克感叹道，“而这一切只是因为，蒂米的脖子上戴了一个硬纸板做的伊丽莎白圈，乔治受不了别人嘲笑它。所以，蒂米才是这一系列事件的起因。”
男孩们沿着石阶向楼下走去，当然，这时的迪克已经把蔷薇忘得一干二净了，所以，满地的蔷薇藤偷偷缠住了他的脚踝，绊得他差点从楼梯上掉下去。
“哎哟！”他惊叫一声，赶紧抓住朱利安，拽得朱利安也踉跄了一下，“对不起，对不起！都是这些蔷薇啦，它们缠住了我的脚。天哪，快把手电筒打开吧。”
他们来到旧水池边，仔细地量完了石板的大小，便离开老庄园，径直朝泉水的方向走去。两人一路祈祷着，希望在黑暗中能找到荆豆丛的位置。一开始，他俩还真的走错了地方，但最后，还是找到了。两人来到花丛前，就听到蒂米小声叫着迎接他们。
“哦！朱利安！迪克！是你们吗？”男孩们一钻进灌木丛下的空地，就听见了安妮惊喜的声音，“唉，你们去了好久啊！我们都不敢合眼呢。蒂米，别乱跑，这地方这么小，你可不能四处乱窜！”
两个男孩坐下来，打开了手电筒。随后，朱利安便将目睹的事情一五一十地告诉了女孩们，她们听了也兴奋不已，乔治更是激动得不得了。
“嘿！我说，突然听见这么大个新闻，真是太有意思啦。那接下来，你们准备怎么做呢？”
“明早起床的第一件事，就是去给盖伊提个醒，然后再想办法报警，这是我的想法。”朱利安冷静地说，“就我们几个，是没办法阻止那些人搜索古罗马军营的。只要一找到那块白色石板，他们就能轻松地拿到自己想要的东西，然后消失得无影无踪了！”
“唔，真是太刺激了！”乔治说，“我也要加入你们的行动。今天晚上我肯定会兴奋得失眠的。”
但最后，四人还是很快就睡着了，他们实在太累了。过了几个小时，就在黎明破晓之际，蒂米忽然猛地抬起头，低声咆哮起来，乔治一下子就惊醒了。
“怎么了，蒂米？你听到了什么动静吗？我什么也没听见呀。”
但蒂米一定是听见了什么。乔治急忙叫醒朱利安，让他看看叫个不停的蒂米。
“你说，它到底在叫什么呀？”她问，“它一直叫个不停，我却什么也没听见，你呢？”
“我也没听见，”朱利安侧耳听了一会儿，回答道，“呃……就算我摸黑钻出去看，也不会有什么收获的。谁知道蒂米在咆哮什么呀，或许就是那些傻傻的小东西吧，比如鼹鼠啦、刺猬啦、白鼬什么的。别叫，蒂米！这不就行了？”
虽然厚厚的荆豆灌木丛下依然漆黑一片，但外面的天色已渐渐亮了。蒂米究竟在叫什么呢？是附近真的有人吗？还是说，它只是看到了一只打心眼儿里讨厌的刺猬？
最后，它终于停止了咆哮，将头搁在自己的爪子上，静静地闭上了眼睛。乔治拍了拍它。
“好了，不管是什么东西，都已经离开了。朱利安，你感觉怎么样啊？毕竟，这里真的太窄了，尤其是，天又这么热。”
“是啊！我们起得太早了，还是接着睡吧，等咱们睡醒，再去找盖伊，把事情告诉他，然后去游个泳。”朱利安说完，打了个呵欠，便关上手电筒，接着睡觉去了。
当几人再次醒来，时间已经不早了。迪克是头一个醒的，他看了看手表，忍不住惊叫了起来。
“天啊！都八点半了！嘿！朱利安，安妮，乔治，快起来啊，都快下午了！”
四个人都觉得洞穴里太窄，实在是待不下去了，便一起出发，准备先去警告盖伊一声，然后再去游泳。可刚靠近古罗马军营，他们就惊讶地停下了脚步。
有人在挖出的深沟里哭喊，那声音中充满了痛苦，听得人心都要碎了。四个人顿时一阵惊慌——发生什么事儿了？他们急忙跑到挖出的土堆前，往壕沟里看去。
只见那个男孩正坐在壕沟里，捧着自己的脸，低声啜泣着。忽然，他猛地抬起头哀号了一声，又痛苦地垂下了脸。
“盖伊！盖伊！发生什么事了？”朱利安大声问道，他跳下壕沟，来到男孩身边，“你受伤了吗，还是杰特受伤了？到底怎么了？”
“是盖伊！盖伊不见了，他们把他抓走了！”男孩痛苦地哀叫道，“我曾经是那么讨厌他，可现在他不见了，他再也不会回来了。
我知道，再也回不来了！”
“盖伊不见了？可是——可是你不就是盖伊吗？”朱利安震惊地说，“你在胡说什么啊？”
此刻朱利安万分肯定，男孩真的疯了，疯得无可救药，要不然怎么会那么说自己呢？他拍了拍男孩的肩膀，安抚道，“瞧，你病了，跟我们一起吧，你需要看看医生。”
男孩气得跳脚，小脸涨得通红，“我才没病呢！都告诉你们了，是盖伊不见了！我不是盖伊，他是我的双胞胎弟弟，我们俩长得一模一样！”
四个人倒吸了一口凉气，他们花了足足一分钟时间，才把所有事情消化完毕。自然，此前的许多古怪事也有了解释。待在古罗马军营的疯疯癫癫的男孩，并不是一个，而是两个，而他们，再正常不过了。两人是双胞胎，而他们四人也一直猜错了——男孩从没有说话做事自相矛盾；从没有在一个又一个地方突然出现、拿他们取乐。而男孩时而友好时而不耐烦的原因，也就更加显而易见了。
“双胞胎！为什么我们之前就没想到呢？”朱利安说，“我们还以为，这里始终只有你一个人呢，因为你们从没一起出现过。”
“是啊！我们吵架了，吵得很凶。”男孩解释着，眼中又溢满了泪水，“双胞胎之间，只要一吵架——我说的是真正的吵架，就会比任何人吵架都严重。我们变得讨厌彼此，非常讨厌，不想和对方待在一起，不会一起吃饭，不会一起挖东西，不会一起睡觉。以前，我们也经常吵架，但从没吵得这样厉害过，从来没有过。我只想当他不存在，而他也一样，当我不存在。”
“真是没想到啊！”朱利安说，他很惊讶，同时也很担心，“那么现在，你为什么这么苦恼呢？发生什么事了吗？给我说说吧。”
“昨晚盖伊来找我，说想跟我和好，”男孩接着道，“但我拒绝了，我狠狠地撞了他一下，就离开了。可今天早上，我又觉得很抱歉，就想来找他和好。可是，可是……”
他似乎说不下去了，又哀号了起来。四个人也很伤心。“说吧，都告诉我们。”朱利安柔声安慰道。
“可我到的时候，只看见他在和两个男人打架，他朝他们尖叫怒骂、又踢又打，然后，他们就推搡着他离开了。”男孩继续说道，“当时我一下子跌进壕沟，摔伤了腿，等我终于挣扎着爬出来，才发现盖伊已经不见了，那两个人也不见了。”
他转过身，再次悲伤地哭了起来：“我不会原谅自己的，昨天晚上，如果我答应跟他和好，我就会在他身边帮他了，可是我却没有！”
Chapter 15 WELL DONE, GEORGE!
Chapter 15 WELL DONE, GEORGE!
It was Anne who comforted the boy. She went to him and pulled him down on a stone beside her.
'Let me look at your leg,' she said. 'It's pretty bad, isn't it? Look, I'll bind it up for you. Don't be soupset - we'll help you. I think we know what's happened, don't we Julian?'
The boy looked at Anne gratefully, and sniffed hard. When she offered him her handkerchief, he tookit and wiped his face. Dick gave Anne his big hanky to bind up the boy's cut and bruised leg. He musthave fallen right into the trench in his fright at seeing his brother fighting and being taken away.
'How do you know what's happened?' he said to Julian. 'Can you get Guy back? Do say you can!
I'll never forgive myself for this. My twin-brother - and I wasn't there to fight by his side when heneeded me!'
'Now don't soak my hanky all over again!' said Anne. He gave her a forlorn little smile and turned toJulian again.
'My name's Harry Lawdler, and Guy and I are mad on old camps and buildings and things. We spendalmost all our holidays together, digging and finding all kinds of things, like these.' He nodded hishead towards the little shelf of relics that the four had seen before.
'Yes - Guy told us,' said Dick. 'But he never said a word about you. We were often very puzzled -we thought you and he were one boy - not two, you see - and we couldn't understand a lot of thingsyou both said. You're so very, very alike.'
'Well - I tell you, we each pretended that the other didn't even exist,' said Harry. 'We're like that.
We love each other best in the world, and we hate each other worse - when we quarrel. We're simplyhorrible then!'
'Can you tell us a bit about the people that Guy was fighting?' asked Dick.
'Yes. They were some that came before, wanting Guy to clear out while they had a look round,'
said Harry, wiping his face again. 'Guy was pretty rude to them. In fact I heard him say that if theymessed about his camp he would throw stones at them - he's like that, you know, very fierce, whenhe's roused.'
'And you think these were the same people?' said Dick. 'Which way did they go with Guy?'
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'That way,' said Harry, pointing. 'I've hunted the whole camp round, but they're gone -disappeared into thin air! It's extraordinary!'
'Let's have a hunt round,' said Julian. 'We might find something. But I imagine that the searchers havetaken Guy off with them because he knew too much - perhaps they found here what they werelooking for, and saw Guy watching.'
'Oh! Then we're too late!' said George, in deep disappointment. 'They've got what they want -and they'll disappear now and never be caught. I expect by now they are speeding away in a fast car -and have taken Guy with them to make sure he doesn't talk before they're safely in another country!'
'Oh no!' cried Harry. 'He's not kidnapped, is he? Don't say that!'
'Come on - let's have a hunt,' said Julian, and they all made their way among the various trenches andpits, looking for they hardly knew what.
They gave it up after a while. There were too many slabs and stones of all sizes! Besides, what goodwould it be even if they found the right one? The birds had flown - presumably with what they hadcome for! In fact, if Guy hadn't come along and seen the searchers, nobody would even have knownthat they had been in the camp and made a successful search!
'It's no good,' said Julian, at last. 'This is too big a place to know where to look for anything thatmight help us. Let's go back to the gorse-bush and collect our things, return to Kirrin and go to thepolice. It's the only sensible thing left to do!'
'Come along, Harry,' said Anne, to the miserable twin. He was so full of remorse that herhandkerchief was now soaked for the third time! 'You'd better come with us and tell all you know.'
'I'll come,' said Harry. 'I'll do anything to get Guy back. I'll never quarrel with him again. Never.
To think that...'
'Now don't go all through that again,' said Anne. 'Look, you're upsetting Timmy so much that his tailis down all the time!'
Harry gave another forlorn little smile. They all left the camp and made their way back to the gorse-bush. It was only when they got there, and began pulling out the tins of food, as well as the rug andother things, that they realized how extremely hungry they were!
'We've had no breakfast. We've been up for ages, and it's very late. I'm simply starving!' said George.
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'Well, if we finish up all the food, we shan't have to carry the tins!' said Dick. 'Let's have a meal.
Ten minutes more here can't make much difference.'
They were thankful not to have to sit under the gorse-bush again. They sat outside in the sun, anddiscussed everything.
'I believe when Timmy began to growl and growl about six o'clock this morning, it was because hecould hear those people coming quietly by to go to search the camp,' said George.
'I think you're right,' said Julian. 'I bet they searched the camp well - till Guy woke and came on thescene and fought like fury. It's a pity I didn't squeeze out from under the bush and follow them, whenTimmy growled.'
'Anyone want a drink?' said George. 'I'll go and fetch some water from the spring. Where's thepineapple tin?'
Anne passed it to her. George got up and took the little rabbit-path that led to the spring. She couldhear it gurgling and bubbling as she came near - a very pleasant noise.
'Water always sounds nice,' said George to herself. 'I love the sound of water.'
Water! Now why did that ring a bell in her mind just then? Who had been talking about water?
Oh - Dick and Julian, of course, when they had come back from the old cottage last night. They hadtold Anne and herself about the word on the plan - the word that might have been WATER, notWADER.
'I wonder which it was,' said George to herself as she idly held the pineapple tin to the gurgling water.
She gazed at the beautiful little spring, jutting up from the stony slabs - and then another bell rangloudly in her mind.
'Stone slabs! Water! Why - I wonder - I just wonder - if one of these slabs is the one! This one justhere is about the right size!'
She stared at it. It was set firmly in a high little bank at the back of the place where the spring gurgledup and then ran into the clean stony channel. Did it hide anything behind it?
George suddenly dropped the tin and ran back to the others at full speed. 'Julian! Julian! I believe I'vefound the slab! It's been staring us in the face the whole time!'
Julian was very startled. So were the others. They stared up at George in astonishment.
'What do you mean, George?' said Julian, jumping to his feet. 'Show me!'
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Followed by everyone, George ran back to the spring. She pointed to the white slab behind the water.
'There!' she said. 'That's the right size, isn't it? And it's beside WATER - just as it said in the plan youtold us about - only the people thought it was WADER.'
'Gosh - I wonder if you're right, George,' said Julian, excited. 'You might be - you never know.
Sometimes springs come from underground passages - secret, hidden ways into the earth.'
'Let's try and move it,' said Dick, his face red with sudden excitement. 'It looks pretty hefty to me.'
They began to struggle with the stone, getting extremely wet as they splashed about in the spring.
But nobody minded that. This was too exciting for words. Harry helped too, heaving and tugging. Hewas very strong indeed.
The stone slab moved a little. It slid to one side and stuck. More tugging. More pulling. More pantingand puffing!
'I believe we'll have to get help,' said Julian at last. 'It really is too heavy and well-embedded.'
'I'll go and get some of my tools,' said Harry. 'I'm used to heaving stones about with them. We caneasily move it if we have the right tools.'
He flew off at top speed. The others sat down and mopped their streaming foreheads.
'Phew!' said Julian. 'What a job this is for a hot day! I'm glad Harry remembered his tools. Just whatwe want!'
'How queer that he and Guy are twins!' said George. 'I never even thought of such a thing!'
'Well, they behaved so idiotically,' said Julian. 'Always pretending there was just one of them, andneither of them even mentioning the other. I wonder where Guy has been taken to. I don't think he'llcome to much harm - but it will be worrying to his people.'
'Here comes Harry,' said Anne, after a pause. 'One of us ought to have gone with him to help him.
He's brought dozens of tools!'
The things he had fetched proved very useful indeed, especially a big jemmy-like tool. The stonesoon began to move when this was applied by Julian and Harry!
'It's slipping - it's coming away - look out, it will fall right down into the spring!' cried Dick.
'Look out, you girls!'
The stone was prised right out, and fell into the stony channel where the water ran. The five childrenstared at the opening it left.
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Julian leaned forward and looked into it. 'Yes - there's a big hole behind,' he said. 'Let me shine mytorch in.'
In great excitement he flashed his torch into the opening. He turned round, his face glowing.
'Yes! I think we've got it! There's a tunnel behind, going down and down. It widens out behind thishole!'
Everyone was too thrilled for words. George gave Dick a punch, and Anne patted Timmy so hard thathe whined. Harry beamed round, all his woes forgotten.
'Do we go down now?' asked Dick. 'We'll have to make the opening a bit wider. Earth and roots havenarrowed it very much. Let's make it bigger.'
'Then we'll explore it!' said George, her eyes shining. 'A secret tunnel only known to us! Quick -let's explore it!'
15.近在眼前
近在眼前
安妮安慰了男孩。她走到他身旁，把他拉到自己身边的石头上坐下。“让我看看你的腿吧，”她说，“伤得很严重呀！这样吧，我先帮你包扎一下。别太担心了，我们会帮你的。我想，我们知道怎么回事，是不是呀，朱利安？”
男孩感激地看了安妮一眼，狠狠地吸了吸鼻涕。安妮递上自己的手帕，他接过来擦了擦脸。迪克把自己的大手帕递给安妮，让她替男孩包扎伤口。男孩的腿又青又肿，他一定是看见自己的弟弟跟人打架，又被抓走了，惊恐之下，正好摔进了深深的壕沟。
“你们怎么会清楚发生了什么事？”男孩问朱利安，“你们能把盖伊救回来吗？可以的对不对？要不然，我这辈子都不会原谅自己的。那是我的双胞胎弟弟啊，在他需要的时候，我却没能在他身边，和他一起战斗！”
“别再哭了！我的手帕都要被你的泪水浸湿了！”安妮说，男孩听了，露出一丝凄凉的笑容，又转身看向朱利安。
“我叫哈里•劳德勒。盖伊和我对旧营地、古建筑之类的遗迹很痴迷。整个假期，我们几乎都耗在这里，挖东西、找东西，比如说这些。”他说着点了点头，看向小架子上的几件古物。那些东西，四人之前都见过。
“没错，盖伊也告诉过我们。”迪克说，“不过，关于你，他可一个字也没提过。所以我们都很迷惑，还以为你和他就是一个人呢。
你看，以前你们俩说的话、做的事，常常弄得我们莫名其妙呢。你们长得太像啦！”
“唉，说实话，那个时候，我们还都当对方不存在呢。”哈里说，“我俩就那样，向来是这世上彼此最爱的人，但只要一吵架，就会变成对方最讨厌的人。就这件事来说，我们俩是挺吓人的。”
“关于和盖伊打架的那些人，你能再多告诉我们一点线索吗？”迪克问。
“当然没问题了。那伙人以前就来过，说是想来这边看一看，还叫盖伊收拾东西离开呢。”哈里说着，又擦了一把脸，“当时盖伊，对他们很不客气。事实上，我还听他说，要是那些人敢再来，他一定会朝他们扔石头的！你们不知道，他就是那个性子，一旦生起气来，什么事都敢干。”
“你认为他们是同一伙人？”迪克再次问道，“那么，他们带着盖伊往哪个方向去了？”
“那边！”哈里指着一个方向说，“整个营地附近，我都搜遍了，却什么也没找到。他们不见了，就这么消失得无影无踪，真是太不可思议了！”
“那我们在周围找找吧，”朱利安提议，“也许能发现点什么呢。
但据我推测，那些搜查者已经带着盖伊离开了，因为他知道的太多了。也许他们找到了自己想要的东西，却被盖伊无意间看见了。”
“哎呀！那我们不是来得太迟了吗？”乔治失望地说，“他们找到了想要的东西，就这么消失了，再也找不到了。我想，那些人这会儿一定坐上了汽车，跑得飞快呢。而且，他们抓走盖伊，就是为了让他在到达另一个国度之前，不要乱说话！”
“啊！不要！”哈里哭喊道，“他不会被绑架的，对不对？拜托你们，别那么说！”
“好了，别说了。咱们还是先找找吧。”朱利安说完，五人便分头找了起来，在四通八达的壕沟和坑井里，漫无目的地寻找着。
过了一会儿，大家就放弃了。石板实在太多，各种大小的都有，而且，就算找到那块对的石板，又有什么用呢？那些人已经离开了，带着他们一直想找的东西，消失得无影无踪。事实上，若不是盖伊碰巧在现场，看见了那些搜查者，甚至不会有人知道有人来过旧营地，还进行了一次那么成功的搜索。
“没用的，”最后，朱利安说，“这地方太大了，很难找到对我们有用的线索。我们回荆豆丛那边吧，收拾行李回科林庄园，然后再去报警。现在，这是我们唯一能做的了。”
“和我们一起走吧，哈里。”安妮对仍在伤心的双胞胎哥哥说。
他的神情依然充满了愧疚和悔恨，安妮的手帕已经被他的泪水浸湿三次了，“你还是跟过来，把知道的所有事情都告诉我们比较好。”
“我会的，”哈里毫不犹豫地回答，“只要能把盖伊救回来，我什么都愿意干。我再也不会跟他吵架了，真的。一想到……”
“好了，这会儿就别再说那些话了，”安妮没让他继续说下去，“瞧，你说得蒂米都心烦意乱了。它的尾巴都垂下去老半天了。”
哈里勉强地笑了笑。众人一起离开古罗马军营，朝荆豆丛走去，到了地方，他们开始收拾食物罐、杯子和别的东西时，才意识到早已饥肠辘辘了。
“咱们还没吃早餐呢！一上午，我们的精神都高度紧张，完全忘了吃饭这回事儿。现在都这么晚了，我真的好饿呀！”乔治说。
“也行啊！要是把食物都吃完，我们就不用再搬这些食物罐子了，”迪克附和道，“咱们就先吃饭吧。反正就十多分钟，也耽误不了什么事儿。”
终于不用继续待在狭窄的荆豆丛下了，几人都很满意。他们坐在阳光下，一边吃东西，一边商量事情。
“今天早晨六点钟左右，蒂米就叫个不停了。我在想，会不会就在那个时候，它听见有人经过这里往营地去了呢？”乔治推测道。
“你说得对，”朱利安说，“我敢肯定，那些人一定把那儿搜了个遍，直到盖伊醒来，发现了他们，然后跟他们打了起来。不过遗憾的是，当蒂米叫的时候，我没有第一时间从灌木丛下钻出来，去探个究竟。”
“有人要喝水吗？”乔治问，“我去泉水边取点水回来。菠萝罐头的罐子呢？”
安妮将罐子递给她，她便站起身，沿着兔子踩出来的小路朝泉水边走去。一走近，她就听到了淙淙的流水声——多么动听的声音啊！
“水声总是那么悦耳，”乔治自言自语道，“我太喜欢听流水声啦。”
水！想到这里，乔治的心里飞快地闪过一丝灵感。是谁一直在谈论“水”来着？哦！是朱利安和迪克。就在昨晚，他们从老庄园回来之后，就告诉了安妮和自己，平面图上的那个单词很可能是“WATER”，而不是“WADER”。
“我也想知道那个字究竟是什么意思呀。”乔治一边拿着罐子接水，一边继续自言自语。她看了看灵动美丽的泉水，顺着泉水，视线又落到了泉水边凸起的石块上。忽然，她心中警铃大作。
石板！石块！水！怎么回事呢？让我再想想，再想想——那些人一直在找的白色石板，会不会就是这石堆中的一块呢？眼前的这块石板，大小不就正符合吗？
她紧紧盯着眼前的石板，它深深嵌在泉边高耸的石堆间。泉水叮咚作响，轻快地流过石堆，沿着石堆上的一个空隙，流进了河道。
乔治灵光一闪，立刻丢掉手中的罐子，以最快的速度朝其他人跑去。
“朱利安！朱利安！我找到那块石板了！真的，明明近在眼前！”
朱利安惊讶极了，当然，其他人也一样。大家吃惊地看向乔治。
“乔治，什么意思啊？”朱利安一下子跳起来，叫道，“快！带我们去看看！”
乔治带着四人，又飞速跑回了泉水边。她指着泉水上方白色的石板，大声说：“就是那块！大小对得上吧？而且它就在水上方。你不是告诉过我们，平面图上这么写的吗？只是那些人认为，那个单词是说‘WADER’而已。”
“天啊！乔治，我真想知道你找对了没有。”朱利安兴奋地说，“很可能——不过你不会懂。有时候，泉水是从地面涌出来的，经过一些隐秘的通道流向地表。”
“咱们试试，把它搬开吧，”迪克说，突如其来的惊喜让他满脸通红，“唉！对我来说有点高啊！”
几人开始手脚并用地搬起石板来，一时，被溅起的水花浇得浑身湿透，但却没人顾得上。这种感觉太奇妙了，简直难以言喻。哈里也在帮忙，拖呀，拽呀，没想到，他的力气还挺大的。
石板好不容易才被挪开了一点，但转瞬又滑回去，牢牢地嵌住了，几人只好继续拖啊，搬啊，拽啊，可都无济于事。
“得找人来帮忙才行，”最后，朱利安说，“这石板实在太重了，而且还嵌得这么严实。”
“我回去拿点工具吧，”哈里突然说，“这样大小的石板，我以前也撬过。只要有工具，不过是小菜一碟啦！”
他说完便风风火火地离开了，其他人则找了个地方坐下，擦拭着满是汗水和泉水的前额。
“呼！”朱利安长舒了一口气，“这么热的天，干这件事实在太费劲了。还好哈里想到了他的工具，我们正好需要！”
“他和盖伊居然是双胞胎兄弟，真是不可思议，”乔治感叹道，“我怎么就从来没想到呢？”
“没办法，以前，他们表现得太傻啦。”朱利安说，“总是独来独往，假装彼此不存在，也从不提起另一个人。唉！真想知道，盖伊到底被带到哪儿去了呀？虽然我觉得，他应该不会受什么伤，但他的家人肯定会担心的呀！”
“哈里来了！”安妮顿了一下，说道，“去个人帮帮他吧，他拿了好多工具呀。”
事实证明，哈里取来的东西确实很有用，尤其是一件铁锹模样的工具。在朱利安与哈里的合力之下，石板很快就被撬开了。
“动了！动了！搬开了！搬开了！小心点，它会掉进泉水里的！”迪克激动地喊道，“当心点，姑娘们！”
石板直直落下，掉进了泉水流经的石涧里。五个孩子睁大眼睛看向石板后的地方。
朱利安走上前向内望去。“没错，后面有个大洞！”他说，“我用手电筒看看。”
他兴奋地举起手电筒照向洞内，不一会儿，就猛地转过身来，就差手舞足蹈了。“没错！我们一定找对了！后面有一条通道，很宽，延伸得好长好长！”
人人都惊喜得说不出话来，乔治轻轻捶了迪克一拳，蒂米也欢快地叫个不停。安妮拍着它，费了好大的劲才让它安静下来。哈里在原地激动地转着圈儿，一时竟忘掉了所有忧愁。
“现在就进去看看吗？”迪克问，“要把洞口弄宽一点才行呀。瞧吧，这里堆满了泥土和烂树根，入口都变窄了，咱们还是先清理一下吧。”
“然后，我们就进去探索一番吧！”乔治说着，眼睛闪闪发亮，“一条只有我们知道的密道！快点，我们进去看看吧！”
Chapter 16 THE SECRET WAY
Chapter 16 THE SECRET WAY
All the children were so excited that they got into each other's way. Julian pushed them back.
'Let's be sensible! We can't all make the opening wider - let Harry and me get at it with the tools- and we'll soon make it bigger!'
It took only a minute to hack away at the sides of the hole to make it big enough for even Julian toclimb through. He stood there panting, smiling broadly.
'There - it's done! I'll get in first. Everyone got torches? We shall need them! It's going to be dark inthere!'
He clambered up and into the hole. He had to crawl on hands and knees for a little way, and then thehole suddenly went downwards and became considerably bigger. Julian could walk in it, if he bentdown, for at that point the tunnel was about three feet high.
He called back to the others. 'Follow me! Take hold of each other's coats or jerseys and hang on.
It's as dark as pitch in here!'
George followed after Julian, then Anne, then Dick, then Harry. Timmy went with George, of course,pushing and shoving like all the rest. Everyone was excited, and nobody could talk in a normal voice.
They all shouted!
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'I'll give you a hand! One good shove and you're in!'
'I say - isn't it dark!'
'What a crawl! I feel like a fox going into its den!'
'Timmy, don't butt me from behind like that! I can't crawl any faster!'
'Ah - thank goodness I can stand up now! What size of rabbit do you think made this burrow!'
'It was made by water at some time perhaps. Don't shove, Timmy!'
'Water doesn't run uphill, ass! Hang on to my coat, Harry. Don't get left behind.'
Julian, bent almost double at times, walked carefully along the narrow tunnel, which went steadilydownwards. Soon it widened and became higher, and then it was easier to walk in comfort.
'Do you suppose this is the right secret way?' called George, after a time. 'We don't seem to be gettinganywhere.'
'I can't tell. In fact we shan't know till we find something hidden somewhere - if we ever do!'
A sudden scuttering noise in front of him made Julian stop suddenly. Immediately everyone bumpedinto the one in front, and there were shouts at once.
'What's up, Ju?'
Julian's torch shone on to two pairs of bright, frightened eyes. He gave a laugh.
'It's all right - just a couple of rabbits using our burrow! There are small holes running out of thetunnel which, I imagine, are rabbit burrows. I bet we're giving the bunnies a shock!'
The tunnel wound about a good deal, and then suddenly the rather soft ground they were treading onturned to rock. The passage was now not so high, and the children had to bend down again. It wasmost uncomfortable.
Julian stopped once more. He had heard another sound. What was it?
'Water!' he said. 'There must be an underground stream here! How thrilling! Everyone all right?'
'Yes!' shouted those behind him. 'Get on, Julian - let's see the water!'
The tunnel suddenly ended, and Julian found himself in a big cave with a fairly high roof.
Almost in the middle of it ran a stream - not a very big one, and not a very fast one. It gurgled alongin a small channel of rock, which it had carved out for itself through hundreds of years.
Julian shone his torch on it. The water looked very black and glittered in the light of the torch.
The others came one by one out of the tunnel and stared at the underground stream. It looked 68rather mysterious, slipping through the cave, gurgling quietly as it disappeared through a hole at oneend.
'Queer,' said Dick.
'It's not unusual, this,' began Harry. 'In some parts of the country round about here, the ground belowour feet is honeycombed with little streams. Some come up as springs, of course, some join otherstreams when they come out into the open, others just run away goodness knows where!'
Julian was looking up round the cave. 'Does our tunnel end here?' he wondered. 'Is the where we haveto look for whatever is hidden?'
'We'll have a look round the cave and see if there are any exits,' said Dick. Using their torches the fiveseparated, Timmy keeping close to George, not seeming in the least surprised at this undergroundadventure.
'I've found another tunnel over here, leading out of the cave!' called Dick. No sooner had he said thatthan Anne called out too.
'There's one here as well!'
'Now - which do we take?' said Julian. 'How annoying that there should be two!'
'Would the fellow - what's his name - Paul - have marked the correct underground way on his plan?'
said George. 'I mean - I don't see how he could possibly expect either himself or anyone else to findwhat he had hidden, if there are numbers of passages to choose from down here!'
'You're right!' said Julian. 'Let's look about and see if we can find anything to help us.'
It wasn't long before Dick gave another shout. 'It's all right! This is the passage to take, over here- the one I found just now. There's an arrow drawn in white chalk on the wall.'
Everyone crowded over to Dick, stepping across the little stream as they did so. Dick held his torchup and they all saw the white arrow, drawn roughly on the wall.
Julian was pleased. 'Good. That helps a lot! It shows we're going the right way - and that this is thesecret way that Paul chose. Come on!'
They entered the tunnel, left the little stream behind, and went on again. 'Anyone got any idea inwhich direction we're going?' called Dick. 'East, west, north, south?'
Harry had a compass. He looked at it. 'I think we're going rather in the direction of the old Romancamp,' he said.
'Ah - that's interesting,' said Julian. 'This tunnel was probably used in olden times.'
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'Guy and I have seen the plan of the camp as it probably used to be,' said Harry. 'And there are plentyof tunnels and caves and holes shown on it - just roughed in, not a proper plan of them.
Gosh - I never thought I'd be exploring one! My father warned me not to, in case of roof-falls andthings like that.'
The tunnel suddenly forked into two. One passage was nice and wide, the other narrow. Julian tookthe wide one, thinking that the other was really too narrow to get through. Rut after a minute of two,he stopped, puzzled.
'There's a blank wall of rock here - the tunnel's ended! We'll have to turn back! I suppose we shouldhave taken that very narrow opening.'
They went back, Harry leading the way now. Timmy suddenly took it into his head that he would liketo lead, too, and made himself a real nuisance, pushing his way between everyone's legs!
They came back to the fork. Harry shone his torch in at the second opening, the very narrow one.
There, clearly marked on the right hand wall, was a white arrow in chalk!
'We're idiots,' said Dick. 'We don't even look for the sign-posts! Lead the way, Julian!'
This tunnel was very narrow indeed, and had rough, jutting rocky sides. There were loud 'Aahs!'
and 'Oohs!' as elbows and ankles were knocked against hard rock.
And then again there came a blank wall of rock in front of Julian, and again he had to stop!
'Can't go this way either!' he said. 'There's a blank wall again - this is a blind alley too!'
There were cries of dismay at once.
'Blow! It can't be!'
'What's gone wrong! Look all round, Ju - flash your torch down at your feet and above your head!'
Julian shone his torch over his head, and gave an exclamation.
'There's a hole above my head!'
'Is there a white arrow anywhere?' called Harry.
'Yes! And it's pointing up, instead of forwards!' called back Julian. 'We're still all right - we've got togo upwards now - but how?'
George, who was just behind him, shone her torch on the side-walls. 'Look!' she said. 'We can easilyget up to the hole. There are rough, natural steps up - made by ledges of rock. Look, Julian!'
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'Yes,' said Julian. 'We can manage to get up quite easily, I think. George, you go first - I'll give you aboost up.'
George was delighted to go first. She put her torch between her teeth, and began to climb up theledges, Julian pushing her as best he could. She came to the hole and immediately saw that it wouldbe quite easy to hoist herself through.
'One more boost and I'll be through!' she called to Julian. And with one last heave George, was up,rolling on the floor of a small cave above! She called down in excitement to the others.
'I believe this is the place where those things are hidden! I can see something on a ledge. Oh, do buckup!'
The others followed eagerly. Dick slipped off the rocky ledges in his excitement and almost squashedpoor Harry as he fell on him. However, everyone was up at last, even Timmy, who was the mostdifficult of all to heave through! He seemed to have far too many vigorous legs!
Harry found no difficulty at all. 'I'm used to this kind of thing,' he said. 'Guy and I have explored awhole lot of tunnels and caves in hills and other places.'
George was pointing her torch at a broad ledge of rock. On it was a brown leather bag, and beside it,marked on the rock, was a very large arrow indeed.
Julian was overjoyed. He picked up the bag at once. 'My word - I hope there's something in it!'
he said. 'It feels jolly light - as if it's empty!'
'Open it!' cried everyone - but Julian couldn't. It was locked - and alas, there wasn't a key!
16.密道探险
密道探险
孩子们都激动起来，七手八脚地扒着洞口的杂物，朱利安却将他们都推了回去。
“咱们动动脑筋，总不能所有人都来清理洞口吧，太乱了！让我和哈里来，我们用手上的工具，很快就能弄好了。”
果然，不到一分钟，两人就清理出了一条通道，足够朱利安一个人通过了。朱利安站在那儿，朝众人一笑，说：“看吧，弄好了！
我走最前面，还有人带了手电筒吗？这东西可不能缺，里面实在是太暗了。”
朱利安说完就钻进了洞穴。开始的一小段路，他只能手脚并用地向前爬着，过了一会儿，通道慢慢变宽，朱利安能站起来了，但却要弓着身子行走，因为洞顶只有三英尺高。
他回头向其他人喊道：“跟我来吧！你们拽紧彼此的衣服，一个一个进来，里面黑得伸手不见五指。”
乔治跟在朱利安身后，然后是安妮，再然后是迪克，最后是哈里。蒂米当然走在乔治身旁，像其他人一样，推推挤挤地前行着。
每个人都紧张无比，连说话都无法用正常的音量，只能大声喊，像吵架一样。
“我帮你一把吧，只要轻轻一推，你就进去了！”
“我说，怎么这么黑啊？”
“居然只能爬着进来，我怎么觉得，跟狐狸回洞似的！”
“蒂米，别在后面撞我！我都爬不动了！”
“啊！谢天谢地，我终于能站起来了！你们说，造这个洞的，会是多么小的兔子呀！”
“也许是地下水长年累月地往这里流，冲出来的呢。别推我呀，蒂米！”
“水怎么可能往高处流呢，笨蛋！哈里，抓紧我的外套，别掉队了！”
朱利安弯下身子，小心翼翼地行走在逼仄的通道里，还好通道很直。没过多久，路就变宽了，洞顶也变高了。再往前，已经能手脚自如地行走了。
“你们说，这条密道是对的吗？”过了一会儿，乔治大声问道，“我们都不知道，这条通道会通往什么地方呢。”
“我可说不清。事实上，在深入洞内，找到藏在那儿的东西之前，谁都不知道。当然，前提是，真的能走到洞的尽头，找到东西。”
前方忽然响起一阵窸窸窣窣的脚步声，朱利安一下子停住了脚步。
后面的所有人都没刹住脚，撞到了前面人的后背上。一个声音立刻问道：“朱利安，怎么了？”
朱利安的手电筒照在了两双明亮的眼睛上，他突然哈哈笑了起来。
“没事，是两只小兔子在咱们的洞里乱跑呢。这条通道的两边，有许多小洞，原来都是兔子洞呀。我敢肯定，这些小东西一定被我们吓坏了。”
这会儿，通道已经七弯八拐，几人一路继续向前走着。忽然，五人发现，脚下柔软的泥土已变成了坚硬的岩石。而此时，洞顶又变低了，孩子们只好再次弓下身子前行，实在是太让人憋闷了。
朱利安又一次停下了脚步，他又听到了别的动静——是什么呢？
“是水声！”他说，“前面一定有地下水，多么振奋人心啊！你们还好吗？”
“我们没事！”身后的众人异口同声地回答，“走吧，朱利安，我们顺着水声过去看看。”
通道走到尽头，出现在朱利安眼前的，是一个巨大的洞穴，洞顶非常高，洞的正中央有一条溪流，水域不宽，流速也不快。它在一条岩石堆成的沟槽里汩汩流淌着，散发着亘古的气息，似乎已经这样流淌了好几百年。
朱利安举着手电筒走上前，发现溪水黑黑的，在手电筒的光芒下，熠熠闪光。其他人也一个接一个地走出通道，愣愣地盯着地下水流。小溪仿佛蒙上了一层神秘的面纱，浅浅地流过洞穴，渐渐消失在大洞的另一端。
“太古怪了！”迪克喃喃道。
“的确很不寻常，”哈利说，“这周边有数不清的村落，而这些地下水，就这样无声地浸润着我们脚下的每一寸土地。涌出地面后，有的成了泉水，有的汇入了外界的河流，还有的，谁也不知道它们流去了哪里。”
朱利安抬头看着洞顶。“这就是通道的尽头吗？”他问道，“难道东西就藏在这里吗？我们就在这儿找找？”
“在洞穴里好好搜搜吧，看能不能找到别的出口。”迪克提议。
于是，五个人拿着手电筒分头行动了。蒂米依旧跟着乔治，对这次的地下冒险，似乎一点也不感到惊奇。
“我发现那边有一条通道，应该是洞穴的出口！”迪克喊道。他说完没多久，安妮也大声叫了起来：“这里也有一条！”
“那——我们该走哪边啊？”朱利安觉得很奇怪，“怎么可能有两个出口呢？”
“那个家伙，叫什么名字来着？哦，叫保罗，他在平面图上标的地下通道，到底对不对啊？”乔治疑惑地说，“我的意思是，如果这里真的有那么多条岔道，那他怎么保证，自己或其他人能找到正确的路，拿到藏着的东西呢？”
“你说的有道理，”朱利安说，“我们四处看看吧，也不知能不能得到有用的线索。”
没过多久，迪克又大喊了起来。“路是对的，我们该走这条，就在这边，我发现的那条！墙上有个白色粉笔画的箭头！”
众人急忙越过小溪，来到迪克身边。迪克举起手电筒，人人都看到了墙上那个简略的白色箭头。
朱利安开心极了：“太好了！太有用了！这下，我们知道该走哪条路了，这就是保罗选择的密道。咱们走吧！”
于是，他们便离开小溪，走进通道，继续前行。
“有人知道这条路通往哪个方向吗？”迪克高声问道，“是东边、西边、南边，还是北边？”
哈里盯着随身携带的指南针，过了一会儿才说：“我觉得，咱们是在朝古罗马军营的方向走！”
“啊！那就有意思啦！”朱利安说道，“这条通道一定很久很久以前就存在了。”
“在家的时候，盖伊和我看过古罗马军营的平面图，”哈里接着说，“上面标注了好多通道、大洞穴、小洞子，不过都只是草草提了一下，并不详细。天啊！真没想到，我竟然能亲自来探索其中之一。爸爸一直不让我俩来，他担心洞顶会突然坍塌什么的。”
走着走着，通道又一下子分作了两条，一条又宽又平整，另一条则狭窄幽暗。朱利安选择了宽阔的路，他觉得另一条路太窄了，一定不好走。可过了一两分钟，他就纳闷地停下了脚步。
“前面是堵石墙，路又到尽头了，我们只能折回去了，还是去走那条小路吧。”
几人只好回转，这会儿是哈里在带路。蒂米忽然起了一个念头——它也好想去带路啊，想在几个小伙伴中间撞来撞去，刷刷自己的存在感。
他们回到分岔口，哈里拿着手电筒照向那条小路，只见右手边的墙上，赫然也有一个白色粉笔画的箭头。
“我们真傻啊！”迪克叹道，“竟然忘了找箭头！朱利安，去前面带路吧。”
小路的确很窄，路面崎岖不平，两侧的墙上也有许多凸起的石块，形成了嶙峋的岩架。众人的手肘不时地撞在墙上，脚不时地踢在石头上，不断发出哀号和呻吟声——“啊呀！”“哎哟！”
就在这时，朱利安又被一堵石墙挡住了去路，他不得不再次停下了。
“这条路也没法儿走啊！”他说，“又有一堵石墙，这也是条死胡同啊！”
其他人也觉得很沮丧，异口同声地抱怨起来：“天哪，怎么会这样啊？”
“到底是哪里出错了呢？还是得找找。朱利安，拿手电筒照照你的头顶和脚下！”
朱利安闻言，立刻向头顶照去，紧接着，他惊呼了一声：“上面有个洞！”
“周围有白色箭头吗？”哈里大声问道。
“有！不过不是向前指的，是往上指的！”朱利安也大声回答，“我们没走错。那现在就得朝上面走啦。可是，怎么上去啊？”
紧跟在朱利安身后的乔治举起手电筒，照亮了两边的墙面。
“快看！”她喊道，“爬上去很容易的！不是有这么多现成的阶梯吗？这些张牙舞爪的岩架刚好可以派上用场了。快看呀，朱利安！”
“没错，”朱利安附和道，“这样的话，咱们要上去就容易多了。
乔治，你先上去吧，我在下面扶着你。”
乔治当然高兴第一个走了，她用牙齿紧咬着手电筒，开始在岩架上攀爬着，朱利安使劲推着她。她来到洞前，一眼就发现洞口很宽，足够她轻轻松松地通过。
“再推一把我就能进去啦！”她朝朱利安喊道。朱利安用力一推，乔治一下子翻了上去，还在洞内的地上滚了一圈儿。乔治爬起来，朝下面的人叫道，“我敢肯定，这就是藏东西的地方啦！我瞧见那边的岩壁上有东西。你们快点呀！”
其他人急忙向上爬。迪克兴奋地从岩架上跳起来，一下子落在了还没来得及起身的哈里身上，差点把他压趴下。最后，所有人都上来了，即使是蒂米——它爬得很费劲，但它的四条腿都很有力气！
哈里却觉得轻松极了。“这样的事我早就习惯了，”他说，“山上和其他地方有数不清的洞穴和通道，盖伊和我早就一一探索过了。”
乔治举起手电筒，照在一块宽阔的岩石上，那里放着一个棕色的皮包，而皮包旁边，也画着一个大大的白色箭头。
朱利安顿时喜出望外。他第一个冲过去拿起皮包。“我的天！真希望里面有东西啊！”他说，“不过，怎么这么轻啊？就像空的一样！”
“打开看看不就知道了？”众人纷纷催促起来。
但朱利安没办法打开，因为皮包上了锁。天啊！皮包需要钥匙！
Chapter 17 FULL OF SURPRISES
Chapter 17 FULL OF SURPRISES
'Its locked - we can't open the bag,' said Julian, and shook it vigorously as if that might make it flyopen and spill whatever contents it had!
'We don't know if it's got anything of value in it or not,' said Dick, in deep disappointment. 'I mean -it might be some trick on that fellow Paul's part - he might have taken the blue-prints, or whateverthey were he hid, for himself, and left the bag just to trick the others.'
'Can we cut it open?' asked George.
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'No. I don't think so. It's made of really strong leather. We would need a special knife to cut throughit - an ordinary pen-knife wouldn't be any use,' said Julian. 'I think we'll just have to assume thatwe've got the goods, and hope for the best. If they're not in here, it's just bad luck.
Someone else has got them, if so.'
They all looked at the tantalizing bag.
Now they would have to wait for ages before they found out whether their efforts had been successfulor not!
'Well - what do we do now?' said George, feeling suddenly flat. 'Go back all through that long tunnelonce more? I'll be glad to be in the open air again, won't you?'
'Rather!' said Julian. 'Well - I suppose we'd better get down through that hole again.'
'Wait!' said Anne, her sharp eyes catching sight of something. 'Look - what does all this mean?'
She shone her torch on to various signs on the wall.
Again there were arrows drawn in white chalk - but, very oddly, a line of them ran downwards acrossthe wall of the little rocky room, right to the edge of the hole - and another line of arrows pointing theother way, ran horizontally across the wall!
'Well - do you suppose that's just meant to muddle people?' said Dick, puzzled. 'We know jolly wellthat the way out of this room is down that hole, because that's the way we came into it.'
'Perhaps the other line of arrows means that there's a second way out,' suggested George. They alllooked round the little rocky room. There didn't seem any way out at all.
'Where's Timmy?' said Anne, suddenly, flashing her torch round. 'He's not here! Has he fallen downthe hole? I never heard him yelp!'
At once there was a great to-do. 'Timmy, Timmy, Timmy! TIMMY! Where are you?'
George whistled shrilly, and the noise echoed round and round the little room. Then, fromsomewhere, there was a bark. How relieved everyone was.
'Where is he? Where did that bark come from?' said Dick. 'It didn't sound as if it came from below,down that hole!'
There came another welcome bark, and the sound of Timmy's feet. Then to everyone's amazement,he appeared in the little rocky room as if by magic - appearing straight out of the wall, it seemed!
'Timmy! Where were you? Where have you come from!' cried George, and ran to see. She came to astandstill and exclaimed loudly.
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'Oh! What idiots we are! Why, just behind this big jutting-out piece of rock, there's another passage!'
So there was! A very, very narrow one, it is true - and completely hidden from the children becauseof the enormous slab of rock that jutted out from the wall and hid it! They stood and stared at it,shining their torches on the narrow way. The arrows ran round the wall to it.
'We never even looked properly!' said Dick. 'Still - it's a passage that would be extremely dificult tospot - hidden round the corner of that rock - and very narrow at that. Well, I do know one thing forcertain about that man called Paul!'
'What?' asked Anne.
'He's thin - thin as a rake!' said Dick. 'No one but a skinny fellow could squeeze through this opening!
I doubt if you can, Julian - you're the biggest of us.'
'Well, what about trying?' said George. 'What does everyone say? This might be an easier, shorterway out - or it might be a harder, longer one.'
'It won't be longer,' said Harry. 'By my reckoning we must be pretty well near the Camp now. It'slikely that the way leads straight there - though where it comes out I can't imagine. Guy and I haveexplored the Camp pretty thoroughly.'
Dick suddenly thought of something he had noticed at the Camp - the big hole behind the slab ofstone, where he had seen the baby rabbit a day or two before! What had Guy said about that? He hadsaid there was a great hole underground, which had been explored - but that it was probably just anancient storage place for food or for loot! He turned eagerly to Harry.
'Harry - would this lead to that enormous hole underground - the one that Guy once told me had beenexplored, but was of no interest - probably just an old store-place?'
'Let me see,' said Harry. 'Yes - yes, it might lead to that. Most of these underground ways arethroughways - ways that lead from one place to another. They don't as a rule stop suddenly, but haveusually been of use as secret escape-routes or something of that kind. I think you may be right, Dick -we're fairly near the Camp, I'm sure, and we may quite well find that if we go on, instead of goingback, we shall come into the Camp itself - probably through that great hole!'
'Then come on,' said Julian. 'It will certainly be a shorter way!'
They tried to squeeze through the narrow opening that led out of the little rocky room. Dick gotthrough all right, and so did the others - but poor Julian found it very very dificult and almost gaveup.
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'You shouldn't eat so much,' said Dick, unkindly. 'Go on - one more try, Ju - I'll haul on your arm atthe same time!'
Julian got through, groaning. 'I'm squashed flat!' he said. 'Now, if anyone makes any more jokesabout too much breakfast, I'll pull his nose!'
The passage grew wider immediately, and everyone was thankful. It ran fairly straight, and then wentsteeply downwards, so that the five slithered about, and Timmy found himself suddenly running.
Then it came to a stop - a complete stop! This time it was not a blank wall of rock that faced them - itwas something else.
'A roof-fall!' groaned Dick. 'Look at that! Now we're done!'
It certainly looked most formidable. Earth, rocks and stones had fallen from the roof and blocked upthe whole passage-way. There was no use in going on - they would just have to turn and go back!
'Blow it!' said Dick, and kicked at the mass of earth. 'Well - there's no use staying here - we'd betterturn back. My torch isn't too good now, and neither is yours, George. We don't want to lose any time- if our torches give out, we shall find things very difficult.'
They turned to go back, feeling very despondent. 'Come on, Timmy!' said George. But Timmy didn'tcome. He stood beside the roof-fall, looking very puzzled, his ears cocked and his head on one side.
Then he suddenly gave a sharp bark.
It made everyone jump almost out of their skins, for the sound echoed round and about in a veryqueer way.
'Don't, Timmy!' said George, almost angrily. 'Whatever's the matter? Come along!'
But Timmy didn't come. He began to paw at the pile of earth and rocks in front of him, and barkedwithout stopping. Wuff-wuff-wuff-wuff-wuff-WUFF!
'What's up?' said Julian, startled. 'Timmy, what on earth's the matter?'
Timmy took absolutely no notice, but went on feverishly scraping at the roof-fall, sending earth andstones flying all over the others.
'There's something he wants to get at - something behind this roof-fall,' said Dick. 'Or perhapssomebody - make him stop barking, George, and we'll listen ourselves and see if we can hearanything.'
George silenced Timmy with difficulty, and made him stand quiet and still. Then they all listenedintently - and a sound came at once to their ears.
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'Yap-yap-wuff-wuff-wuff!'
'It's Jet!' yelled Harry, making everyone jump violently again. 'Jet! Then Guy must be with him.
He never leaves Guy! What's Guy doing here? He may be hurt. GUY! GUY! Jet!'
Timmy began to bark wildly again and to scrape more furiously than ever. Julian shouted to theothers above the barking.
'If we can hear Jet barking, this roof-fall can't be very big. We'd better try and get through it.
Two of us can work in turn with Timmy. We can't all work at once, the passage is too narrow.'
Then began some very hard work - but it didn't last as long as Julian feared, because, quite suddenly,the mass of rubble and rock shifted as they worked, and a gap appeared at the top of the heap,between it and the roof.
Dick began to scramble up, but Julian called to him at once. 'Be careful, ass! The roof can't be toogood here - it may come down again, and you'll be buried. Go carefully!'
But before Dick could go any further, a little figure appeared on the top of the rubble above theirheads, and slid down to them yapping loudly, and waving a long wiry tail!
'Jet! Oh, Jet! Where's Guy?' cried Harry, as the little dog leapt into his arms and licked his facelavishly, barking joyfully in between the licks.
'GUY!' yelled Julian. 'Are you there?'
A weak voice came back. 'Yes! Who's that?' An absolute volley of voices anwered him.
'It's us! And Harry! We're coming to you, we shan't be long!'
And it wasn't long, either, before the roof-fall was slowly and carefully climbed by each one -though Timmy, of course, scrambled up, over and down at top speed!
On the other side of the roof-fall was a passage, of course, the continuation of the one the childrenhad come along. Guy was there, sitting down, looking very pale. Jet flung himself on him and lickedhim as if he hadn't seen him for a month, instead of just a minute or two before!
'Hallo!' said Guy, in a small voice. 'I'm all right. It's just my ankle, that's all. I'm jolly glad to...'
But before he could say a word more, Harry was beside him, his arms round him, his voice choking.
'Guy! Oh, Guy! I've been a beast, I wouldn't be friends! What happened to you? Are you really allright? Oh Guy, we are friends again, aren't we?'
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'Look out Harry, old son,' said Julian gently. 'He's fainted. Now just let's be sensible and everythingwill come all right. Flap your hanky at him, Dick, and give him a little air. It's only the excitement!'
In half a minute Guy opened his eyes and smiled weakly. 'Sorry!' he said. 'I'm all right now. I onlyhope this isn't a dream, and that you really are here!'
'You bet we are!' said Dick. 'Have a bit of chocolate, then you'll know we're real!'
'Good idea!' said Julian. 'We'll all have some - and I've some biscuits in my pocket too. We'll eat andtalk - and we'll make plans at the same time. Catch, Guy - here's a biscuit!'
17.惊喜、
惊喜
“这个包上了锁，我们打不开呀！”朱利安说着，用力摇了摇手中的皮包，仿佛这样，包就会忽然打开掉出什么东西似的。
“我们甚至无法确定，里面到底有没有值钱的东西，”迪克失望地说，“我的意思是，这或许只是那个叫保罗的家伙搞的恶作剧呢。
他可能早就把设计图或者其他藏起来的东西拿走了。把这个包留在这里，只是为了迷惑别人罢了。”
“能把它划开吗？”乔治问。
“我看不行，这是用真皮做的，强韧得很。只有特制的刀具才能划破，一般的小刀是没用的。”朱利安说，“看来，我们只有祈祷自己的运气能好一点，真的拿到东西了。如果包里真的什么也没有，那就算我们倒霉吧。如果真是这样，那就是说，东西早就被别人取走了。”
一时间，众人只能看着那个貌似珍贵的皮包，相顾无言。
如今，要知道自己的努力有没有白费，他们只有等了。而到底要等多久，谁也说不上来。
“唉！那我们现在该怎么做呀？”乔治的情绪也一下子低落下来，问道，“难道要折回去，再走一次那条长长的通道吗？我倒是想回到户外，呼吸点新鲜空气。你们呢？”
“我也想，”朱利安说，“没办法了，我想，我们还是先回下面的通道吧。”
“等等！”安妮突然叫道——她眼尖地看到了什么东西，“快看呀！那是什么意思？”
她说着举起手电筒，照向墙面的符号。
又是白色粉笔画的箭头！不过奇怪的是，一道箭头穿过墙壁，延伸至小小的岩石房间——就是他们发现皮包的地方，便戛然而止了；而另一道箭头则指向另一个方向，水平地划过墙面。
“唉！你们说，那些箭头，会不会也是用来误导别人的呀？”迪克不解地问，“我们都知道，房间外面的路就通往下面的通道，我们就是从那儿上来的呀！”
“也许，另一道箭头的意思是，还有一条出去的路。”乔治推测道。于是，五个人就在小小的岩石房间环顾了一周，却仍然没有发现通道的痕迹。
“蒂米呢？”安妮突然晃着手电筒，问道，“它不在这儿了！是掉到下面去了吗？可我没听见它的叫声呀！”
几人第一时间喊了起来：“蒂米！蒂米！蒂米！你去哪儿了？”
乔治拼命吹着口哨，尖利的声音回荡在小小的房间里，一遍又一遍。就在这时，不知何处忽然传来了一声犬吠。五个人齐齐松了一口气。
“它去哪里了？叫声是从哪里传来的？”迪克纳闷极了，“好像不是从下面的通道里传来的。”
这时，蒂米欢快的叫声又响起来了，紧接着，便是它的脚步声。令众人惊讶的是，它忽然变戏法般地出现在房间里，就像是从外面穿墙进来的一样。
“蒂米，你跑哪里去了，又是从哪里钻出来的呀？”乔治惊叫着，急忙跑上前去察看。随后，她突然愣了一下，又大声叫了起来：“哦，天啊！咱们太傻了！原来就在这块凿出来的大石头后面呀！这里还有一条路！”
的确有一条路，一条非常窄的路。孩子们完全没看见，是因为墙边那块巨大的岩石——密道就藏在岩石后面。五人走上前，用手电筒照向那条狭窄的通道。墙上的箭头，原来指的就是这个呀！
“我们刚才找得不够仔细呀！”迪克感叹道，“原来，这里还有一条藏得如此隐秘的通道，就在岩石后的角落里！怎么这么窄呀？
唉，关于那个叫保罗的家伙，我现在敢肯定一件事了！”
“什么事？”安妮问。
“他一定很瘦，骨瘦如柴！”迪克回答说，“这么小个入口，只有瘦骨嶙峋的人才进得去啊。朱利安，我真想看看你能不能进去，因为在我们几个人中，你是最壮的啦！”
“行啊，试试呗，”朱利安说，“你们怎么看呢？这条路，要么就很短、非常好走；要么就很长、很崎岖。”
“不会太长的，”哈里接话道，“据我推测，我们应该离古罗马军营很近了。这条路，很有可能是直接通向那里的。不过，出口具体在哪儿，我就无法确定了。这个军营，我和盖伊早就探索过无数次了。”
迪克忽然想起在古罗马军营看到的，岩石堆后面的大洞——就是一两天前，他看见小兔子的地方。盖伊当时怎么说的来着？他说，那是个很大的地洞，老早就被探索过了，说那只是古时候的一间地窖，用来藏食物和战利品的。
想到这里，他转身激动地对哈里说：“哈里，这条路就是直通那个地洞的吗？盖伊告诉我，那个地洞早就被探索过了，一点意思也没有，只是个老地窖而已。”
“让我想想，”哈里说，“没错，没错。很有可能！很有可能！大部分地下通道都是相通的。从一个地方通往另一个地方，谁也不知道它们的尽头在哪里。这条通道在以前，一定是被用来逃亡什么的。迪克，你很有可能猜对了，我们已经很接近古罗马军营了。我敢肯定，只要咱们不回头，继续往前走，很快就能走回营地了，非常可能会经过那个大地洞！”
“那就走吧，”朱利安说，“这样看来，路确实不长嘛。”
五个人便试着从小房间内狭窄的入口钻出去。迪克轻轻松松就过去了，其他人也一样。但朱利安就可怜了。他觉得好难啊，几乎都想放弃了。
“你不该吃那么多的！”迪克坏笑道，“来吧，再试一次，朱利安，我会拉你一把的！”
朱利安一边用力往外挤，一边抱怨道：“我都快被挤扁了。以后，要是再有人敢笑话我早餐吃多了，我就把他的鼻子拧下来！”
路很快就变宽了，大家都忍不住松了一口气。一开始，路又平又直，随后开始急剧向下延伸，五个人都不由自主地朝下面快步跑起来。蒂米也发现自己突然加快了步伐。再然后，它停下了，所有人都停下了。这一次，挡在他们前面的，不再是一堵石墙，而是别的东西。
“洞顶坍塌了！”迪克哀嚎起来，“你们看吧，咱们这是什么运气啊！”
眼前的情形确实很糟糕。从洞顶掉下的土壤、岩石和碎石块积成了堆，把整条路都堵住了。继续向前已经没有意义，他们只能转身往回走。
“太糟糕了！”迪克踢了踢面前的土堆，“唉！待在这儿也没用啊。咱们还是回去吧。我的手电筒已经不怎么亮了，乔治，你的也是。咱们不能再浪费时间了，要是手电筒全都没电，那无论是找路还是找东西，都会变得很费劲的。”
他们只好沮丧地转身，准备往回走。
“过来，蒂米！”乔治喊道，但蒂米没有听话，它站在坍塌的废墟堆前，歪着头，眼中充满了疑惑，耳朵也高高地竖了起来。忽然，它发出了一声尖利的咆哮。
所有人都被吓得差点灵魂出窍，因为通道内响起了古怪的回音，一遍又一遍地响着，太瘆人了。
“别叫了，蒂米！”乔治有点生气了，“到底怎么了，快过来啊？”
蒂米却没有理她，反而自顾自地刨起眼前的废墟堆，又不停地叫了起来。“汪汪汪！”“汪汪汪！”“汪汪汪！”“汪汪汪！”
“怎么回事？”朱利安惊讶地问，“蒂米，你到底怎么了？”
蒂米完全没注意他们，只管一个劲儿地刨着废墟堆，不停地将泥土和碎石头扔到其他人身上。
“一定有它想要的东西，就在这堆东西后面！”迪克说，“也可能是有人，所以它才会叫得这么厉害。乔治，咱们仔细听听看吧，看能不能听到什么动静。”
乔治好不容易才让蒂米安静下来，乖乖地站在自己身边。随后，五个人便专注地听起来。声音立刻传来了——“汪汪汪！”“汪汪汪！”“汪汪汪！”“汪汪汪！”
“是杰特！”哈里急忙嚷道，其他人都吓了一大跳，“杰特！那盖伊肯定和它在一起，它从来不离开盖伊的！盖伊在那边吗？他是不是受伤了？盖伊！盖伊！杰特！”
蒂米再次疯狂地叫起来，跑上前用尽全力刨着废墟堆。朱利安抬高嗓门，压下蒂米的叫声，对众人喊道：“既然能听见杰特的叫声，那这个废墟堆肯定大不到哪里去，我们试试看能不能过去吧。
两个人一组，轮流去帮蒂米，不能所有人一起上，通道太窄了！”
接下来，他们开始了艰苦的作业。不过，并没有像朱利安想象的那样费很长时间，因为他们没清理多久，碎石块被搬开了一部分之后，洞顶和废墟堆之间就出现了一个缺口。
迪克刚想往上爬，就被朱利安叫住了：“小心点，迪克！洞顶不是很结实，很可能会再次坍塌，你会被埋在下面的！千万要小心啊！”
就在迪克想接着往上爬时，缺口处突然出现了一个小小的身影，它从孩子们的头顶滑下来，摇着细细长长的尾巴大声叫着。
“杰特！哦，是杰特！盖伊在哪儿？”哈里大叫道，小东西一下子扑进他的怀里，一边欢快地叫着，一边热情地舔着他的脸。
“盖伊！”朱利安喊道，“你在里面吗？”
一个虚弱的声音传来：“我在，谁在那边？”回答他的是一道尖利的声音：“是我们呀！还有哈里，我们来找你了！你再耐心等等！”
没过多久，孩子们就小心翼翼地爬过石堆，除了蒂米——它的速度是最快的，飞速地跑到废墟堆顶蹿了下去。
而废墟堆的另一边，当然也有一条通道了，几个人径直走过去，发现一个男孩正坐在那里，脸色苍白。杰特飞奔过去舔着盖伊，仿佛好几个月没见过他了似的，其实，他俩也就分开了一两分钟而已。
“你们好啊！”盖伊小声向他们打着招呼，“我没事，就是脚踝受了点伤，其他都还好。我真高兴……”
但话还没说完，哈里就跑上前抱住了他，抽抽搭搭地说：“盖伊！哦，盖伊！我真是个混蛋！我不是个好兄弟，你怎么了？真的没事吗？哦，盖伊，我们还是好兄弟，是不是？”
“当心点，哈里！你太用力了，”朱利安温和地说，“他晕过去了。现在咱们先冷静一下，所有事情都会水落石出的。迪克，用你的手帕拍拍盖伊，给他呼吸点新鲜空气。他只是太激动了。”
半分钟后，盖伊又睁开眼睛，虚弱地笑了。“不好意思啊！”他说，“现在我好多了，真希望我不是在做梦，你们确实在我身边。”
“醒醒吧，我们当然是真的了！”迪克说，“先吃点巧克力，然后你就会明白，我们有多真实了。”
“好主意！”朱利安赞同道，“我们都吃点吧。我口袋里还有饼干，咱们边吃边聊，还可以制订一下计划。盖伊，这是饼干，接着！”
Chapter 18 THE WAY OUT
Chapter 18 THE WAY OUT
Guy soon told his story. It was much as the others had imagined.
'I was fast asleep this morning, with Jet curled up to me,' he said. 'He began to bark and I wonderedwhy, so I got up to see - and I saw four people in the camp.'
'The four we know!' said Dick, and Julian nodded. 'Go on, Guy.'
'They were looking all over the place,' said Guy, 'prising up rocks, messing about - so I yelled atthem. But they only laughed. Then one of the men, who was trying to prise up a slab - the slab thatcovers that great hole underground, Harry - you remember it? - well, this man gave a yell and said'I've got it! This is the way in - down here, behind this slab!'
Guy stopped, looking very angry. Jet licked him comfortably. 'Well,' he went on, 'I set Jet on them,and they kicked him cruelly - so I went for them.'
'You're a plucky one, aren't you!' said Dick, admiringly. 'Did you knock them all out, by any chance?'
'No. Of course not,' said Guy. 'One of the men pretty well knocked me out though. He hit me on thehead and I went down, dazed. I heard him say 'drat this kid - he'll be fetching help, and we shan't beable to get down and hunt for the goods.' And then another man said 'We'll take him with us then,'
and they got hold of me and dragged me through the opening.'
'But how did they get down into that great hole?' said Harry in wonder. 'There is such a steep dropinto it. You need a rope.'
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'Oh, they had a rope all right,' said Guy, munching his biscuit and chocolate and looking decidedlybetter. 'One of the men had one tied round and round his waist. They knotted it fast round a rock -that big one we can't move, Harry - and then they swung down on it. All except the woman. She saidshe'd stay at the top and keep watch. She hid behind a bush some way off.'
'I never saw her when I came along!' said Harry. 'I never thought of looking there! What about you?
Did you get down too?'
'Yes. I screamed and shouted and kicked and howled, but it wasn't a bit of good. They made meswing down the rope - and I fell off half-way down and hurt my ankle. I howled at the top of myvoice for help, and they hurried me along with them, shaking me like a rat.'
'The beasts!' said Harry, fervently. 'Oh, the beasts!'
'I heard one of them say that there should be a tunnel out of the hole somewhere, it was marked onPaul's plan - whatever that may be - and then I think I must have fainted - the pain of my ankle, youknow. And when I came to myself again, we were all here, the three men and I -beside this roof-fall - though I really don't know how we got here. They must have dragged me alongwith them!'
'And that's all, is it?' asked Julian.
'Not quite. They were furious when they saw the roof-fall, but as soon as they began to scrabble in ita rock rolled down and hit one of the men quite a crack - and after that they were afraid to doanything. They stood and talked for a bit - and then they decided to go and get some tools, and comedown again to see if they could remove all this stuff and get through it.'
'Good gracious!' said Julian, startled. 'Then they may be back at any moment?'
'I suppose so. They left me here because they couldn't think of anything else to do with me! Theyknew I couldn't walk, because of my ankle. I think it's broken. So of course, I couldn't possibly findmy way out myself! And here I've been waiting for those brutes to come back, and to hack throughthe rubble to go after whatever it is they want!'
Everyone began to feel rather uncomfortable at the thought that three violent men might be appearingat any moment. 'Is it very far to the opening you came down?' asked Julian. But Guy didn't know. Hehad fainted, as he had said, and he didn't even know what way they had come.
'It can't be far,' said Harry. 'I think it would be worth while trying to find the opening, see if the menhave left the ropes there, and get out that way. If Guy's ankle really is broken, he couldn't possiblymanage to go back the long way we've come.'
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'No. That's true,' said Julian, thoughtfully. 'Well, that's what we'll do then. But we'll go jollycautiously, without a sound, because it might be just our luck to meet those fellows on their way backhere!'
'Shall we start?' said George. 'What about Guy?'
Julian knelt down beside the boy, and gently examined his ankle. 'I've done my First Aid Training,like everybody else!' he said. 'And I ought to know if his ankle is broken or just sprained.'
He examined the swollen ankle carefully. 'It's not broken. I believe I could bandage it tightly with acouple of large hankies. Give me yours, Dick.'
The others watched admiringly as Julian deftly and confidently bandaged Guy's swollen ankle.
'There!' he said. 'You can perhaps hobble on it now, Guy. It may hurt, but I don't think it will damageit. Try. You'll have to go barefoot because your ankle is too swollen for your shoe to go on.'
Very gingerly Guy stood up, helped by Harry. He tried his hurt foot, and it certainly seemed all rightto hobble on, though it was very painful. He grinned round at the others' anxious faces.
'It's fine!' he said. 'Come on, let's go! We don't want to bump into those fellows if we can help it.
Thank goodness we've got Jet and Timmy.'
They set off down the passage, flashing their torches in front as usual, to show them the way.
The tunnel was quite wide and high here, and in a very short time came out into an enormous pitunderground.
'Ah - this is the hole I saw down behind the slab where the rabbit went,' said Dick. 'We weren't veryfar from the camp, as we thought. I'm surprised that when this pit was explored, the undergroundpassages were not discovered, Guy!'
'I expect the men exploring it came to the roof-fall and thought there was nothing beyond,' said Guy.
'Or maybe they were afraid of going further in case of further falls. They can be very dangerous, youknow. Many a man has been buried under one and never heard of again.'
They looked round the enormous hole - it was really a huge round pit. Daylight showed in the roof atone place.
'That's the opening into it,' said Guy, eagerly. 'The one I came through, on the rope.'
He limped a few steps forward to look for the rope. Harry held him by the arm, thankful that theankle was holding up so well. Guy pointed upwards.
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'Yes. I can see the rope. The men have left it there, thank goodness. They must have been certain thatI couldn't get to it!'
The rope hung down from the little opening high above their heads. Julian looked round at Anne.
'Can you manage to climb up the rope, Anne?' he said, doubtfully.
'Of course!' said Anne, scornfully. 'We do rope-climbing in the gym at school often enough.
Don't we, George?'
'Yes - but our gym rope is a bit thicker!' said George.
'I'll go up first,' said Harry. 'We've got a much thicker rope, Guy and I, that we use when we want tohaul on very heavy stones. I'll find it, and let it down.'
'Well - we can't afford to waste any time, in case those fellows come back,' said Julian. 'I daresay thegirls can manage all right. George, you go up first.'
George went up like a monkey, hand over hand, her legs twisted round the rope. She grinned downwhen she got to the top.'
'Easy!' she said. 'Come on up next, Anne, and show the boys how to do it!'
Before the boys could leap to the rope, Anne was on it, pulling herself up lithely. Julian laughed.
He called up to George.
'George! You might have a squint round and see if there's any sign of people about. If they weregoing to borrow Guy's tools, they would have been back long ago, so I think probably they've had togo to Kirrin or some farm-house to borrow them.'
'They wouldn't get my tools!' said Guy, 'or Harry's. We had them stolen once, and now we alwayshide them where no one can possibly find them.'
'That settles it then,' said Julian. 'They've had to go a good way, I expect, to get satisfactory tools totackle that roof-fall. They probably imagine that it's a pretty big fall! All the same, keep a watch out,George, till we're all up.
It was difficult to get Guy up, for he was feeling weak, but they managed it at last. The two dogs hadto have the boys' shirts tied round them so that the rope would not cut them when they were hauledup. They didn't seem to mind at all. Timmy was very heavy to pull up because he appeared to thinkthat he had to try and make his legs do a running action all the time - just to help! All that happenedwas that he began to spin round and round, as he went up!
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Everyone was up in the open air at last, hot and perspiring. Julian had the precious bag safely underhis arm. Timmy sat down panting. Then he suddenly stopped panting and pricked up his ears.
'Woof,' he said warningly, and stood up.
'Quiet, Tim, quiet, Jet,' said Julian, at once aware that somebody must be about. 'Hide, everyone -quickly. It may be those fellows coming back!'
'Wuff,' began Jet, but Guy stopped him immediately. The six children separated and went into hidingat once, each choosing the best place he or she could see. There were plenty of hiding-places in theold camp!
They heard voices coming near. Nobody dared to peep out and see who was coming - but Julian andDick recognized the drawling voice of one of the men!
'What a time we've been!' said the man. 'Just chuck the spades and things down the hole - then we'llall climb down again. Buck up! We've wasted too much time already. Anyone might come on thescene at any moment!'
The spades and jemmies went hurtling down the hole. Then one by one the men went down the rope.
The children could not hear the woman's voice. They thought she must have been left behind.
Julian gave a low whistle and all the others popped up their heads. 'We'll spring for it!' said Julian.
'Buck up!'
They all shot out of their hiding-places at once and made off - except Julian. He stayed behind for aminute or two. What could he be doing?
Julian was doing something very simple indeed! He was hauling up the rope that dangledunderground! He slipped it off the rock that held it and tied it round his waist, looking suddenly verybulky.
He grinned a very wide grin and went after the others. How very, very angry those men were going tobe!
18.离开的路
离开的路
盖伊很快就把自己的经历说了一遍，跟大家想象的差不多。
“早上，杰特缩在我身边，很快我就睡着了，”他说，“突然，它开始叫起来。一开始我不知道怎么回事，于是爬起来，想看个究竟，然后，就看见军营里多了四个人。”
“我们知道那四个人！”迪克立即接话道，朱利安也点了点头，然后看向盖伊，“接着说吧，盖伊！”
“他们在这块地方四处查看，”盖伊说，“搬开一块块石头，到处乱翻，所以我朝他们喊了几声，但他们却哈哈大笑。接着，一个男人搬开了一块石板，那石板下面，是一个很大的地洞入口。哈里，你还记得那个地洞吧？那个人大叫：‘我找到了，就是这条路，往下走，就在石板下面！’”说到这里，盖伊停了一下，看起来非常生气。杰特连忙舔了舔他，试图让他平静下来。“接下来，”他继续说道，“我叫杰特去咬他们，他们却残忍地把杰特踢开了。所以，我就跑上去打他们。”
“你的胆子还真大呀！”迪克崇拜地说，“有没有把那些人打得落花流水？”
“当然没有了，怎么可能嘛！”盖伊忿忿地说道，“有个人狠狠敲了我的脑袋，我就晕倒了。迷糊中听到他们说：‘臭小子真讨厌！要是待会儿他找来帮手，我们就没法下去找东西了！’然后，另一个人说：‘那我们带着这小子一起下去吧。’接着，他们就拽着我一起下通道了。”
“可是，他们怎么会跑到那个大洞里去呢？”哈里好奇地问，“往下可还有一段距离呢，得用绳子才行啊。”
“哦，他们带绳子了呀！”盖伊狼吞虎咽地吃着巧克力和饼干，含糊地回答，他的脸色明显好多了，“其中一个男人将绳子缠在腰上，绕了一圈又一圈，然后，哈里，还记得那块我们怎么也搬不动的石头吗？他在那上面飞快地打了个结，接着，他们就利用那块石头，像荡秋千一样荡下去了，除了那个女人。她说她倒是宁愿在外面守着，然后就躲进了不远处的一丛灌木下面。”
“我没见过她呀！”哈里惊讶地说，“哎哟，我都没想过要看看灌木后面。那你呢，你也下去了吗？”
“是啊。我尖叫、哭喊、又踢又打，可都无济于事。那些人让我拽着绳子荡下去，可荡着荡着，我就摔下去了。我跌伤了脚踝，只好大声哀号着求救，但他们只管催我快点跟上，卑鄙地拖着我继续走。”
“这些畜生！”哈里愤怒地说，“那些人真是一群畜生！”
“我听见他们中的一个人说：‘前面应该有条通道，保罗的平面图上就是这么标的。’我也不知道是什么平面图。后来我又晕过去了。你们也知道，我的脚实在太疼了。再次醒过来的时候，我和那三个男人就已经在这里了，面前有好大一堆坍塌物。虽然我完全不清楚自己是怎么到的，但想也知道，肯定是他们把我拖过来的。”
“然后就结束了，是不是？”朱利安问。
“还没呢！他们看见洞顶坍塌挡住了去路，都气疯了。但很快，他们就开始刨废墟堆，还试着往上爬。可就在这时，一块石头掉下来，砸破了其中一个男人的头，他们就不敢再乱动了。三个人站在那里讨论了一会儿，最后决定先出去取点工具，回来把这废墟堆清理掉，然后再继续往前走。”
“天啊！”朱利安震惊地说道，“那这么说，那些人随时可能会回来喽？”
“我是这么想的。他们把我丢在这里，就是认为不会出什么意外。那些人知道我的脚踝受伤了——我想是骨折了，不可能自己找到路逃出去，于是，我就被扔在这里等着，等那些残暴的人回来，想办法弄开这个废墟堆，去寻找他们想要的东西。”
一想到那三个残暴的男人随时都会回来，所有人都紧张起来。“这里离你们来的通道远吗？”朱利安问。可盖伊怎么会知道呢？正如他所说，他之前昏过去了，甚至连自己怎么来的都不知道。
“应该不会很远吧，”哈里说，“我想，我们可以试着找找那个通道，看他们有没有把绳子留在这里，如果有的话，我们就能出去了。盖伊，如果你的脚真的骨折了，就没办法沿着我们来时的路，跟着我们出去了。”
“你说的有道理，”朱利安若有所思地说，“好吧，就照哈里说的做。但是，我们必须小心一点，不能发出一丁点声音，万一我们运气不好，就很可能撞见那些回来的人！”
“那我们出发吧！”乔治说，“可盖伊怎么办呢？”
朱利安跪在男孩身边，轻轻揉了揉他的脚踝，“我和很多人一样，受过急救训练。”他说，“应该能判断盖伊的脚究竟是骨折，还是只是扭伤。”
他仔细检查了盖伊浮肿的脚踝，说：“没有骨折。哦，我想，可以用大手帕紧紧地包扎起来。迪克，把你的手帕给我。”
朱利安为盖伊浮肿的脚踝包扎时，所有人都用崇拜的眼光看着他。“好了！”过了一会儿，他说，“盖伊，你试着活动一下吧，可能会有点疼，但我觉得不会有什么大碍。试试吧。你可能必须赤着脚走路了，因为脚踝肿得太厉害了，鞋子穿不进去。”
在哈里的搀扶下，盖伊蹒跚着站了起来。他试了试自己的脚伤，似乎的确可以跛着走路了，虽然还是很疼。看着周围伙伴们担忧的脸孔，他“咯咯”笑了起来。
“没问题了，”他说，“走吧，咱们出发。如果可以的话，我可不想再撞见那些坏人了。谢天谢地，还好有蒂米和杰特在。”
他们沿着通道出发了，像往常一样，打着手电筒照亮前方的路。通道十分宽敞，很快，几人就走到了一个巨大的坑井里。
“啊呀！这就是我看到兔子躲进去的那个洞，就在石板下面！”迪克说，“我们已经离古罗马军营不远了。盖伊，我太惊讶了，这个坑井都被探索过了，可地下通道居然没被发现！”
“我猜，那些探索的人来到坍塌的地方，猜测前面也没有什么了，就没有继续往前走。”盖伊说，“或者，他们担心往深处走，可能会再次碰到洞顶坍塌之类的事。里面可能非常危险，也许有许多人曾来过这里，然后，就再也没有消息了。”
他们环顾了一下这个巨大的洞，洞中有个很大的坑。阳光从洞顶洒下，照向了一个角落。
“这里就是通道的入口，”盖伊急切地说，“我就是拽着绳子从这里下来的。”
他一瘸一拐地走过去，想看看绳子还在不在。哈里急忙上前扶着他，所幸他脚踝包扎得很严实，手帕没有松开。
盖伊指了指上面，说：“我看见绳子了！谢天谢地，那些人把绳子丢在这里了。他们一定以为，我根本没办法逃出来。”
绳子从小小的入口垂下，在孩子们的头顶晃啊晃。朱利安看了一眼安妮，“你能用绳子爬上去吗？”他怀疑地问。
“当然没问题了！”安妮不屑地回答，“我们在学校上体育课时，可经常练习爬绳呢！是不是呀，乔治？”
“没错。不过，体育课上的绳子比这个粗多了。”乔治说。
“我先来吧，”哈里说，“盖伊和我，我俩有一条更粗的绳子，是用来拉更重的石头的。我出去后先去找那根绳子，然后再放下来。”
“这个嘛，我们不能再浪费时间了。万一那些人突然回来怎么办？”朱利安说，“我相信女孩们也能爬上去。乔治，你先来吧。”
乔治像个猴子一样，双腿缠在绳子上，双手不断交替。到了上面，她笑着看向下方的人。“太容易了！”她说，“下一个！快来吧，安妮！给男生们看看我们是怎么做到的！”
男孩们还来不及抓过绳子，安妮已经冲过去，轻盈地攀爬起来。朱利安哈哈大笑，他冲乔治喊道：“乔治！你去看看周围有没有人过来。如果那些人是回去拿盖伊的工具，那么他们早就该回来了。我猜，他们肯定是去科林庄园或者其他农场借工具了。”
“他们不可能拿到我的工具，”盖伊说，“哈里的也不可能。我们以前被偷过一次，后来，我俩都会把工具藏好，别人都找不到。”
“那就行了！”朱利安说道，“我想，为了找到称心如意的工具，对付那堆坍塌物，他们可要走好久的路呢。那些人肯定认为，那里坍塌得很严重。不过乔治，为了保险，在我们都上来之前，你还是稍微留点神吧。”
盖伊爬上来花了不少时间，因为他真的很虚弱。但最后，孩子们还是做到了。两只狗也被男孩们用衬衣绑了起来，这样一来，拉上去的时候，他们就不会被绳子割伤了。不过，两只狗狗似乎一点也不在意。把蒂米拉上去可费劲了，因为它想帮忙，所以一直做出用力跑的样子，四条腿不停地乱蹬，结果绳子一圈一圈地打转，转着转着就被拉上去了。
终于，所有人都爬了上去，热得全身冒汗。朱利安把宝贵的皮包安全地夹在腋下。蒂米坐下来喘着气，突然，它屏住呼吸，紧张地竖起了耳朵。
“汪汪！”它发出警告，站了起来。
“安静点，蒂米！安静点，杰特！”朱利安说，他立刻意识到是有人过来了，“大伙儿快躲起来，快点！一定是那些家伙又回来了！”
“汪！”杰特又叫了起来，但盖伊马上就让它停下了。六个孩子第一时间分开藏了起来。人人都选择了能看见彼此的地方。在这个旧军营里，能藏人的地方太多了。
他们听见声音越来越近，没人敢探出头，去看来的人究竟是谁。但朱利安和迪克却听出了其中一个人的声音——是那个说话有气无力的带头老大。
“咱们也耽搁得太久了！”那个人说，“待会儿，把铁锹和这些工具弄下去还要花不少时间，然后，我们自己还要再爬下去。振作起来吧！我们已经浪费了太多时间，这里随时都可能有人出现，发现咱们的秘密！”
铁锹和撬棍很快就被扔到了洞底，紧接着，那伙人也一个接一个，顺着绳子爬了下去。孩子们没有听到女人的声音，他们猜测，她一定是落在最后面了。
朱利安轻轻吹了声口哨，其他人都探出头来。“这下，我们可以松口气了，”朱利安说，“打起精神来吧。”
众人如离弦之箭一般，飞快地从藏身的地方冲出来，小心翼翼地离开了，除了朱利安。他在后面待了一两分钟的样子，他在干什么呢？
实际上，朱利安做的事再简单不过了。他把垂进洞里的绳子拖了上来，解开系在大石头上的绳结，然后把绳子一圈一圈缠在了自己的腰上，整个人顿时看起来格外笨重。
他咧开嘴，露出一个大大的笑容，跑去追上其他人。洞下的那些人一定会被气坏的！一定会！
Chapter 19 BACK TO KIRRIN COTTAGE
Chapter 19 BACK TO KIRRIN COTTAGE
Julian ran after the others. 'What were you doing?' said George. 'Calling rude names down to themen?'
'No. I hope they'll go and dig for hours if they want to!' said Julian. 'They'll soon find that whenthey've got through it, that roof-fall is nothing much, and they'll go on till they come to the little room- and what they'll say when they find that the bag is gone, I really don't know!'
'I wish I could be there!' said Dick.
'What are we going to do about Guy?' asked Harry. 'He really can't walk very far on that bad foot.'
'If he can walk as far as the gorse-bush where we've left our things, I've got a bike there,' said George.
'He could pedal with one foot, I should think.'
'Oh yes - I could easily do that,' said Guy, pleased. He had dreaded the thought of having to walk allthe way to Kirrin - but neither did he want to be left behind!
He limped along, helped by Harry, who couldn't do enough for him. Jet ran along beside them,excited and happy at being with so many people. Timmy sometimes wuffed a little bark to him,which made Jet as proud as punch. He thought the big Timmy was wonderful!
They came to the gorse-bush, and found their things all safe. The bicycle was there, with its packagesstrapped to it. George unstrapped them, meaning to carry them herself, so that Guy would not havetoo heavy a weight to pedal with his one foot. They all started off together, Guy riding ahead on thebicycle.
'We will go to Kirrin, dump our things at the cottage, and get Aunt Fanny to ring the police and askthem if they'll come along and collect this bag from us,' said Julian. 'I don't want to leave it at thepolice station - I want to see it opened in front of us!'
'I do hope it won't be empty,' said Anne. 'It does feel terribly light!'
'Yes. It does,' said Julian, swinging it to and fro. 'I can't help fearing that Paul, who drew the plan thatthe men found so difficult to understand, may have double-crossed his friends - drawn a deliberatelydifficult plan - and then left the bag quite empty in the place he marked on the plan!
It would be the kind of hoax that a trickster loves to play - and would give him time to get away insafety.'
81
'But they said he was ill,' said Dick. 'Still - perhaps he might have been pretending that too! It's amystery!'
'How are you getting on, Guy?' called Anne, as they overtook the boy. He kept riding on by himselffor a little way, and then resting, waiting for them to catch up with him before he pedalled on againwith his one good foot.
'Very well indeed, thank you,' said Guy. 'This bike was a very good idea of yours. What a blessingyou had it with you!'
'Your foot doesn't seem any more swollen,' said Anne. 'I expect you'll be able to walk on it properlyin a day or two. Oh, dear - it does make me laugh when I think how puzzled we all were when wethought there was just one of you, not twins!'
'We met first one of you, then the other, and thought you were the same boy,' said George, with achuckle. 'We were absolutely wild with you sometimes, you seemed so mad and contradictory!'
'Don't remind us of it,' said Harry. 'I can't bear thinking that if I'd only been with Guy, all this troubleof his would never have happened.'
'Oh well - it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good!' said George. 'The bad and the good havefitted together very well this time, and made a most exciting adventure!'
'Here's Carters Lane at last,' said Anne. 'What a long walk it seemed over the common. It will bemuch easier for you to ride that bike when you're on a proper road, Guy. It won't go bumping overheather clumps now.'
They went down the long lane and came into Kirrin at last, realizing that they were all very hungryindeed. 'It must be well past dinner-time,' said George, looking at her watch. 'Good gracious - it's aquarter to two! Would you believe it! I hope there's some dinner left over for us -Mother doesn't know we're coming.'
'We'll raid Joan's larder!' said Dick. 'She never minds so long as she's there to grumble at us while wedo it!'
They went in at the gate of Kirrin Cottage and up to the front door, which was open. George shouted.
'Mother! Where are you? We've come back!'
Nobody answered. George yelled again. 'Mother! We've come home!'
The door of the study opened and her father looked out, red in the face and frowning.
82
'George! How many times am I to tell you not to shout when I'm working? Oh, my goodness me,who are all these?'
'Hallo, Father!' said George, mildly. 'Surely you know Anne and Julian and Dick! Don't say you'veforgotten them already!'
'Of course not! But who are these?' and George's father pointed to the startled twins. 'They're as likeas peas. Where did they come from? I haven't seen them before, have I?'
'No, Father. They're just friends of ours,' said George. 'Where's Mother? We've just had an adventureand we want to tell her. Oh, and we want to ring the police - and I think we ought to get a doctor tosee to Guy's foot - and Father, look, Timmy's ear is healed!'
'Bless us all! There's never any peace when you are about, George,' said her father, groaning.
'Your mother's at the bottom of the garden, picking raspberries - or it might have been strawberries.'
'Oh no, Father - it's August, not June!' said George. 'You always...'
Julian thought he had better get his uncle safely back in his study before a row blew up between himand George. Uncle Quentin did not like being disturbed in his complicated work!
'Let's go and find Aunt Fanny,' he said, 'we can tell her everything out in the garden. Come on!'
'Wuff-wuff!' said Jet.
'Good gracious - that's not another dog, is it?' said George's father, scowling. 'How many times have Isaid that...'
'We won't disturb you any more, Uncle,' said Julian, hurriedly, seeing Guy's scared face. 'We'll goand find Aunt Fanny.'
They all went thankfully out in the garden, hearing the house echo to the slam of Uncle Quentin'sstudy door. George shouted.
'Mother! Where are you?'
'Shut up, George - we don't want to make your father leap out of the window after us!' said Dick.
'Ah - there's Aunt Fanny!'
His aunt was very surprised to see him and the others advancing on her. She went to greet them, abasket of raspberries on her arm.
'Well! I thought you wanted to stay away for longer than this!'
'We did - but an adventure descended on us!' said Dick. 'We'll tell you all about it in detail later on,Aunt Fanny.'
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'But just now we want two things - can we ring the police - or will you - and ask them to come here?'
said Julian, very grown-up all of a sudden. 'There's something that might be very important for themto know. And also do you think we should let a doctor see Guy's foot - he's sprained his ankle, Ithink?'
'Oh dear!' said Aunt Fanny, distressed to see the boy's swollen foot. 'Yes - he ought to have that seento properly. Who is he? Dear me - there's another of them! Aren't they alike?'
'Twins,' said George. 'I don't know how I shall be able to tell one from the other when Guy's bad footis better.'
'I'm going to ring the police,' said Julian, seeing that his aunt could now only think of Guy's swollenfoot. He went off indoors, and they heard him speaking on the telephone. He put it down and cameout again.
'The Inspector himself is coming,' said Julian. 'Shall I ring the doctor now, Aunt Fanny?'
'Oh yes. His number is 042,' said his aunt. 'How did you get such an ankle, Guy?'
'Mother, you don't seem at all interested in our adventure,' complained George.
'Oh, I am, dear,' said her mother. 'But you do have such a lot, you know. What have you been up tothis time?'
But before George could do more than begin, a black police car drew up at the front gate, and theinspector of police got out and marched up to the front door. He knocked extremely loudly on theknocker.
Which, of course, had the immediate result of bringing George's father hotfoot out of his study inanother rage! He flung open the front door.
'Hammering at the door like that! What's the matter? I've a good mind to report you to the police!
Oh - er - h'm - good afternoon, Inspector. Do come in. Are we expecting you?'
Smiling broadly, the Inspector came in. By this time Julian had come back in the house again, andgreeted him. His uncle went back into his study, rather red in the face, and actually closed the doorquietly!
'You wanted me to come along at once, because of something important?' said the Inspector.
'What is it?'
The others came into the room now, with Julian's aunt behind them. Julian nodded round at them.
'They're all in this, sir - except my aunt, of course. We've brought something we think may 84be important, sir. Quite a lot of people were looking for it - but we managed to get hold of it first!'
He put the brown bag on the table. The Inspector's eyes went to it at once. 'What is it? What's inside?
Stolen goods?'
'Yes, sir - blue-prints of some kind, I think. But I don't know what of, of course.'
'Open the bag, my boy! I'll examine them,' said the Inspector.
'I can't open it,' said Julian. 'It's locked - and there's no key!'
'Well - we'll soon manage that!' said the Inspector, and took out a small, strong-looking tool. Heforced the lock, and the bag opened. Everyone leaned forward eagerly, even Timmy. What was in thebag?
There was nothing there! Absolutely nothing! Julian groaned in bitter disappointment.
'No wonder it felt so light. It's empty after all. Would you believe it!'
19.空空如也
空空如也
朱利安很快就追上了其他人。“你在后面干什么呀？”乔治问，“朝下面的人骂了几句？”
“才不是呢！我希望他们在下面想挖多久就挖多久，最好挖上几个小时！”朱利安回答，“他们到了里面，很快就会发现坍塌并不严重，然后他们继续走，就会走进那个小房间。当他们发现皮包已经不翼而飞时，会是什么表情呢？我实在是猜不出来。”
“我真想亲眼看看呀！”迪克兴奋地说。
“可如果这样的话，盖伊要怎么办呢？”哈里担忧地问道，“他拖着那条伤腿，真的不能走太远了。”
“只要能走到我们放行李的荆豆丛，就没问题了。我有辆自行车放在那里，”乔治说，“我想，他应该可以单脚踩自行车吧？”
“哦！当然可以，那太容易了！”盖伊愉快地说，他可不想就这样走到科林庄园，那太糟糕了。可同时，他也不想掉队。
在哈里的搀扶下，他一瘸一拐地走着，哈里从没为他做过这么多事。杰特走在他俩旁边，能和这么多人在一起，它真是高兴极了。蒂米不时冲它低低地叫两声，让它更开心了。它觉得，大块头蒂米也很了不起。
六个人来到荆豆丛，发现他们的行李都好好地放在那儿。自行车也在那里，后座上绑着行李。乔治解开行李包，自己扛着，这样，盖伊就不用把所有重量都压在一只脚上了。一行人再次出发，让盖伊在前面骑着自行车。
“等我们回到科林庄园，把东西放下，就去找范妮婶婶打电话报警，顺便问问，她愿不愿意替我们收着这个皮包。”朱利安说，“我可不想直接把包交给警察局，我希望他们在咱们面前打开它。”
“我真希望这个包不是空的，”安妮说，“它实在是太轻了！”
“是啊，有可能！”朱利安说着，把手里的包摇来摇去，“我有些担心——那个保罗把平面图画得这么难懂，可能只是为了戏弄他那些朋友。让他们花这么多时间，找得这么辛苦，然后又把一个空包放在平面图上标注的地方。这很像一些骗子常玩的把戏呀。这样一来，他就能多争取点时间，把东西藏在更安全的地方了。”
“可是，他们都说他病了呀！”迪克说，“当然，也有可能他是在装病，真是个大大的谜团啊！”
“盖伊，你现在怎么样了呀？”安妮问道，众人都看向盖伊。他先是自己骑了一小段路，这会儿正在休息，等着小伙伴们赶上他，然后再用那只没受伤的脚，继续骑车向前。
“我挺好的，谢谢关心！”盖伊感激地说，“自行车真是个好东西，幸亏你把它骑来了。”
“你的脚看上去已经没那么肿了，”安妮说，“我想再过个一两天，你就可以正常行走了。哦，天哪！一想到从前，我们把你们这对双胞胎当成了一个人，还被弄得一头雾水，我就想笑。”
“我们一开始遇到你们其中一个，然后又撞见另一个，还以为你们是一个人呢！”乔治“咯咯”笑着说，“有时候，我们都快被你俩弄疯了，总觉得你们疯疯癫癫的，还老自相矛盾！”
“哦！别再提那件事了！”哈里说，“我不敢想象。要是我一直跟盖伊在一起，他就不会沾上这么多麻烦事了。”
“唔，这个嘛，人也不可能一辈子不做错事呀！”乔治安慰道，“这一次，也算‘塞翁失马，焉知非福’吧。这样的冒险，真的很刺激啊！”
“卡特斯路到了！”安妮说，“从公园走出去的路好远啊！盖伊，在平路上骑车一定会舒服很多的，不会像现在这样，到处都是石南丛。”
他们走过长长的路，最后回到了科林庄园。这时孩子们才意识到：真的好饿呀！
“一定到午餐时间了！”乔治看了看手表，说道，“天哪！还有15分钟就到两点了，你们敢相信吗！真希望家里能给咱们留点饭呀。
可是，妈妈又不知道我们会回来。”
“我们去偷袭乔安娜的厨房吧！”迪克说，“这么干，她虽然也会抱怨几句，但从来不会真的放在心上。”
几个人来到科林庄园的大门口，走进前门，发现门是开着的。
乔治大声喊道：“妈妈！你在哪儿呀？我们回来了！”
没有人回答。乔治又喊了一声：“妈妈！我们回家啦！”
这时，书房的门突然打开了，她的爸爸探出头来向外看，脸红红的，眉头皱得紧紧的。
“乔治，都告诉你多少次了？我工作的时候不要大喊大叫！哦！
我的天呀！这些是谁啊？”
“爸爸，您好啊！”乔治温柔地说，“您肯定认识安妮、迪克和朱利安吧！可别说您把他们都忘了。”
“当然认识了，可这两个是谁啊？”乔治的爸爸指着两个令他吓一跳的双胞胎，问道，“看起来跟豌豆似的。他们从哪儿来的？我以前没见过他们，对吧？”
“没见过，爸爸。他们俩是我的新朋友，”乔治回答，“妈妈去哪儿了啊？我们刚经历了一场冒险，正想跟她说说呢。哦，对了，我们想给警察打电话，还得赶紧找个医生，看看盖伊的脚。还有啊，爸爸，您看，蒂米的耳朵已经好多了！”
“我的天哪，只要有你在，家里就没个消停！”乔治的爸爸抱怨起来，“你妈妈在花园呢，可能在摘覆盆子，也可能在摘草莓。”
“哦，别这样啦，爸爸！现在是八月，可不是六月！”乔治嘟囔道，“您总是……”
朱利安觉得，在这对父女吵起来之前，还是先把叔叔送回书房比较好。昆廷叔叔在做复杂的工作时，最不喜欢被人打扰了。
“我们去找范妮婶婶吧，”他说，“去庄园把发生的一切都告诉她，走吧！”
“汪汪！”杰特欢快地叫了两声。
“天啊，又来了一只狗，是不是？”乔治的爸爸愁眉苦脸地说，“我跟你说过多少次了……”
“叔叔，我们不会再打扰您啦！”朱利安一看乔治沉下了脸，急忙说道，“这就去找范妮婶婶！”
听到书房的门重重关上发出的回响，孩子们一阵庆幸。几人来到花园，乔治又大喊起来：“妈妈！您在哪里啊？”
“小声点，乔治！我可不想你爸爸从窗户跳出来追我们！”迪克阻止道，“啊！范妮婶婶在那里！”
看见迪克和其他几个孩子向自己走来，范妮婶婶惊讶得不得了。她连忙迎上前，胳膊上还挂着一篮子新鲜的覆盆子。
“哎哟！我还以为，这次你们会在外面待更久呢。”
“我们也想啊！但无意间又有了一次奇遇。”迪克解释说，“范妮婶婶，我们等会儿就把细节全告诉您。”
“但现在我们有两件重要的事。首先要打电话报警，或者说，看能不能请警察过来一趟。”朱利安突然像个大人似的说，“有重要的事情必须要告诉他们。还有，得赶紧找个医生，来看看盖伊的伤脚。我觉得，他的脚是扭伤了。”
“哦，天呀！”范妮婶婶一边惊叫，一边上前查看男孩浮肿的脚。
“是啊，要好好看看才行。这是谁啊？哎哟，这里还有一个！他俩长得可真像啊，是不是？”
“他们是双胞胎。”乔治说，“等盖伊的脚一好，我也不知道，到时候能不能把他俩再区分开来了。”
“我这就去给警察打电话。”见范妮婶婶正紧张地检查盖伊浮肿的脚，朱利安说道，然后，他就进屋去了。不一会儿，孩子们听到了他打电话的声音。打完电话，他又走了出来。
“警察先生说会马上过来，”朱利安说，“咱们现在给医生打电话吧，范妮婶婶。”
“哦，当然可以，号码是042。”范妮婶婶说，“盖伊，你的脚是怎么受伤的呀？”
“哦，妈妈！这次奇遇中有什么好玩的事，您都不关心了吗？”乔治嚷道。
“我当然关心了，亲爱的。”她妈妈说，“但你自己也知道，你们经常遇到好玩的事情嘛。好吧，这一次，你们又到哪里去啦？”
乔治刚想开口讲下去，一辆黑色的警车就停在了大门前。一位警察走到大门口，把门敲得咚咚作响。
这 下， 乔 治 的 爸 爸 又 气 坏 了， 怒 气 冲 冲 地 从 书 房 跑 出来，“嘭”的一声打开前门。
“这么大声叫门，到底有什么事？我向来有个好习惯，我会报警的！呃……啊……下午好，警察先生，快请进！欢迎！欢迎！”
警察笑着走进来，这时，朱利安也回到了屋内，迎接警察的到来。昆廷叔叔讪讪地回了实验室，这一次，他的脸涨得通红，却轻轻关上了门。
“你们说，有重要的事情要告诉我，希望我马上过来，”警察说，“是什么事呀？”
其他孩子都走进了房间，范妮婶婶也跟在后面。朱利安朝众人点了点头，说道：“当时在场的所有人都在这儿，当然，除了我的婶婶。有样东西，我们觉得很重要，就把它带了回来。先生，很多人都在找这件东西，但被我们先拿到了。”
他说着，把皮包放在桌上，警察立刻就被吸引住了，说：“那是什么？里面有什么东西？是赃物吗？”
“是的，先生，好像是设计图什么的。但具体是什么东西的设计图，我就不知道了。”
“孩子们，快把包打开，让我好好检查检查！”警察急忙说。
“我们打不开，”朱利安说，“这个包上了锁，找不到钥匙。”
“那这个我来搞定，”警察说着，拿出一件小小的、看起来很厉害的工具，在锁上摆弄了几下，包一下子就打开了。每个人都急切地看过来，连蒂米也不例外。包里究竟有什么呢？
包里什么都没有，空空如也。朱利安发出了失望的号叫：“怪不得这么轻！原来真是空的！你们能相信眼前的一切吗！”
Chapter 20 THE ADVENTURE ENDS - AS IT BEGAN!
Chapter 20 THE ADVENTURE ENDS - AS IT BEGAN!
It was a moment of great disappointment for all the children. Although they had talked about thepossibility of the bag being empty, everyone had secretly felt certain that something exciting wouldbe inside.
The Inspector was astonished. He looked round sharply. 'Where did you get this bag? What made youthink it had stolen goods inside - and what kind of blue-prints were they?'
'Well, sir - it's rather a long story,' said Julian.
'I'm afraid you'll have to tell it to me,' said the Inspector, taking out his notebook. 'Now - how did thisall begin?'
'Well - it really began with Timmy hurting his ear and having to wear a cardboard collar,' saidGeorge.
The Inspector looked most surprised. He turned to Julian. 'You'd better tell it,' he said. 'I don't want towaste time on cardboard collars!'
George went red and put on a scowl. Julian grinned at her, and began the story, making it as clear andshort as he could.
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The Inspector became more and more interested. He laughed when Julian came to the weird noisesand lights.
'They certainly wanted to get rid of you,' he said. 'You were plucky to stay on. Go on - there'ssomething behind all this, that's certain!'
He jotted down the name of 'Paul', and 'Jess', the name of the woman. He noted that one man had adrawl. 'Any other clues to them?' he asked.
'Only this, sir,' said Julian and handed his drawing of the crepe-soled shoe to the Inspector. This wascarefully folded and put into the notebook too. 'Might be of use. Might not,' said the Inspector. 'Younever know!'
He listened intently to the tale of the underground passages, and picked up the bag again.
'I can't understand why it's empty,' he said. 'It isn't really like a crook deliberately to mislead hisfriends when they know quite well where he is and can get at him whenever they like.' He shook thebag hard. Then he began to examine it very very carefully.
Finally he took out a sharp knife and gently slit the lining at the bottom of the bag. He turned it back.
Something was there - under the lining! Something blue, folded very carefully. Something coveredwith thousands of minute figures, thousands of lines, thousands of queer little designs!
'Wheeeeeew!' whistled the Inspector. 'So the bag's not empty, after all! Now what is this? It's a blue-print of some project - but what?'
'My father would know!' said George, at once. 'He's a scientist, you know, Inspector - one of thecleverest in the world. Shall I get him?'
'Yes,' said the Inspector, laying out the blue-print on the table. 'Get him at once.'
George flew off and returned with her father, who didn't look very pleased.
'Good afternoon, sir, once more. Sorry to disturb you,' said the Inspector. 'But do you happen to knowwhether this document is of any importance?'
George's father took it up. He ran his eyes over it, and then gave a loud exclamation.
'Why - why - no, it's IMPOSSIBLE! Good heavens, it's - no, no, it can't be! Am I dreaming?'
Everyone gazed at him, surprised and anxious. What did he mean? What could it be, this blue-print?
'Er - it's important then, sir?' said the Inspector.
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'Important? IMPORTANT? My dear fellow, there are only two of these prints in existence - and atthe moment I have the second one, which I am checking very carefully indeed. Where did this comefrom? Why - I simply can't believe it! Sir James Lawton-Harrison has the other. There isn't a third!'
'But - but - there must be if you have one here and Sir James has the other!' said the Inspector.
'It's obvious there is a third!'
'You're wrong. It isn't obvious!' shouted George's father. 'What is obvious is that Sir James hasn't gothis! I'll ring him up - this very minute. Astounding! Most disturbing! Bless us all, what will happennext?'
The children did not dare to say a word. They were full of astonishment. To think that the blue-printwas so important - and that George's father actually had a pair to this one. What was its importance?
They heard George's father shouting into the telephone, evidently angry and disturbed. He slammed itdown and came back.
'Yes. Sir James' copy has been stolen - but it's been kept very hush-hush because of its importance.
Good heavens - they never even let me know! And to think I spilt a bottle of ink over mine yesterday- gross carelessness. Stolen! A thing like that - stolen out of his safe under his very nose. Now there'sonly one copy left!'
'Two, sir,' said the Inspector, tapping the copy on the table. 'You're so upset to hear that Sir James'
copy has gone that you've forgotten we have it here!'
'Bless us all! Thank goodness! Yes, I had forgotten for the moment!' said Uncle Quentin. 'My word, Ieven forgot to tell Sir James it was here.' He leapt up to go to the telephone again, but the Inspectorcaught his arm.
'No, sir. Don't telephone again. I think we should keep this as quiet as possible.'
'Father - what is this a blue-print of?' said George, voicing the thoughts of everyone there, theInspector included.
'This blue-print? I'm certainly not going to tell you!' said her father. 'It's too big a thing even to speakof to you children - or the Inspector either for that matter. It's one of the biggest secrets we have.
Here, give it to me.'
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The Inspector placed his big hand on it at once. 'No, sir. I think I must take it with me, and send asecret messenger to Sir James with it. It wouldn't do to have the only two copies in one place.
Why, your house might catch fire and both prints might go up in flames!'
'Take it, then, take it! We can't possibly risk such a thing!' said George's father. He glared round atthe children. 'I still don't understand how you came to possess it!' he said, looking suddenly amazed.
'Sit down, sir, won't you, and listen to their tale,' said the Inspector. 'They've done very well.
They haven't finished their story.'
Julian went on with it. The Inspector sat up straight when he heard where the three men were -down in the great pit below the Roman camp.
'You saw them go down into that pit?' he said. 'Watched them swing down on the rope? They may bethere now!' He glanced at his watch. 'No, they won't. They'll be gone.'
He groaned loudly. 'And to think we might easily have caught three clever rogues. They've slippedthrough our hands again!'
'They haven't!' said Julian, his voice rising exultantly. 'They're still there!'
'How do you know?' said the Inspector.
'Because I pulled up their rope and took it away - look, I've got it round me!' said Julian. 'They can'tget out without a rope - and they won't know how to escape any other way. They're still there -waiting for you, Inspector!'
The Inspector slapped the table so hard that everyone jumped and the two dogs barked.
'Good work!' he boomed. 'Magnificent! I must go at once and send some men out there. I'll let youknow what happens!'
And out he went at a run, the precious blue-print buttoned safely in his pocket. He leapt into thedriving-seat and the police-car roared away at top speed down the lane.
'Whew!' said Julian, flopping back into his chair. 'It's too exciting for words!'
Everyone felt the same, and began to talk at the tops of their voices. Poor Aunt Fanny couldn't makeherself heard. But when Joan came in and asked if anyone wanted anything to eat, they heard her atonce!
The doctor came to see Guy's foot, and re-bandaged it. 'Rest it for a day or two,' he said. 'It will soonbe all right.'
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'Well, you'll have to stay here with George and the others, Guy,' said George's mother. 'You can't goexcavating in that camp of yours again yet. Harry can stay too. So can Jet.'
The twins beamed. They liked this jolly family, and the adventurous life they seemed to lead. Itwould be fun to stay with them for a while. They thought it would be even more fun, when Joanarrived with a truly wonderful meal!
'Home-made veal-and-ham-pie! Stuffed tomatoes! And what a salad - what's in it, Joan?
Radishes, cucumber, carrot, beetroot, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, peas - Joan, you're a marvel!
What is the pudding?'
Soon they were all sitting down enjoying themselves, and talking over their adventure. Just as theywere finishing, the telephone bell rang. Julian went to answer it. He came back looking thrilled.
'That was the Inspector. They've got all three men! When they got to the pit, one of the men called upfor help - said some idiot of a boy or some hoaxer must have taken their rope away. So the police - allin plain-clothes, so that of course the three men suspected nothing - the police let down a rope, andup came the men one by one...'
'And were arrested as soon as they popped out of the hole, I suppose!' said George, delighted.
'Oh, I wish I'd been there! What a joke!'
'The Inspector's awfully pleased with us,' said Julian. 'And so is Sir James Lawton-Harrison too,apparently. We're to get a reward - very hush-hush, though. We mustn't say anything about it.
There's to be something for each of us.'
'And for Timmy too?' said George at once.
Julian looked round at Timmy. 'Well, I can see what old Timmy ought to ask for,' he said. 'A newcardboard collar. He's scratching his ear to bits!'
George screamed and rushed to bend over Timmy. She lifted a woebegone face. 'Yes! He's scratchedso hard he's made his ear bad again. Oh Timmy! You really are a fatheaded dog!
Mother! Mother! Timmy's messed up his ear again!'
Her mother looked into the room. 'Oh George, what a pity! I told you not to take off that collar till hisear was absolutely healed!'
'It's maddening!' said George. 'Now everyone will laugh at him again.'
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'Oh no they won't,' said Julian, and he smiled at George's scowling face. 'Cheer up - it's a verypeculiar thing, George - this adventure began with Timmy and a cardboard collar - and bless me if ithasn't ended with Timmy and a cardboard collar. Three cheers for old Timmy!'
Yes - three cheers for old Timmy! Get your ear well before the next adventure, Tim - you really can'twear a cardboard collar again!
THE END
20.有始有终
有始有终
一时间，孩子们都被失望的情绪所笼罩。即使讨论过“皮包是空的”这种可能性，但他们都从心里觉得，里面会有激动人心的东西。
警察也很惊讶。他严厉地扫了一眼几个孩子，问道：“你们是从哪里拿到这个包的？是什么让你们认为，里面有赃物，还是设计图之类的东西？”
“先生，这就说来话长了。”朱利安说。
“恐怕你们必须要告诉我了，”警察说着，拿出了笔记本，“现在说说吧，一切是怎么开始的？”
“这个嘛，最初是因为，蒂米弄伤了耳朵，不得不戴上一个硬纸板做的伊丽莎白圈。”乔治说。
警察错愕极了，他转头看向朱利安，“还是你来说吧，”他说，“我不想把时间浪费在伊丽莎白圈上。”
乔治涨红了脸，一副气呼呼的模样。朱利安朝她嘻嘻一笑，开始尽可能简洁明了地讲述整件事。
警察越听越感兴趣，当朱利安讲到诡异的光圈和声音时，他哈哈大笑。
“那些人真的很想摆脱你们呀！”他说，“你们竟然还敢继续待在那里，胆子可真够大的。继续说吧，毫无疑问，在这一系列事件的背后，肯定有原因的。”
他记下了几个名字：保罗、汤姆、还有杰斯——那个女人的名字，着重标注了那个说话有气无力的男人。“还有别的线索吗？”他问。
“只有这些了，先生。”朱利安拿出画下的脚印递给警察，后者接过去，郑重地夹在了笔记本里。“可能用得上，也可能用不上，”警察说，“谁知道呢？”
他用心听了进入地下通道那一段，接着又拿起包来。
“我也想不通，为什么皮包是空的，”他说，“看起来，也不像是保罗给那些人设下的骗局。因为他们都知道他在哪里，随时可以去找他。”说完，他又用力摇了摇皮包，开始仔细地检查起来。
最后，他掏出一把锋利的小刀，轻轻地把皮包底部的内衬划开，又把包从里到外翻开了。
里面果然有东西！就在内衬里，一张纸有些发蓝，叠得整整齐齐的，上面写着成千上万个很小的数字，画着成千上万道线条，成千上万个奇怪的设计。
“我的天！”警察惊呼道，“原来包不是空的！那这到底是什么呢？可能是某个项目的设计图，但是，是什么项目呢？”
“我爸爸可能知道，”乔治马上说，“警察先生，您也知道，他是个科学家，是世界上最聪明的人之一，我可以叫他来看看吗？”
“可以，”警察说着，把设计图放在了桌子上，“快去请他过来吧。”
乔治很快就带着她的爸爸回来了。昆廷叔叔看起来不太高兴。
“先生，下午好。很抱歉再次打扰到您。”警察说，“不过，或许您刚好知道，这东西是不是重要文件呢？”
昆廷叔叔拿起设计图扫了一眼，便发出一声惊叫：“这……这不可能！我的老天！这……这不会是……不可能！不可能！我不是在做梦吧？”
大家都惊讶地看着他，心中焦急不已——他在说什么呀？这份设计图，究竟是什么？
“呃……先生，那这么说，这份设计图确实很重要喽？”警察问。
“重不重要？当然重要了！岂止是重要！这份设计图世上只有两张，另一张就在我手里，这段时间我正在研究。这一张又是从哪里来的？为什么！我真是不敢相信，另一张应该在詹姆斯•劳顿•哈里森先生手上啊！世上不可能有第三张！”
“可是……可是……既然你有一张，詹姆斯先生有一张，”警察说，“那么很明显，第三张也可能存在啊。这不就是吗？”
“你错了，才不明显呢！”昆廷叔叔吼道，“最明显的是，詹姆斯先生那张肯定不在他手里了！我必须马上给他打电话，刻不容缓！
太惊人了！太令人不安了！上天保佑，接下来还会发生什么呀？”
孩子们一句话都不敢说，他们都惊呆了。这份设计图竟然如此重要，乔治的爸爸竟然也有一张，那么，它到底重要在哪儿呢？
众人听见昆廷叔叔对着电话大吼大叫，明显既生气又不安。过了一会儿，昆廷叔叔挂断电话走了回来。
“没错，詹姆斯先生那份被偷了！因为这份设计图太重要，所以他藏得非常非常隐秘。我的天，就连我都不知道藏在哪里！想象一下，要是我昨晚不小心，将墨水倒在了自己那张图上，那后果……竟然被偷了！这么重要的东西，在他眼皮子底下被偷走了！那么现在，就只剩我实验室的那张了，世上唯一的一张！”
“是两张，先生。”警察说着，敲了敲桌上那一份，“您一听说詹姆斯先生那张被偷，就太激动了。居然忘记它就在我们眼前了吗？”
“谢天谢地！上天保佑！我刚才还真的忘了。”昆廷叔叔说，“我是说，我都忘记告诉詹姆斯先生，他的图在这儿了！”说完，他又跳起来准备去打电话。但警察拽住了他的胳膊，劝阻道：“不行，先生，先别打电话。我想，这件事我们应该暂时保密。”
“爸爸，这个设计图是做什么的呀？”乔治问出了所有人的心声，包括警察在内。
“这份设计图，当然不能告诉你了！”昆廷叔叔说，“这么重要的机密，怎么可能告诉小孩子？警察也不行！那可是我们最重要的秘密！快，把它给我！”
警察立刻伸出手按住设计图，说：“不行，先生。我必须把它带走，再秘密派人告诉詹姆斯先生。千万不能把两份设计图放在同一个地方，万一你们家发生火灾，把两份都烧掉了，那可怎么办？”
“那就带走吧，快拿走！我们可不能冒这么大的风险！”乔治的爸爸说着，瞪了瞪眼前的几个孩子，“我始终没想明白，你们是怎么拿到它的。”他的眼中充满了好奇。
“先生，要不您先坐下来，听听孩子们的故事？”警察劝道，“他们做得太棒了！对了，后面还有一段没说完呢。”
于是，朱利安接着说起来。当警察听到三个男人来到古罗马军营，从大洞进入地下通道时，一下子挺直了身子。
“你看到他们下去了？”他问，“看见他们用绳子滑下去了？也许那些人现在还在那儿呢？”他扫了一眼手表，又摇头否认了，“不，应该不在了，他们很可能已经逃走了！”
警察叹息起来：“想想看，那三个聪明的贼，我们本来很容易就能抓到的。可是，他们竟然就这样，从我们的手心逃掉了！”
“他们不会逃走！”朱利安抬高嗓门，兴奋地说，“一定还在那儿！”
“你凭什么这么肯定？”警察又问。
“因为我拿走了他们的绳子，还带了回来。喏，就在我身上！”朱利安得意地说，“没有绳子，他们根本出不来。再说，他们也不知道别的出口。所以，那些人一定还在那儿等着您呢，先生！”
警察猛地拍了一下桌子，吓了所有人一大跳，两只狗也被惊得叫个不停。
“做得好！”警察激动地说，“棒极了！我必须马上带人过去！放心，我会把后面的事告诉你们的。”
说完，他便一溜小跑离开了。珍贵的设计图安静地躺在他的口袋里。他跳上警车的驾驶座，警车一路咆哮着消失在远处。
“呼！”朱利安“扑通”一声坐回椅子上，说，“太刺激了！简直无法用言语表达！”
其他人也是这么想的。接着，大家用最大的音量，七嘴八舌地讨论了起来。可怜的范妮婶婶！她说的话都没人听得见了。但当乔安娜走进来，问是否有人要吃东西时，孩子们立刻停止了讨论。
医生来看了盖伊的脚，给他重新包扎了一下。“休息一两天吧，”他说，“很快就会好了。”
“盖伊，你就住在这里，跟乔治他们待在一起吧。”范妮婶婶说，“现在可不能跑去古罗马军营挖东西。哈里也住下来，还有杰特。”
双胞胎兄弟微笑着答应了。他们喜欢这个欢乐的家庭，还有几个孩子的冒险经历。在这里住上几天一定很好玩。当乔安娜端着丰盛的饭菜走进来时，他俩觉得这个地方更迷人了。
“家里做的牛肉火腿派，加了番茄！还有沙拉，是什么菜的呀？
萝卜、黄瓜、胡萝卜、甜菜根、煮鸡蛋、番茄、豌豆！乔安娜，您太神奇了！布丁是什么做的呀？”
很快，几个人坐下来，一边享受美食，一边聊着这次的奇遇。
他们刚刚吃完，电话就响了。朱利安跑去接电话，回来时满脸喜悦。
“是警察打来的。他们抓到那三个人了！警察到洞口的时候，其中一个人正在大声呼救呢，说是有个傻小子，是个小骗子，拿走了他们的绳子。当时警察们都穿着便衣，所以那些人一点也没有起疑。警察们放下绳子，他们就一个一个爬了上来。”
“一从洞里出来，他们就被捕了，是吧？”乔治开心地说，“哈！
真希望能在现场亲眼看看，多好玩儿啊！”
“警察对我们的表现非常满意，”朱利安说，“詹姆斯•劳顿•哈里森先生也是。我们要得到嘉奖啦！不过，咱们要保持低调，不能让别人知道这件事是我们报的警。”
“也包括蒂米吗？”乔治立即问道。
朱利安打量了一下蒂米，“这个嘛，我知道蒂米会得到什么奖励，”他说，“一个新的伊丽莎白圈！它正在不停地抓耳朵呢！”
乔治迅速跑去检查蒂米的耳朵，愁眉苦脸地说：“没错，它抓得太用力，现在伤口又裂开了。哦，蒂米，你真是只傻狗！妈妈！妈妈！蒂米又把耳朵弄伤了！”
妈妈走进房间一看，说：“哦，乔治！太糟糕了！我不是说过吗？要等它的耳朵痊愈了，才能把伊丽莎白圈取下来！”
“这太令人抓狂了！”乔治说，“现在，所有人又要嘲笑它了。”
“哦不，这次不会啦！”朱利安看着乔治闷闷不乐的脸，忍不住笑了起来，“振作一点嘛，乔治，这是件多么特别的事啊。这次奇遇就是由蒂米的耳朵受伤、戴上伊丽莎白圈引起的，然后，又以蒂米戴上伊丽莎白圈结束。可真有意思！为我们的蒂米喝彩三声吧！”
“是啊！为蒂米喝彩吧！蒂米，在下次冒险开始之前，可要养好耳朵哦！可不能又套上个硬纸板的伊丽莎白圈了！”