Chapter 1 EASTER HOLIDAYS
Chapter 1 EASTER HOLIDAYS
'The nicest word in the English language is holidays!' said Dick, helping himself to a large spoonfulof marmalade. 'Pass the toast, Anne. Mother, do you feel down-hearted to have us all tearing aboutthe place again?'
'Of course not,' said his mother. 'The only thing that really worries me when holidays come, is Food -Food with a capital F. We never seem to have enough in the house when all three of you are back.
And by the way - does anyone know what has happened to the sausages that were in the larder?'
'Sausages - sausages - let me think!' said Julian, frowning. Anne gave a sudden giggle. She knewquite well what had happened.
'Well, Mother - you said we could get our own meal last night, as you were out,' said Julian. 'So wepoked about and decided on sausages.'
'Yes, but Julian - two whole pounds of sausages!' said his mother. 'I know Georgina came over tospend the evening - but even so...!’
'She brought Timmy,' said Anne. 'He rather likes sausages too, Mother.'
'Well, that's the last time I leave the larder door unlocked, when I go out!' said her mother. 'Fancycooking those lovely pork sausages for a dog - especially Timmy, with his enormous appetite!
Really, Anne! I meant to have them for our lunch today.'
'Well - we rather thought we'd go and spend the day at Kirrin, with George and Timmy,' said Dick.
'That's if you don't want us for anything, Mother.'
'I do want you,' said his mother. 'Mrs. Layman is coming to tea, and she said she wants to see youabout something.'
The three groaned, and Dick protested at once. 'Oh Mother - the first day of the holidays - and wehave to be in to tea! It's too bad - a glorious spring day like this too!'
'Oh - we'll be in to tea all right,' said Julian, giving Dick a sharp little kick under the table, as he sawhis mother's disappointed face. 'Mrs. Layman's a nice old thing - she was always giving us little treatswhen we were little.'
'And she never forgets our birthdays,' said Anne. 'Do you think we could ask George over too -with Timmy? George will be awfully disappointed if we aren't with her the first day of the hols.'
2'Yes, of course you can,' said her mother. 'Go and ring her up now, and arrange it. And don't forget toput our old Tibby-cat into the shed, with a saucer of milk. She's scared stiff of Timmy -he's so enormous. And please, all of you, TRY to look clean at tea-time.'
'I'll see to Dick and Anne,' said Julian, with a grin. 'I must remember to find their overalls!'
'I'm going to phone George now, this very minute,' said Anne, getting up from the table. 'Do youmind, Mother? I've finished - and I'd like to catch George before she takes Tim for a walk, or doessome shopping for Aunt Fanny.'
'Uncle Quentin will be glad to be rid of George even for a meal,' said Dick. 'He fell over her lacrossestick yesterday, and wanted to know why she left her fishing net about! George didn't know what hewas talking about!'
'Poor old Georgina,' said his mother. 'It's a pity that both she and her father have exactly the same hottempers. Her mother must find it difficult to keep the peace! Ah - here's Anne back again.
Did you get George on the phone, dear?'
'Yes. She's thrilled,' said Anne. 'She says it's just as well we're not going to spend the day with her,because Uncle Quentin has lost some papers he was working on, and he's turning the house upsidedown. George said she will probably be mad as a hatter by the time she arrives this afternoon! UncleQuentin even made Aunt Fanny turn out her knitting bag to see if the papers were there!'
'Dear old Quentin,' said her mother. 'Such a truly brilliant scientist - remembers every book he's everread - every paper he's ever written - and has the finest brain I know - and yet loses some valuablepaper or other almost every week!'
'He loses something else every day of the week too,' said Dick, with a grin. 'His temper! Poor oldGeorge - she's always in some sort of trouble!'
'Well, anyway, she's jolly glad to be coming over here!' said Anne. 'She's biking over, with Timmy.
She'll be here for lunch. Is that all right, Mother?'
'Of course!' said her mother. 'Now - seeing that you had today's dinner for last night's supper, you'dbetter do a little shopping for me. What shall we have?'
'SAUSAGES!' said everyone, at once.
'I should have thought you were quite literally fed up with sausages, after last night's feast,' said theirmother, laughing. 'All right - sausages. But Timmy can have a bone - a nice meaty bone. I am NOTgoing to buy any more sausages for him, that's quite certain.'
3'And shall we get some nice cakes for tea as Mrs. Layman is coming?' said Anne. 'Or are you goingto make some, Mother?'
'I'll make a few buns,' said her mother. 'And you can choose whatever else you like - so long as youdon't buy up the shop!'
The three went off shopping, cycling along the lane to the village. It was a truly lovely spring day.
The celandines were golden in the ditches, and daisies were scattered everywhere. Dick burst intosong as they went, and the cows in the nearby fields lifted their heads in surprise, as Dick's loud voiceswept round them.
Anne laughed. It was good to be with her brothers again. She missed them very much when she wasat school. And now - they would have almost a whole month together - with their cousin George too.
She was suddenly overwhelmed with joy, and lifted up her voice and joined Dick in his singing. Herbrothers looked at her with affection and amusement.
'Good old Anne,' said Dick. 'You're such a quiet little mouse, it's nice to hear you singing so loudly.'
'I am NOT a quiet little mouse!' said Anne, surprised and rather hurt. 'Whatever makes you say that?
You just wait - you may get a surprise one day!'
'Yes - we may!' said Julian. 'But I doubt it. A mouse can't suddenly turn into a tiger! Anyway, onetiger's enough. George is the tiger of our family - my word, she can put out her claws all right - androar - and ramp and rave!'
Everyone laughed at the picture of George as a tiger. Dick wobbled as he laughed and his front wheeltouched Anne's back wheel. She turned round fiercely.
'LOOK OUT, IDIOT! You nearly had me over! Can't you see where you're going? Be sensible, can'tyou?'
'Hey, Anne - whatever's the matter?' said Julian, amazed to hear his gentle little sister lashing out sosuddenly.
Anne laughed. 'It's all right. I was just being a tiger for a moment - putting out my claws! I thoughtDick and you might like to see them!'
'Well, well!' said Dick, riding beside her. 'I've never heard you yell like that before. Surprising -but quite pleasing! What about you showing old George your claws sometime when she gets out ofhand?'
4'Stop teasing,' said Anne. 'Here's the butcher's. For goodness sake go and get the sausages and besensible. I'll go and buy the cakes.'
The baker's shop was full of new-made buns and cakes, and smelt deliciously of home-made bread.
Anne enjoyed herself choosing a vast selection. 'After all,' she thought, 'there will be eight of us -counting Timmy - and if we're all hungry, cakes soon disappear.'
The boys were very pleased to see all the paper bags.
'Looks like a good tea today,' said Dick. 'I hope the old lady - what's her name now - Layman -who's coming to tea today, has a good appetite. I wonder what she's going to tell us about.'
'Did you buy a nice meaty bone for Timmy?' asked Anne. 'He'll like that for his tea.'
'We bought such a beauty that I'm pretty sure Mother will say it's good enough to make soup from,'
said Dick, with a grin. 'So I'll keep it in my saddlebag till he comes. Dear old Tim. He deserves ajolly good bone. Best dog I ever knew!'
'He's been on a lot of adventures with us,' said Anne, bicycling beside the boys, as the road wasempty. 'And he seemed to enjoy them all.'
'Yes. So did we!' said Dick. 'Well - who knows? An adventure may be lying in wait for us these holstoo! I seem to smell one in the air!'
'You don't!' said Anne. 'You're just making that up. I'd like a bit of peace after a hectic term at school.
I worked jolly hard this last term.'
'Well - you were top of your form, and captain of Games - so you deserve to have the kind of holidayyou like,' said Julian, proud of his young sister. 'And so you shall! Adventures are OUT!
Do you hear that, Dick? We keep absolutely clear of them. So that's that!'
'Is it, Ju?' said Anne, laughing. 'Well - we'll see!'
1.复活节假期
复活节假期
“我觉得‘假期’是英语里最最美好的单词了！”迪克吃了一大勺果酱说，“安妮，递一下烤面包。妈妈，我们几个又要在家里跑来跑去了，您会烦吗？”
“当然不会了。”妈妈说，“假期来临时，唯一让我焦虑的是准备食物。你们三个都回家后，我感觉家里的食物好像总是不够多。
哦，顺便问下，谁来说说食品柜里的香肠是怎么回事？”
“香肠，香肠……我想想！”朱利安皱着眉头说。安妮突然咯咯地笑了起来，她很清楚是怎么回事。
“好吧，妈妈。昨天晚上您说过，您不在家里，我们可以自己解决晚餐，”朱利安说，“所以我们找了一圈，最后决定吃香肠。”
“是的，朱利安，但那可是整整两磅香肠啊！”妈妈说，“我知道乔治也来过夜了。但是，尽管这样……”
“她带蒂米一起来的，”安妮说，“蒂米也很喜欢香肠，妈妈。”
“好吧，这会是我最后一次出门时不锁食品柜了！”妈妈说，“那些香肠对狗狗，尤其像蒂米这样的‘大胃王’来说，简直是人间美味。
安妮，我原打算把它们留作我们今天的午餐的！”
“好吧，妈妈，如果您不需要我们做什么的话，我们将会与乔治和蒂米在科林过一天。”迪克说。
“我需要你们，”妈妈说，“莱曼夫人要来家里喝下午茶，说有事情找你们。”
三个孩子唉声叹气，迪克马上抗议起来：“噢，妈妈，这是假期第一天，在这春光灿烂的日子参加下午茶，真是太可惜了！”
“好，我们参加下午茶吧，”看到妈妈失望的表情，朱利安从桌下轻轻踢了迪克一下，说道，“莱曼夫人是个很慈祥的老人。我们小时候，她总给我们一些好吃的。”
“她从不会忘记我们的生日。”安妮补充说，“您觉得我们可以请乔治一起来吗，还有蒂米？如果我们假期第一天就不跟她一起过的话，乔治一定会非常失望的。”
“可以，当然可以，”妈妈说，“去给她打电话吧，安排好。还有别忘了把我们的老猫蒂比放进小屋里，给它一碟牛奶。它被蒂米吓坏了，蒂米太凶了。还有你们所有人，下午茶时要注意保持整洁。”
“我会照料迪克和安妮的，”朱利安笑着说，“一定会记得找出他们的长罩衣。”
“我现在就去给乔治打电话，”安妮说着，从桌子边站起来，“妈妈，您介意我先离开吗？我吃饱了。我想在乔治带蒂米去散步，或帮范妮婶婶购物之前，联系到她。”
“昆廷叔叔会很高兴摆脱乔治的，哪怕只是一顿饭的时间。”迪克说，“他昨天被乔治的曲棍球棒绊倒了，还问乔治为什么把渔网乱扔！乔治根本不明白他在讲什么！”
“可怜的乔治，”他妈妈说，“真遗憾她和她爸爸的脾气都那么急，她妈妈一定总会感觉难得安宁！哦，安妮回来了。亲爱的，你联系到乔治了吗？”
“嗯，她兴奋极了。”安妮说，“她说正好今天我们也没法去科林庄园，因为昆廷叔叔丢了一些工作文件，把整个屋子翻了个底朝天。乔治说，等下午她到达我们家时，她自己可能早就已经疯了。
昆廷叔叔甚至让范妮婶婶把她的编织袋倒出来，看看文件有没有在里边！”“可怜的昆廷，”妈妈说，“他是那么优秀的科学家，能熟记读过的每一本书、写过的每一篇文章。他是我认识的人里面，头脑最好的，然而几乎每周都会丢失一些有用的文件或其他东西！”
“而且每天都会丢失一些别的东西。”迪克笑着说，“他那脾气！
可怜的好乔治，总是麻烦不断！”
“唉，无论如何，她非常高兴来我们家！”安妮说，“她正带着蒂米骑车过来。她来吃午餐，可以吗，妈妈？”
“当然可以啦！”妈妈说，“现在，由于你们把今天的午餐当昨天的晚餐吃掉了，你们最好去帮我买点东西。我们吃什么呢？”
“香肠！”大家异口同声地喊道。
“我以为昨晚的大餐后，你们吃够香肠了呢。”妈妈笑着说，“好吧，那就香肠了。蒂米可以吃一根骨头，而且是肉骨头，我再也不会给它买香肠了，绝对不会。”
“还有，莱曼夫人来用下午茶，我们可以买点蛋糕吗？”安妮说，“还是您打算做一些呢，妈妈？”
“我准备做些小圆面包。”妈妈说，“你们可以买些其他的东西，只要别把整个商店买来就好！”
三个孩子去购物了，他们沿着去村里的路，骑着自行车。真是个美丽的春天啊！沟渠里的白屈菜在阳光照耀下金灿灿的，还有漫山遍野的雏菊开得正盛。迪克边骑边唱起了歌，他的歌声惊得附近田地里的牛抬起了头。
安妮大笑着。又跟哥哥们一起了，真好！上学时她可想念他们了。而现在，他们，还有堂姐乔治，可以一起度过差不多一个月时间。她忽然欣喜若狂，扯着嗓子跟着迪克一起唱了起来。她的哥哥们饶有兴致地看着她。
“我们的好安妮，”迪克说，“你这只安静的小老鼠，能听到你大声歌唱真是太好了。”
“我不是一只安静的小老鼠！”安妮说，她很吃惊，但更伤心，“你为什么要这么说？等着吧，总有一天我会给你个惊喜！”
“好，我们等着！”朱利安说，“但是我怀疑，一只老鼠怎么会一下变成老虎！不管怎样，一山不容二虎，乔治就是我们家的老虎。
我敢说，她会伸出她的爪子，张牙舞爪地咆哮！”
大家想象着乔治成为老虎的画面，大笑起来。迪克笑得摇摇晃晃，自行车前轮碰到了安妮的后轮。她猛地回过头来。
“小心点，你差点把我撞翻了！看不到路吗？清醒点行吗！”
“嘿，安妮，怎么了？”朱利安说。他非常惊讶，一向温和的小妹妹怎么突然发飙了。
安妮笑了起来：“没事。我只是刚刚当了一会儿老虎，伸出了爪子！我以为你和迪克会喜欢！”
“好，好！”迪克跟她并肩骑着车说，“我从没见过你像刚才那样叫喊，让人很惊讶，但是很惊喜！乔治失控时，你也伸出爪子给她看可以吗？”
“不要闹了，”安妮说，“到肉店了。看在老天爷的分上，你们去买香肠吧，我去买蛋糕。”
烘焙店里，全都是新烤的小圆面包和蛋糕，空气里弥漫着自制面包的香味。安妮很高兴能有这么多选择，“尽管这样，”她想，“我们有八个人，包括蒂米，如果都饿了，蛋糕也很快就会吃完的。”
安妮买完蛋糕后，男孩们看到这些装得满满的纸袋，高兴极了。
“看来今天的下午茶会很丰盛，”迪克说，“我希望那位老夫人，叫什么名字来着？莱曼夫人，来用下午茶的那位，她会喜欢。不知道她会告诉我们什么事情呢。”
“你们给蒂米买肉骨头了吗？”安妮问，“它很期待今天的肉骨头下午茶。”
“我们买了一块很好的肉骨头，我保证妈妈都会说好的，都可以用来做肉汤了。”迪克笑着说，“肉骨头放在我的挎包里，就等它了。亲爱的蒂米，是我见过的最好的狗了，它理应吃一块好的肉骨头。”
“它陪我们经历过好多次探险了，”路上很安静，安妮一边与男孩们并肩骑着自行车，一边说，“而且看起来它很喜欢那些探险。”
“对。我们也喜欢！”迪克说，“唉，谁知道呢？或许这个假期也有一个探险等着我们呢！我好像预感到了！”
“不可能！”安妮说，“你瞎编的罢了。这学期太忙了，现在我喜欢安静点。毕竟最后这一个学期，我太用功了。”
“好吧，你学习第一，又是比赛队长，所以你应该以你喜欢的方式度过这个假期。”朱利安说，他为小妹妹感到骄傲，“你也是！不要探险！迪克，听到了吗？我们绝不探险，就那么定了！”
“是吗，朱利安？”安妮大笑着说，“好，我们走着瞧！”
Chapter 2 A VISITOR TO TEA
Chapter 2 A VISITOR TO TEA
George and Timmy were waiting for Julian, Dick and Anne, when they arrived home. Timmy wasstanding in the road, ears pricked, long tail waving. He went quite mad when he saw their bicyclesrounding the corner, and galloped towards them at top speed, barking madly, much to the horror of abaker's boy with a large basket.
5The boy disappeared into the nearest garden at top speed, yelling 'Mad dog, mad dog!' Timmy torepast, and forced the three to dismount, for they were afraid of knocking him over.
'Dear Timmy!' said Anne, patting the excited dog. 'Do put your tongue in - I'm sure it will fall outsome day!'
Timmy ran to each of them in turn, woofing in delight, licking everyone, and altogether behaving asif he hadn't seen them for a year!
'Now that's enough, old boy,' said Dick, pushing him away, and trying to mount his bicycle oncemore. 'After all, we did see you yesterday. Where's George?'
George had heard Timmy barking, and had now run out into the road too. The three cycled up to her,and she grinned happily at them.
'Hallo! You've been shopping, I see. Shut up barking, Timmy, you talk too much. Sorry you couldn'tcome over to Kirrin Cottage - but I'm jolly glad you asked me to come to you - my father still hasn'tfound the papers he's lost, and honestly our place is like a mad-house -cupboards being turned out - even the kitchen store-cupboard! and I left poor Mother up in the loft,looking there - though why Father should think they might be there, I don't know!'
'Poor old George - I can just see your father tearing his hair, and shouting - and all the time he'sprobably put the papers into the waste-paper basket by mistake!' said Dick, with a chuckle.
'Gracious - we never thought of that!' said George. 'I'd better phone Mother at once, and tell her tolook. Bright idea of yours, Dick.'
'Well, you go and phone, and we'll put our bikes away,' said Julian. 'Take your nose away from thatbag of sausages, Timmy. You're in disgrace over sausages, let me tell you. You're suspected of eatingtoo many last night!'
'He did eat rather a lot,' said George. 'I took my eye off him, and he wolfed quite a few. I say, who'sthis Mrs. Layman who's coming to tea? Have we got to stay in and have tea with her? I hoped wemight be going off for a picnic this afternoon.'
'Nothing doing, old thing,' said Dick, 'Mrs. Layman is apparently coming to talk to us aboutsomething. So we have to be in - with clean hands, nice manners, and everything. So behaveyourself, George!'
George gave him a friendly punch. 'That's unfair,' said Dick. 'You know I can't punch you back.
My word, you should have seen Anne this morning, George - yelled at me like a tiger howling, andshowed her teeth, and...'
6'Don't be an idiot, Dick,' said Anne. 'He called me a mouse, George - he said we'd one tiger - you- and that was enough in the family. So I went for him - put out my claws for a moment, and gavehim such a surprise. I rather liked it!'
'Good old Anne!' said George, amused. 'But you're not really cut out to be a tiger, and rage and roar,you know.'
'I could be, if I had to,' said Anne, obstinately. 'One of these days I'll surprise you all. You just wait!'
'All right. We will,' said Julian, putting his arm round his sister. 'Come on, now - we'd better getindoors before Timmy gets some of the cakes out of the bags. Stop licking that bag, Tim - you'llmake a hole in it.'
'He can smell the cherry buns inside,' said Anne. 'Shall I give him one?'
'NO!' said Julian. 'Cherry buns are wasted on him, you know that. Don't you remember how he chewsthe bun part and spits out the cherries?'
'Woof,' said Timmy, exactly as if he agreed. He went to sniff at the bag with his bone inside.
'That's your dinner, Tim,' said Anne. 'Plenty of meat on it, too. Look there's Mother at the window,beckoning. I expect she wants the sausages. NO, Timmy - the sausages are NOT for you. Get down!
Good gracious, I never in my life knew such a hungry dog. Anybody would think you starved him,George.'
'Well, they'd think wrong, then,' said George. 'Timmy, come to heel.'
Timmy came, still looking round longingly at the various bags that the others were now taking fromtheir saddle-bags.
They all went indoors, and deposited the goods on the kitchen table. The cook opened the bags andlooked inside, keeping a sharp eye on Timmy.
'Better take that dog of yours out of my kitchen,' she said. 'Funny how sausages always disappearwhen he's around. Get down, now - take your paws off my clean table!'
Timmy trotted out of the kitchen. He thought it was a pity that cooks didn't like him. He liked themvery much indeed - they always smelt so deliciously of cooking, and there were always so manytitbits around which he longed for, but was seldom offered. Ah well - he'd trot into the kitchen againwhen Cookie had gone upstairs for something! He might perhaps find a few bits and pieces on thefloor then!
7'Hallo, Georgina dear!' said her aunt, coming into the kitchen, Timmy following her in delight.
'Timmy, go out of the kitchen. I don't trust you within a mile of sausages. Go on - shoo!'
Timmy 'shooed'. He liked Anne's mother, but knew that when she said 'Shoo!' she meant it. He laydown on a rug in the living-room, with a heavy sigh, wondering how long it would be before he hadthat lovely meaty bone. He put his head on his paws, and kept his ears pricked for George. Hethought it most unfair that George shouldn't be shooed out of the kitchen too.
'Now for goodness sake, keep out of my way while I cook the lunch,' said Cook, to the childrenmilling round her kitchen. 'And shut the door, please. I don't want that great hungry dog sniffinground me all the time, making out he's starving, when he's as fat as butter!'
'He's NOT!' said George, indignantly. 'Timmy has never been fat in his life. He's not that kind of dog.
He's never greedy!'
'Well, he must be the first dog ever born that wasn't greedy,' said Cookie. 'Can't trust any of them!
There was that pug-dog of Mrs. Lane's - crunched up lumps of sugar whenever it could reach a sugar-bowl - and that fat poodle next door - came and knocked over the cream that the milkman left outsidethe back door - deliberated knocked it over, mark you - and then licked up every drop. Ha - hismistress tried to make out he didn't like cream - but you should have seen his nose - covered in creamup to his eyes!'
Timmy looked in at the kitchen door, his nose in the air, for all the world as if he were deeplyoffended at Cookie's remarks. Julian laughed. 'You've wounded his pride, Cookie!' he said.
'I'll wound him somewhere else, too, if he comes sniffing round me when I'm cooking,' said Cookie.
That made George give one of her scowls, but the others couldn't help laughing!
The morning went very pleasantly. The five went down to the beach, and walked round the highcliffs, enjoying the stiff breeze that blew in their faces. Timmy raced after every seagull that dared tosit on the smooth sand, annoyed that each one rose up lazily on great wings, as soon as he almostreached it.
They were all hungry for their dinner, and not one single morsel was left when they had finished!
Cookie had made a tremendous steamed pudding, with lashings of treacle, which was, as usual, ahuge success.
'Wish I had a tongue like Timmy's and could lick up the lovely treacle left on the bottom of the dish,'
said George. 'Such a waste!'
8'You certainly won't be able to eat any tea, I'm sure of that!' said her aunt. But, of course, she waswrong. When tea time came, they all felt quite ready for it, and were most impatient when Mrs.
Layman was late!
The tea looked lovely, laid on a big table, over a white lace cloth. The children sat and looked at itlongingly. When would Mrs. Layman arrive?
'I begin to feel I'm not going to like Mrs. Layman,' said George, at last. 'I can't bear looking at thosecream cakes when I'm hungry.'
The front door bell rang. Hurrah! Then in came a cheerful, smiling old lady, nodding to everyone,very pleased to see such a nice little party waiting for her.
'This is Mrs. Layman, children,' said Julian's mother. 'Sit down, Mrs. Layman. We're delighted tohave you.'
'Well, I've come to ask the children something,' said Mrs. Layman. 'But we'll have tea first, and thenI'll say what I've come to say. My, my - what a wonderful tea! I'm glad I feel hungry!'
Everyone else was hungry too, and soon the bread and butter, the sandwiches, the buns, the cakes andeverything else disappeared. Timmy sat quietly by George, who slipped him a titbit now and again,when no one was looking. Mrs. Layman chatted away. She was a most interesting person, and thechildren liked her very much.
'Well now,' she said, when tea was finished, 'I'm sure you must be wanting to know why I asked tocome to tea today. I wanted to ask your mother, Julian, if there was any chance of you three -and this other boy here - what's his name - George? would you like to help me out of a difficulty.'
Nobody pointed out that George was a girl, not a boy, and that George was short for Georgina.
George, as usual, was pleased to be taken for a boy. They all looked at Mrs. Layman, listening to herwith interest.
'It's like this,' she said. 'I've a dear little house up on the hills, overlooking the harbour - and I've agrandson staying with me there - Wilfrid. Well, I have to go to look after a cousin of mine, who's ill -and Wilfrid can't bear to be left alone. I just wondered if your mother would allow you children toshare the little house with Wilfrid - and well - keep him company. He feels a bit scary being on hisown. I've a good woman there, who comes in to cook and clean - but poor Wilfrid's really scared ofbeing in such a lonely place, high up on the hill.'
'You mean that lovely little house with the wonderful view?' said Julian's mother.
9'Yes. It's rather primitive in some ways - no water laid on, only just a well to use - and no electricityor gas - just candles, or an oil lamp. Maybe it sounds too old-fashioned for words - but honestly theview makes up for it! Perhaps the children would like to come over and see it, before they decide?'
Mrs. Layman looked earnestly round at everyone, and nobody knew quite what to say.
'Well - we'll certainly come and see it,' said Julian's mother. 'And if the children feel like it, well, theycan stay there. They do like being on their own, of course.'
'Yes,' said Julian. 'We'll come and see it, Mrs. Layman. Mother's going to be busy with a bazaar soon- she'll be glad to get us out of the way - and, of course, we do like being on our own!'
Mrs. Layman looked extremely pleased. 'Tomorrow, then?' she said. 'About ten o'clock. You'll lovethe view. Wonderful, wonderful! You can see right over the great harbour, and for miles around.
Well - I must be going now. I'll tell Wilfrid you children may be keeping him company.
He's such a nice lad - so helpful. You'll love him.'
Julian had his doubts about the nice helpful Wilfrid. He even wondered if Mrs. Layman wanted to getaway from Wilfrid, and leave him to himself! No - that was too silly. Anyway, they'd soon see whatthe place was like, tomorrow.
'It would be fun to be on our own again,' said George, when Mrs. Layman had gone. 'I don't expectthis Wilfrid would be any bother. He's probably just a silly kid, scared of being left alone- though apparently there is a woman there! Well - we'll go tomorrow! Maybe the view will make upfor dear Wilfrid!'
2.下午茶客人
下午茶客人
到家时，乔治和蒂米正在等着朱利安、迪克和安妮。蒂米站在路上，竖着耳朵，摇着长尾巴。它一看见他们的自行车拐过来，就疯了一般地朝他们冲了过去，狂吠着。
面包师的孩子提着大篮子路过，看到这一幕时，吓得以最快的速度躲到最近的花园里，喊着：“疯狗，疯狗！”蒂米狂奔过去，他们三个立马下车，因为他们怕撞到蒂米。
“亲爱的蒂米！”安妮拍着兴奋的蒂米说，“快收起你的舌头，我看总有一天它会掉出来的！”
蒂米绕着他们转圈，欢快地“汪汪”叫着，舔着他们，好像一年没见过他们似的！
“好了，老伙计，”迪克一边推开它，准备再骑上自行车，一边说，“毕竟我们昨天才见过你。乔治呢？”
乔治听见蒂米的叫声，也跑到路上来了，看见三个孩子骑车向她奔来，她高兴地笑了。
“嘿！我知道你们去购物了。别叫了，蒂米，你太闹了。很遗憾你们不能去科林庄园了，但是我很高兴你们邀请我来你们家。我爸爸还没找到丢失的文件，说实话，我家现在像个疯人院一样，橱柜都被翻出来了，甚至包括厨房的储物柜！我留下可怜的妈妈自己在阁楼里，看着一切，可是爸爸为什么觉得文件会在那里呢，我真搞不懂！”
“可怜的乔治，我能想象得到你爸爸揪着自己的头发怒吼的样子，然后错手把文件扔进废纸篓！”迪克轻轻笑着说。
“天哪！我们没想到这一点！”乔治说，“我得马上给妈妈打电话，让她找找看。这真是个好思路，迪克！”
“好，你去打电话，我们去放自行车。”朱利安说，“蒂米，不要闻香肠袋子了。我告诉你，你不能吃香肠了，我怀疑你昨晚吃了太多香肠！”
“它的确吃了很多。”乔治说，“我一不看着它，它就偷吃。哎，来用下午茶的莱曼夫人是谁？我们得待在屋里陪她一起用下午茶吗？我还想着下午可以出去野餐呢。”
“不行，老伙计，”迪克说，“莱曼夫人明显是有事情找我们谈。
我们必须待在家里，保持整洁、有礼貌，等等，所以小心点，乔治！”
乔治友好地给了他一拳。“不公平，”迪克说，“你知道我不能还击你。哎呀，乔治，你应该看看安妮今天早上的样子。她像老虎一样咆哮着，张牙……”
“别傻了，迪克。”安妮说，“乔治，他先叫我老鼠。还说我们家里有一只老虎就足够了，就是你。所以我反驳他，露了一下‘爪子’，惊到他了。我很开心！”
“好安妮！”乔治高兴地说，“但是你真的不像老虎，狂怒、咆哮与你绝缘，你懂的。”
“我可以，如果必要的话，”安妮固执地说，“这几天，我会让你们吃惊的，等着吧！”
“好，我们会的。”朱利安揽过她妹妹说，“现在，来吧，我们最好赶在蒂米从袋子里叼出蛋糕之前进屋。蒂米，别舔那个袋子，你会把它弄破的。”
“它闻到里面的樱桃小面包了。”安妮说，“我可以给它一个吗？”
“不行！”朱利安说，“给它吃樱桃小面包太浪费了，你忘了它之前吃掉面包，吐掉樱桃了吗？”
“汪！”蒂米叫了一声，它好像也想起来了，于是转身去嗅装着肉骨头的袋子了。
“那才是你的食物，蒂米，”安妮说，“骨头上带着很多肉。看，妈妈在窗户那儿招手呢，估计她想要香肠。不，蒂米，香肠不是给你的。下来！天哪，我从没见过这么饥饿的狗狗。乔治，别人或许会以为你整天饿着它呢。”
“哎，那他们可想错了。”乔治说，“蒂米，过来。”
蒂米过来了，仍然满怀期待地盯着大家手中拎着的袋子。
他们进屋后，把东西放在厨房的桌子上。厨师打开袋子，看了看里面，盯着蒂米。
“最好把你们的狗从我的厨房带出去，”她说，“真奇怪，为什么它在周围时，香肠总会丢。下来，快点！别把桌子弄脏了！”
蒂米小跑着从厨房出来了。它觉得真遗憾，厨师们竟然不喜欢它。可是，蒂米却很喜欢他们，他们身上总是带着食物的香味，而且周围还有很多它想吃的东西，虽然它很少能吃到。啊，太好了，厨师上楼取东西时，它又溜进了厨房！它或许能从地板上找到零星吃的。
“嘿，亲爱的乔治！”安妮的妈妈进了厨房和乔治打招呼，蒂米高兴地跟着她，“蒂米，出去。你离香肠那么近，我不放心。出去！
嘘，嘘！”
蒂米被“嘘”着赶出来了。它喜欢安妮的妈妈，但它明白她说“嘘”时是严肃的。它躺在起居室的一块毯子上，深深地叹了口气，想着，得等多久才能吃到那块肉骨头啊。蒂米把脑袋搁在爪子上，竖着耳朵等待乔治，觉得乔治没被赶出来，真是太不公平了。
“看在老天的分上，我做午餐时，你们别挡着了。”厨师对在厨房里乱转的孩子们说，“请关上门，我不想让那只饥饿的大狗一直围着我嗅，证明它很饿，虽然它已经胖成一团黄油了。”
“它没有！”乔治愤愤地说，“蒂米才没胖成那样，它不是那种狗，它一点也不贪婪！”
“好吧，它一定是世界上第一只生来就不贪婪的狗。”厨师说，“不过不能相信任何一只狗！莱恩夫人那只狮子狗，只要够到糖罐，就咬碎糖块，还有隔壁那只胖贵宾犬，送奶工把奶油放在门外，它跑去给打翻了，注意，是故意打翻的，然后舔得一点不剩。
哈，它的女主人还说它不喜欢奶油。但是你应该看看它的鼻子，奶油都快蹭到眼睛上了！”
蒂米从门外往厨房里看，显出一副傲慢的样子，仿佛厨师的话彻底激怒了它。朱利安大笑起来，说：“厨师，您伤到它的自尊了！”
“我做饭时，它要是再来围着我嗅，我还会伤到它别的地方。”厨师说。这话把乔治气得脸色阴沉，可其他人却忍不住大笑起来。
上午就这样愉快地过去了。小伙伴们来到海边，围着大悬崖走着，享受着迎面吹来的海风。蒂米追着每一只敢落在平坦沙滩上的海鸥，令它烦恼的是，每当它快够到海鸥时，它们都会慵懒地扇着大翅膀飞走。
一番玩乐过后，他们都饿了，在午餐时把食物吃得丁点不剩！
厨师做了一个大大的蒸糕，像平常一样，有糖浆的诱惑，总是很成功。
“真希望我有和蒂米一样的舌头，那样就可以把盘子里所有美味的残渣都舔干净了，”乔治说，“真可惜！”
“那你肯定吃不动下午茶了。”安妮的妈妈说。但是，她错了。
下午茶时间，他们都准备好了，而莱曼夫人却迟到了，他们都等得不耐烦了。
大大的桌子上，铺着白色的蕾丝桌布，茶点放在上面，非常精美。孩子们满怀期待地看着它们，莱曼夫人什么时候到啊？
“我感觉我开始有点不喜欢莱曼夫人了，”最后，乔治说，“饿的时候，看着那些奶油蛋糕太难受了。”
正门的门铃响了。万岁！接着进来了一位笑意盈盈的老夫人，她点头向所有人致意，非常高兴有这么一个精美的小派对等着她。
“孩子们，这是莱曼夫人。”朱利安的妈妈说，“请坐，莱曼夫人，欢迎您。”
“好，我想来问孩子们一点事情。”莱曼夫人说，“我们先喝茶，然后我再说事情。多美味的下午茶啊！我都饿了！”
大家早都饿了。很快，面包、黄油、三明治、小圆面包、蛋糕等所有的食物都被吃完了。蒂米安静地坐在乔治身边，乔治会趁没人注意时，不时地塞些食物给它。莱曼夫人在闲谈，她是个很有趣的人，孩子们都很喜欢她。
“好，现在，”下午茶结束时，她说，“我猜你们一定想知道我今天为什么要来喝下午茶。朱利安，我想问问你妈妈，你们这三个孩子，还有这个男孩，是叫乔治吗？有没有可能帮我解决个难题。”
没人指明乔治是个女孩，不是男孩，乔治是乔治娜的简称。乔治一如往常，特别喜欢别人把她当作男孩子。他们都兴致勃勃地看着莱曼夫人。
“是这样的，”她说，“我有一栋小房子在山上，可以俯瞰港口。
我的孙子，威尔弗里德和我住在那里。可是，我堂姐生病了，我得去照顾她，而威尔弗里德不能自己待着。我想问问你们的妈妈，能不能同意你们去跟威尔弗里德一起住，陪着他，因为他有点怕自己一个人住。我有个很好的女佣在那里，她可以做饭和打扫卫生。但是可怜的威尔弗里德，他真的害怕自己孤单地住在山上。”
“您是说那座风景优美的小房子？”朱利安的妈妈问。
“是的。那里的生活很原始，没有自来水，只有一口井可以用，没有电或燃气，只能用蜡烛或者油灯。可能听起来太古老了，但是说实话，那里的美景可以弥补这些不足。或许孩子们在决定之前，先上去看看？”莱曼夫人真诚地看了一圈，等着大家的意见。
“好的，我们一定会去看看。”朱利安的妈妈说，“如果孩子们喜欢，那他们就可以住在那里，他们也喜欢自己待着。”
“好的，”朱利安说，“莱曼夫人，我们会去看看的。妈妈很快要忙于集市了，如果我们不妨碍她，她会很高兴的。还有，我们的确喜欢自己待着！”
莱曼夫人看上去非常高兴。“那就明天怎么样？”她说，“十点左右。你们会喜欢那里的风景的，优美，太优美了！你们正好可以俯瞰方圆好几公里的大港口。好的，我得走了。我会告诉威尔弗里德你们几个可能会去陪他。他是个友好的小伙子，非常乐于助人，你们会喜欢他的。”
朱利安对那个友好、乐于助人的威尔弗里德有些怀疑。他甚至猜想是不是莱曼夫人想离开威尔弗里德，让他自己待着！不，那样想也太傻了。无论如何，明天他们就会去那个地方看看了。
“我们又可以自己待着了，这会很有趣的。”莱曼夫人离开后，乔治说，“我希望威尔弗里德不太烦人。他可能只是个害怕孤单的傻孩子，虽然那里还有一个女佣！好，明天我们就去！或许那里的美景会弥补亲爱的威尔弗里德的不足！”
Chapter 3 THE COTTAGE ON THE HILL - AND WILFRID
Chapter 3 THE COTTAGE ON THE HILL - AND WILFRID
Next day the children prepared to go and see the cottage belonging to Mrs. Layman. 'You comingtoo, Mother?' asked Julian. 'We'd like your advice!'
'Well no, dear,' said his mother. 'I've rather a lot to do - there's a meeting on at the Village Hall, and Ipromised to go to it.'
'You're full of good works, Mother,' said Julian, giving her a hug. 'All right, we'll go by ourselves. Idaresay we shall know at once whether we'd like to stay in the cottage - or not. Also, 10we MUST know what this Wilfrid is like! It's a quarter to ten, and George is already here, withTimmy. I'll call the others and we'll get our bikes.'
Soon the four were on their bicycles, with Timmy, as usual, running alongside, his long tongue out,his eyes bright and happy. This was Timmy's idea of perfect happiness - to be with the four childrenall day long!
They went along a road that ran on the top of a hill. They swung round a corner - and there, spreadfar below them, was a great sea-vista that included a wonderful harbour, filled with big and littleships. The sea was as blue as the Mediterranean, quite breathtaking. Anne jumped off her bicycle atonce.
'I must just feast my eyes on all this before I go a yard further!' she said. 'What a panorama!
What miles of sea and sky!'
She put her bicycle against a gate and then climbed over and stood by herself, gazing down at theview. Dick joined her.
Then suddenly a voice shouted loudly 'FORE! FORE!' A small white thing came whizzing throughthe air and landed just by Anne's foot. She jumped in surprise.
'It's a golf-ball,' said Dick. 'No, don't pick it up. Whoever's playing with it, has to come and hit it fromexactly where it fell. Good thing you weren't hit, Anne. I didn't realize that this gate led on to a golf-course!'
'We ought to have a walk over it,' said Anne. 'Just look at those gorse bushes over there, absolutelyflaming with yellow blossom - and all the tiny flowers springing up everywhere -speedwell and coltsfoot and daisies and celandines - beautiful. And oh - what a view!'
'Yes - and if Mrs. Layman's cottage has a view anything like this, I'd certainly like to stay there!'
said Dick. 'Think of getting out of bed in the morning and seeing this enormous view out of thewindow - the harbour - the sea beyond - the hills all round - the great spread of sky...'
'You ought to be a poet, Dick!' said Anne, in surprise. The golfers came up at that moment, and thechildren stood aside and watched one of them address the ball, and then strike it easily and strongly.
The ball soared through the air, and landed far away on a smooth green fairway.
'Good shot!' said the man's partner, and the two sauntered off together.
'Funny game, really,' said Anne. 'Just hitting a ball all round the course.'
'Wish I had some clubs!' said Dick. 'I'm sure I could hit some smashing shots!'
11
'Well, if that cottage is anywhere near the golf-course, perhaps you could pay to have a lesson,'
said Anne. 'I bet you could hit a ball as far as that man!'
The others were now yelling for them to come back, so they went to fetch their bicycles. Soon theywere all riding along the road again. 'We have to look for a small white gate, with ' Hill Cottage'
painted on it,' said George. 'On the hillside facing the sea.'
'There it is!' cried Anne. 'We'll pile our bicycles together against the hedge, and go in at the gate.'
They left their bicycles in a heap and went through the gate. Not far to their left stood a funny oldcottage, its back to them, its front looking down the steep hill that ran towards the great harbour andthe sea beyond.
'It's like a cottage out of an old fairy-tale,' said Anne. 'Funny little chimneys - rather crooked walls - athatched roof, all uneven - and what tiny windows!'
They walked down a little winding path that led to the cottage. They soon came to a well, and leanedover it to see the water deep down. 'So that's the water we'd have to drink!' said Anne, wrinkling upher nose. 'And we'd have to let down the bucket by winding this handle - and down it would go onthe rope! Do you suppose the water is pure?'
'Well, seeing that people must have drunk it for years on end - the ones living in that cottage, anyway- I should imagine it's all right!' said Julian. 'Come on - let's find the front door of the cottage - if ithas one!'
It had one wooden door, hung rather crooked, with an old brass knocker. It faced down the hill, andwas flanked on each side by small windows. Two other small windows were above. Julian looked atthem. The bedrooms would be very small, he thought - would there really be room for them all?
He knocked at the door. Nobody came to open it. He knocked again, and then looked for a bell, butthere wasn't one.
'See if the door is unlocked,' said Anne. So Julian turned the handle - and at once the door gave underhis hand! It opened straight into a room that looked like a kitchen-living-room.
Julian gave a shout. 'Anyone at home?'
There was no answer. 'Well - as this is obviously the cottage we were meant to see, we'd better go in,'
said Julian and in they all went.
It was old, very old. The carved wooden furniture was old too. Ancient oil lamps stood on two tablesin the room, and in a recess there was an oil stove with a saucepan on top. A narrow, 12crooked stairway made of wood curved up to the floor above. Julian went up, and found himself in along, darkish room, its roof thatched with reed and held up by black beams.
'This place must be hundreds of years old!' he called down to the others. 'I don't think it's big enoughfor us four and the others too - the cook and that boy called Wilfrid.'
Just as he finished calling down the stairs, the front door was flung open and someone came in.
'What are you doing here?' he shouted. 'This is my cottage!'
Julian went quickly down the stairs, and there, facing them all, stood a boy of about ten, a scowl onhis brown face.
'Er - are you Wilfrid, by any chance?' asked Dick, politely.
'Yes, I am. And who are you? And where's my aunt? She'll soon chuck you out!' said the boy.
'Is your aunt Mrs. Layman?' asked Julian. 'If so, she asked us to come and see her cottage, and decideif we'd like to keep you company. She said she had to go away and look after a sick friend.'
'Well, I don't want you!' said the boy. 'So clear off. I'm all right here alone. My aunt's a nuisance,always fussing round.'
'I thought there was a cook too,' said Julian. 'Where is she?'
'She only comes in the morning, and I sent her off,' said Wilfrid. 'She left me some food. I want to bealone. I don't want you. So clear off.'
'Don't be a fathead, Wilfrid,' said Julian. 'You can't live all alone here. You're just a kid.'
'I shan't be living all alone. I've plenty of friends,' said Wilfrid, defiantly.
'You CAN'T have plenty of friends here in this lonely place, with only the hills and sky around you,'
said Dick.
'Well, I have!' said Wilfrid. 'And here's one - so look out!' And, to the horror of the two girls, he puthis hand into his pocket, and brought out a snake!
Anne screamed, and tried to hide behind Julian. Wilfrid saw her fright and came towards her, holdingthe snake by its middle, so that it swayed to and fro, its bright little eyes gleaming.
'Don't be scared, Anne,' said Julian. 'It's only a harmless grass-snake. Put the creature back into yourpocket, Wilfrid, and don't play the fool. If that snake is the only friend you have, you'll be prettylonely here by yourself!'
'I've plenty of friends, I tell you!' shouted Wilfrid, stuffing the snake back into his pocket. 'I'll hit youif you don't believe me.'
13
'Oh no, you won't,' said Dick. 'Just show us your other friends. If they're kids like you, it's just toobad!'
'Kids? I don't make friends with kids!' said Wilfrid, scornfully. 'I'll show you I'm speaking the truth.
Come out here on the hillside, and see some of my other friends.'
They all trooped out of the little cottage, on to the hillside, amazed at this fierce, strange boy.
When they were in the open, they saw that he had eyes as bright blue as the speedwell in the grass,and hair almost as yellow as the celandines.
'Sit down and keep quiet,' he ordered. 'Over there, by that bush. And don't move a finger. I'll soonmake you believe in my friends! How dare you come here, doubting my word!'
They all sat down obediently beside the gorse-bush, puzzled and rather amused. The boy sat downtoo, and drew something out of his pocket. What was it? George tried to see, but it was half-hidden inhis right hand.
He put it to his mouth, and began to whistle. It was a soft, weird whistle that grew loud and then diedaway again. There was no tune, no melody, just a kind of beautiful dirge that pulled at the heart. Sad,thought Anne, such a sad little tune - if you could call it a tune!
Something stirred a little way down the hill - and then, to everyone's astonishment, an animalappeared - a hare! Its great ears stood upright, its big eyes stared straight at the boy with the curiouslittle pipe. Then the hare lolloped right up to Wilfrid - and began to dance! Soon another came, butthis one only watched. The first one then seemed to go mad, and leapt about wildly, utterly unafraid.
The tune changed a little - and a rabbit appeared! Then another and another. One came to Wilfrid'sfeet and sniffed at them, its whiskers quivering. Then it lay down against the boy's foot.
A bird flew down - a beautiful magpie! It stood nearby, watching the hare, fascinated. It took nonotice of the children at all. They all held their breath, amazed and delighted.
And then Timmy gave a little growl, deep down in his throat. He didn't really mean to, but he justcouldn't help it! At once the hares, the rabbits and the magpie fled, the magpie squawking in fright.
Wilfrid faced round at once, his eyes blazing. He lifted his hand to strike Timmy - but George caughthis fist at once.
'Let go!' yelled Wilfrid. 'That dog scared my friends! I'll get a stick and whip him. He's the worst dogin the world, he's...'
14
And then something strange happened. Timmy came gently over to Wilfrid, lay down, and put hishead on the angry boy's knee, looking up at him lovingly. The boy, his hand still raised to strike,lowered it, and fondled Timmy's head, making a curious crooning noise.
'Timmy! Come here!' ordered George, amazed and angry. To think that her dog, her very own dog,should go to a boy who had been about to strike him!
Timmy stood up, gave Wilfrid a lick, and went to George.
The boy watched him, and then spoke to them all. 'You can come and stay in my cottage,' he said, 'ifyou'll bring that dog too. There aren't many dogs like him - he's a wonderful dog. I'd like him for oneof my friends.'
Then, without another word, Wilfrid sprang up and ran away down the hill, leaving four mostastonished people - and a dog who whined dismally because the boy had gone. Well, well, Timmy -there must indeed be something about that boy, if you stand looking after him as if you had lost oneof your very best friends!
3.初来乍到
初来乍到
第二天孩子们准备去看莱曼夫人的小屋。“妈妈，您也去吗？”朱利安问，“我们想听您的建议！”
“哦，我不去，亲爱的。”妈妈说，“我有很多事情要做，村里会议室要开会，我答应过要参加的。”
“妈妈，您总有干不完的活儿。”朱利安拥抱着妈妈说，“没事，我们自己去，我敢说我们会马上知道想不想住在那个小屋。另外，我们必须弄明白威尔弗里德是个什么样的人！九点四十五了，乔治已经带着蒂米来了。我喊其他人一起骑车去。”
很快四个人骑上了自行车，蒂米像往常一样跟着他们跑，它伸着长长的舌头，眼睛里闪烁着快乐的光芒。这就是蒂米理解的幸福——整天都与这四个孩子待在一起！
他们沿着通往山顶的路骑上去。拐弯处，在他们下方是一片广阔的海景，包括那个优美的港口，停满了大大小小的船只。海水像地中海一样蔚蓝，令人叹为观止。安妮立刻跳下了车。“向前走之前，我要先在这里饱览美景！”她说，“多么壮阔的美景！真是海阔天空啊！”
她把自行车靠在一扇门上，然后爬上去站着，俯瞰美景。迪克也过来了。
忽然一个人大喊着：“躲开！躲开！”一个白色的小东西“嗖”的一下落到了安妮脚边，吓了她一跳。
“是高尔夫球。”迪克说，“不，不要捡。谁打的，谁就要自己来捡。安妮，还好没伤到你。我竟没注意，这里是个高尔夫球场的门！”
“我们应该过去走走，”安妮说，“快看那些荆豆，黄色的花朵金灿灿的，还有漫山遍野的小花，美丽的虎尾草、款冬、雏菊和白屈菜。噢！真是美不胜收啊！”
“是啊，如果莱曼夫人的小屋那里能有这样的美景，我一定会住下！”迪克说，“想想早上起床，看着窗外如此美丽的景色，港口、海岸、层峦叠翠，还有广阔无垠的天空……”
“你应该去当个诗人，迪克。”安妮惊讶地说。这时，打高尔夫球的人过来了，孩子们都退到一边，看着其中一个人调整了一下球，然后熟练地用力把球打出去。高尔夫球在空中划出了一道弧线，然后完美地落在远处的绿色球道上。
“好球！”那个人的搭档说着，两人悠闲地走开了。“真好玩，”安妮说，“就在场地到处打着一个球。”
“多希望我也有一些高尔夫球杆啊！”迪克说，“保证我会扣球！”
“好了，如果小屋离高尔夫球场很近，或许你可以交钱去学学。”安妮说，“我敢说你一定能跟那个人打得一样远！”
很快他们又上路了。“我们得找一个白色的小门，写着‘山顶小屋’，”乔治说，“在面向大海的山坡上。”
“在那里！”安妮喊道，“我们把车子靠在篱笆边上，一起进去。”
小伙伴们把自行车放在一起，然后穿过门。在离他们不远的左边，有一座奇怪的古老小屋背对着他们，小屋前面是峭壁，峭壁下是港口和海岸。
“像童话故事里的小屋，”安妮说，“可爱的小烟囱，歪歪扭扭的墙，凹凸不平的茅草屋顶，还有小小的窗户！”
他们沿着伸向小屋的蜿蜒小路向下走去，很快就来到一口井边，他们弯下腰去看深深的井水。“这就是我们要喝的水！”安妮皱起鼻子说，“我们得转动这个把手，把水桶放下去，用绳子拉着！你们觉得这水干净吗？”
“呃，鉴于住在小屋里的人已经喝了好多年，不管怎样，我觉得应该没问题！”朱利安说，“走吧，我们找找小屋的正门，如果有的话！”
小屋有个木门，歪歪扭扭地挂着，门上有个古老的铜门环。面朝山下，小屋两侧分别有扇小窗户，上下并排着。朱利安看着这小屋，他想：“卧室应该很小吧。真的有足够他们所有人住的房间吗？”
朱利安敲了敲门。没人开门。他又敲了敲，然后想找门铃，没找到。
“看看门有没有锁。”安妮说。朱利安转了一下把手，门一下就开了！里面像一间连着厨房的起居室。
朱利安喊道：“有人在吗？”
没有人应答。“好吧，显然这就是我们要找的小屋，我们进去吧。”朱利安说。
小屋很古老，很古老，雕花的家具也很古老。两个桌子上放着古老的油灯，壁龛有个古老的煤油炉，上面架着炖锅。一个歪歪扭扭的狭窄木梯弯弯地通到楼上。朱利安走上去，发现上面是一个长长的、黑漆漆的房间，屋顶是用芦苇搭成的，由漆黑的房梁撑着。
“这房子肯定得有一百年了！”他对着下面的人喊道，“我觉得不够我们四个还有其他人——厨师和那个威尔弗里德住的。”
他话音刚落，门猛地开了，闯进来一个人。
“你们在这里干什么？”他喊道，“这是我的小屋！”
朱利安迅速下楼，正对着他们，站着一个十来岁的小男孩，褐色的脸上，怒气冲冲。
“呃，或许你就是威尔弗里德？”迪克礼貌地问。
“是的，可你们是谁？我奶奶呢？我要她马上赶你们走！”男孩说。
“你奶奶是莱曼夫人吗？”朱利安问，“如果是的话，是她让我们来看看小屋，然后决定要不要住下来陪你。她说她得离开这里，去照看一个生病的亲戚。”
“很好，我不需要你们！”男孩说，“走开！我自己待着很好。我奶奶太烦人了，总是小题大做！”
“我以为还有个厨师，”朱利安说，“她在哪儿？”
“她只在早上来，我让她走了。”威尔弗里德说，“她给我留了些食物，我想自己待着，不需要你们陪。走开！”
“别傻了，威尔弗里德，”朱利安说，“你自己在这里待不了的，你只是个孩子。”
“我不会一直自己待着的，我有很多朋友！”威尔弗里德轻蔑地说。
“在这个孤零零的地方，你不可能有很多朋友的，你周围只有大山和天空。”迪克说。
“哼，我就是有！”威尔弗里德说，“这里就有一个，看！”令两个女孩惊恐的是，他把手伸进口袋，取出了一条蛇！
安妮尖叫起来，躲到朱利安身后。威尔弗里德看出了她的恐惧，朝她走了过来，空拳轻握着蛇，让它一前一后地摆动着，它的小眼睛闪闪发光。
“别怕，安妮，”朱利安说，“它只是一条无害的小草蛇。威尔弗里德，把它装回去，别犯傻。如果蛇是你唯一的朋友，那你自己在这里真孤单！”
“我告诉你，我有很多朋友！”威尔弗里德把蛇塞进口袋，喊道，“你再不信我，我就揍你。”
“哦，不，算了。”迪克说，“再给我们看看你其他的朋友吧，如果他们都是像你这样的小孩子的话，就太糟糕了！”
“孩子？我从来不跟小孩子交朋友！”威尔弗里德轻蔑地说，“我会证明我说的都是实话，到峭壁边去，让你们见见我其他的朋友们。”
他们都从小屋出来，来到了峭壁边，随后被这个疯狂奇怪的小男孩的样貌震惊了。来到外面，他们发现他的眼睛像草丛里的虎尾草一样碧蓝明亮，头发像白屈菜一样金黄。
“坐下，安静点。”他命令道，“坐那里，灌木边上，别动。我会马上让你们相信我的朋友很多！你们竟然真敢来这里，还质疑我的话！”
他们都顺从地在荆豆丛边坐下，疑惑而又惊奇。那个男孩也坐了下来，从口袋里取出了一样东西。会是什么呢？乔治想看，但是被男孩藏在右手里。
他把右手放在嘴边吹起来，那是一种轻柔而奇怪的声音，变大然后又消失。没有曲调，没有旋律，像是一种优美的挽歌，动人心弦。“好哀伤，”安妮想，“真是哀伤的曲调，如果可以称之为曲调的话。”
突然，有个东西在山上跃动，沿路而下。然后，令大家吃惊的是，出现了一只动物，是一只野兔！它竖着耳朵，大大的眼睛直直地盯着拿着奇怪笛子的男孩，然后蹦蹦跳跳地朝他跑去，还跳起了舞。很快又来了一只，但这一只只是静静地看着。第一只却像疯了一般，毫无畏惧地跳跃着。
曲调稍微一转，又一只兔子来了！接着，来了一只又一只。一只兔子来到威尔弗里德脚边，嗅了嗅，胡须颤动着。然后，躺在了威尔弗里德脚边。
一只鸟儿落了下来，是只美丽的喜鹊！它站在一边，看着野兔，眼神专注，根本没有注意到孩子们。孩子们屏住呼吸，惊奇又兴奋。
这时蒂米从喉咙深处发出一声低吼，它不是故意的，只是没能控制住自己！野兔和喜鹊瞬间逃跑了，喜鹊惊恐地叫着。
威尔弗里德立刻转身，怒目圆睁。他抬手要打蒂米，乔治马上抓住了他的拳头。
“松手！”威尔弗里德喊道，“这只狗吓到了我的朋友们！我要找个棍子抽它。它是世界上最坏的狗，它是……”
就在这时，奇怪的事情发生了。蒂米乖乖地朝威尔弗里德走去，躺下，脑袋枕着这个愤怒男孩的膝盖，温柔地望着他。男孩仍然扬着手作势要打，接着还是放下了，抚弄着蒂米的脑袋，发出一声低吟。
“蒂米！过来！”乔治惊讶而生气地命令道。试想下，她的狗，她自己的狗，竟然会去找一个要打它的男孩！
蒂米站起来，舔了威尔弗里德一下，然后来到了乔治身边。
男孩看着它，然后与大家说话。“你们可以来住我的小屋，”他说，“前提是如果你们带那只狗一起的话。像它这样优秀的狗不多，我希望它能成为我的朋友。”
然后，威尔弗里德没再说什么，直接站起来朝山下跑去，撇下四个惊讶的孩子和一只因他离去而沮丧呜咽的狗。那个男孩一定有什么魔力，如果你盯着他看，会感觉他就像是久违的好朋友一样！
Chapter 4 SETTLING IN
Chapter 4 SETTLING IN
The Five stared after Wilfrid in silence. Timmy wagged his tail and whined. He wanted the boy tocome back.
'Well, thank you, Timmy, old thing,' said Anne, patting the big dog on the head. 'We certainlywouldn't have had this lovely little cottage, with its incredible view, if you hadn't made friends withWilfrid. What a funny boy he is!'
'Jolly queer, I think!' said George, still amazed at the way that Timmy had gone to Wilfrid, when theboy had been about to strike him. 'I'm not sure that I like him!'
'Don't be an ass, George,' said Dick, who had been very much impressed by the boy's handling of thehares, the rabbits and the magpie. 'That boy must have a wonderful love for animals. They wouldnever come to him as they did, if they didn't trust him absolutely. Anyone who loves animals as hedoes must be pretty decent.'
'I bet I could make them come to me if I had that pipe,' said George, making up her mind to borrow itif she could.
15
Anne went back into the cottage. She was delighted with it. 'It must be very very old,' she thought. 'Itstands dreaming here all day long, full of memories of the people who have lived here and loved it.
And how they must all have loved this view - miles and miles of heather, great stretches of sea - andthe biggest, highest, widest sky I've ever seen. It's a happy place. Even the clouds seem happy -they're scurrying along, so white against the blue!'
She explored the cottage thoroughly. She decided that the room above, under the thatch, should befor the three boys. There were two mattresses - one small, one larger. 'The little one for Wilfrid - thebig one for Dick and Julian,' she thought. 'And I and George can sleep down in the living-room, withTim on guard. I wonder if there are any rugs we could sleep on. Ah - wait a bit- this couch is a pull-out bed - just right for us two girls! Good!'
Anne enjoyed herself thoroughly. This was the kind of problem she liked - fixing up this and that forthe others! She found a little larder, facing north. It had a few tins in it, and a jug of milk, slightlysour. It also had two loaves of extremely stale bread, and a tin of rather hard cakes.
'Mrs. Layman doesn't seem to be a very good housekeeper for herself and Wilfrid,' thought Anne,seriously. 'We'll have to go down to the village and put in a stock of decent food. I might get a smallham - the boys would like that. Goodness - this is going to be fun!'
Julian came to the door to see what she was doing. When he saw her happy, serious face, hechuckled. 'Acting 'mother' to us, as usual?' he said. 'Deciding who's going to sleep where, and whichof us is to do the shopping, and which the washing-up? Dear old Anne - what should we do withoutyou when we go off on our own?'
'I love it,' said Anne, happily. 'Julian, we need another rug or two, and a pillow, and some food.
And...'
'Well, we'll have to go back home and collect a few clothes and other things,' said Julian. 'We canshop on the way back, and get whatever we want. I wonder if that woman that Mrs. Layman spokeabout will be coming in to help?'
'Well - Wilfrid said he sent her off,' said Anne. 'And I think perhaps as the cottage is so small, itmight be better if we managed it ourselves. I think I could do a bit of cooking on that oil-stove in thecorner - and anyway we can pretty well live on cold stuff, you know - ham and salad and potted meatand fruit. It would be easy enough for any of us to pop down to the village on our bikes, to fetchanything we needed.'
'Listen!' said Julian, cocking his head to one side. 'Is that somebody calling us?'
16
Yes - it was. When Julian went outside, he saw Mrs. Layman at the gate that led on to the hillsidewhere the cottage stood. He went over to her.
'We LOVE the cottage!' he said. 'And if it's all right, we'd like to move in today. We can easily pophome and bring back anything we want. It's a glorious old place, isn't it - and the view must be thefinest anywhere!'
'Well, that harbour is the second biggest stretch of water in the whole world,' said Mrs. Layman.
'The only stretch that is any bigger, is Sydney Harbour - so you have something to feast your eyes on,Julian!'
'My word, yes,' said Julian. 'It's amazing - and so very blue! I only wish I could paint - but I can't.
At least - not very well!'
'What about Wilfrid?' said Mrs. Layman, anxiously. 'Is he behaving himself? He's - well - he's rathera difficult boy at times. And he can be very rude. He hasn't any brothers to rub off his awkwardcorners, you see.'
'Oh, don't you worry about Wilfrid!' said Julian, cheerfully. 'He'll have to toe the line, and do as he'stold. We all do our bit, when we're away together. He's a wonder with animals, isn't he?'
'Well - yes, I suppose he is!' said Mrs. Layman. 'Though I can't say I like pet snakes, or pet beetles,and owls that come and hoot down the chimney at night to find out if Wilfrid will go out and hootback to them!'
Julian laughed. 'We shan't mind that,' he said. 'And he's managed to get over what might have beenour biggest difficulty - he has made friends with our dog, Timmy. In fact, he informed us that ifTimmy stayed, we could all stay - but only if Timmy stayed!'
Mrs. Layman laughed. 'That's so like Wilfrid,' she said. 'He's an odd boy. Don't stand any nonsensefrom him!'
'We shan't,' said Julian, cheerfully. 'I'm surprised he wants to stay on with us, actually. I should havethought he would rather go home, than be with a lot of strangers.'
'He can't go home,' said Mrs. Layman. 'His sister has measles, and his mother doesn't want Wilfrid tocatch it. So you'll have to put up with him, I fear.'
'And he'll have to put up with us!' said Julian. 'Thanks very much for letting us have the cottage, Mrs.
Layman. We'll take great care of everything.'
'I know you will,' said the old lady. 'Well, goodbye, Julian. Have a good time. I'll get back to my carnow. Give Wilfrid my love. I hope he doesn't fill the cottage with animals of all kinds!'
17
'We shan't mind if he does!' said Julian, and waited politely until Mrs. Layman had disappeared, andhe could hear the noise of a car starting up.
He went back to the cottage and stood outside, looking down at the amazing view. The harbour wasfull of boats, big and little. A steamer went busily along, making for a great seaside town far away onthe other side.
Anne came to join Julian. 'Glorious, isn't it?' she said. 'We're so very high up here that it seems as ifwe can see half the world at our feet. Is that an island in the middle of the harbour, Ju?'
'Yes - and a well-wooded one too!' said Julian. 'I wonder what it's called - and who lives there. I can'tsee a single house there, can you?'
Dick called to Anne. 'Anne! George and I are going to fetch our bikes and ride down to the village.
Give us your shopping list, will you? Julian, is there anything special you want us to pack for you athome, and bring back, besides your night-things and a change of clothes?'
'Yes - don't go off yet!' called Julian, hurrying into the cottage. 'I've made a list somewhere. I think I'dbetter go with you. There will be food and other things to bring back - unless Mother would bringeverything up by car this afternoon.'
'Yes - that's a good idea,' said Dick. 'We'll go to Kirrin Cottage first and get George's things - andthen home to get ours. I'll leave all the shopping with Mother, and all our luggage, so that she can popup here in the car with it. She'll love the view!'
'I'll stay behind and tidy up the cottage, and find out how the stove works,' said Anne, happily.
'I'll have everything neat and tidy by the time Mother comes this afternoon, Dick. Oh, here's Julianwith the list. Why don't you go off on your bike with George and Dick, Julian? I'll be quite happyhere, messing about.'
'Yes, I'm going to,' said Julian, putting his list into his pocket. 'Look after yourself, Anne! We'll takeTimmy with us, to give him a run.'
Off went the three, Timmy loping behind, very glad of the run. Anne waited till they were out ofsight, then went happily back to the cottage. She was almost there when she heard someone callingher. She turned and saw a fresh-faced woman waving.
'I'm Sally!' she called. 'Do you want any help with the cooking and cleaning? Wilfrid told me not tocome any more, but if you want me, I will.'
'Oh, I think we can manage, Sally,' said Anne. 'There's so many of us now, we can do all the jobs.
Did you sleep here?'
18
'Oh no, miss!' said Sally, coming up. 'I just came in to help, and then went back home. You tell me ifyou want me any time, and I'll gladly come. Where's that monkey of a Wilfrid? He spoke to me veryrudely this morning, the young varmint. I'll tell his grandmother of him - not that that's much good!
He just laughs at her! Don't you stand any nonsense from him!'
'I won't,' said Anne, smiling. 'Where do you live, in case we do want you?'
'Just the other side of the road, in the small wood there,' said Sally. 'You'll see my tiny cottage whenyou go by the wood on your bikes.'
She disappeared up the hill and across the road there. Anne went back happily to her household tasks.
She cleaned out the little larder, and then found a pail and went to the well. She hung the pail on thehook at the end of the rope, and then worked the old handle that let the pail down to the water,swinging on the rope. Splash! It was soon full, and Anne wound it up again. The water looked crystalclear, and was as cold as ice - but all the same Anne wondered if she ought to boil it!
Someone came quietly behind her - and jumped at her with a loud howl! Anne dropped the pail ofwater, and gave a scream. Then she saw it was Wilfrid, dancing round her, grinning.
'Idiot!' she said. 'Now you just go and get me some more water.'
'Where's that big dog?' demanded Wilfrid, looking all round. 'I can't see him. You can't any of youstay here unless you have that dog. I like him. He's a wonderful dog.'
'He's gone down to the village with the others,' said Anne. 'Now will you please pick up that pail andget more water?'
'No, I won't,' said Wilfrid. 'I'm not your servant! Get it yourself!'
'Very well, I will. But I'll tell George, who owns Timmy, how rude you are - and you may be quitesure that Timmy won't be friends with you,' said Anne, picking up the pail.
'I'll get the water, I'll get the water!' shouted Wilfrid, and snatched the pail. 'Don't you dare to tellGeorge or Timmy tales of me. Don't you dare!'
And off he went to the well and filled the pail. Well! What a time they were all going to have withsuch a very peculiar boy! Anne didn't like him at all!
4.阿修牌摩托车
定居小屋
侦探团的小伙伴们望着远去的威尔弗里德，陷入了沉默。蒂米摇着尾巴，呜咽着，它想要男孩回来。
“噢，谢谢你，老朋友！”安妮拍拍这只大狗的脑袋说，“如果不是你成为威尔弗里德的朋友，我们就没机会住这座风景绝妙的可爱小屋了。多么有趣的男孩啊！”
“真奇怪，我觉得！”乔治说，她仍然觉得，威尔弗里德要揍蒂米时，蒂米反而靠近他，这太不可思议了，“我不确定是否喜欢他！”
“别傻了，乔治。”迪克说，男孩召集野兔和喜鹊的方式深深地吸引了他，“那个男孩一定特别爱动物们，如果动物们不信任他的话，绝对不会那样靠近他的。那么热爱动物的人，一定超级正派。”
“我敢保证如果我有那个笛子，也会把动物们引来。”乔治说，她决定有机会就借笛子来用用。
安妮回到了小屋里，她很喜欢这个小屋。“这小屋肯定很古老，”她想，“它一直沉睡在这里，那些曾经住在这里，热爱它的人们一定在这里留下了很多回忆。他们一定都深爱这里的景色吧！绵延的石南花，辽阔的大海，还有我此生所见的最高远辽阔的天空。
这是个令人快乐的地方，连云朵都看上去那么快乐，飘游在蔚蓝的天空中，是那么的洁白无瑕！”
她在小屋里探索着，决定把楼上有芦苇屋顶的房间留给三个男孩。小屋里有两套被褥，一大一小。“小的给威尔弗里德，大的给迪克和朱利安，”她想，“蒂米陪着我和乔治住在楼下的起居室里，不知有没有毯子让我们躺。哦，等等，这个沙发是个推拉床，正好够我们两个女孩用！太好了！”
安妮感到很兴奋，这正是她喜欢做的事——为大家收拾布置得明明白白！她发现了一个朝北的小橱柜，里面有几盒罐头和一罐有点馊了的牛奶，还有两块变质的面包和一罐硬蛋糕。
“看上去莱曼夫人并不太会照顾自己和威尔弗里德。”安妮认真地想道，“我们得下山去，回村里备点像样的食物。我可能得带一小块火腿，男孩子会喜欢的。天哪！太有趣了！”
朱利安来到门口看她在做什么，当看见她开心而认真的表情时，轻声笑了。“像平常一样给我们扮演‘妈妈’？”他说，“决定谁睡哪里，谁购物，谁洗餐具？亲爱的好安妮，如果你不在，我们自己出来可怎么办啊？”
“我喜欢做这些！”安妮开心地说，“朱利安，我们还需要一两块地毯，一个枕头和一些食物，还有……”
“好，我们还需要回家去拿一些衣服之类的。”朱利安说，“我们可以在回来的路上买东西，置办任何我们想要的，不知道莱曼夫人提到的女人会不会来帮忙。”
“呃，威尔弗里德说他让她离开了，”安妮说，“我觉得小屋这么小，我们最好自己收拾。我想我可以用角落里那个煤油炉做点饭，不管怎样，冷餐也够我们用的，你知道的，火腿、沙拉、罐装肉和水果。我们任何一个人都可以快速骑车到村里取需要的东西。”
“听！”朱利安侧着脑袋说，“是有人喊我们吗？”
是的，的确是。朱利安出来时，看见莱曼夫人在山坡小屋的大门口。他朝她走去。
“我们喜欢这个小屋！”他说，“如果可以的话，我们想今天就搬过来。我们可以很快回家，取来我们要用的东西。这儿真是个好地方，对吧？这里的景色是最美的！”
“是啊，那个港口是世界第二大的，”莱曼夫人说，“只有悉尼港比它大。所以，你可以一饱眼福了，朱利安！”
“哎呀，是啊，”朱利安说，“太神奇了，天空这么蓝！真希望我可以画下来，可惜我画不了。至少，画不出那么好的！”
“威尔弗里德怎么样？”莱曼夫人焦急地问，“他乖吗？他，唉，他有时确实是个难缠的孩子，会很粗鲁。你知道的，没有兄弟帮他磨平棱角。”
“噢，请不要担心威尔弗里德！”朱利安愉快地说，“他会听话，也会遵守规矩的。我们出去时，都会安分守己的。他和动物们的相处很奇妙，对吧？”
“哦，是的，我想是的！”莱曼夫人说，“尽管我不喜欢宠物蛇或宠物甲虫，也不喜欢猫头鹰夜晚飞来，冲着烟囱里大叫，看威尔弗里德能否出来跟它们打招呼。”
朱利安大笑起来。“我们不会介意的。”他说，“他已经解决了我们最大的难题，就是与我们的狗——蒂米成了好朋友。事实上，他说如果蒂米留下，我们就可以住下，而且是只有蒂米留下，才可以。”
莱曼夫人大笑起来。“这确实是威尔弗里德的风格，”她说，“他是个古怪的孩子，别听他瞎说。”
“不会的，”朱利安愉快地说，“实际上，我很惊讶他能同意跟我们住在一起。我以为他会选择回家，而不是与我们这群陌生人一起住。”
“他不能回家，”莱曼夫人说，“他妹妹得了麻疹，他妈妈怕他被传染，所以恐怕你们只能容忍他了。”
“他也得容忍我们！”朱利安说，“莱曼夫人，非常感谢您让我们住进小屋，我们一定会爱惜所有东西的。”
“我相信你们会的，”老夫人说，“好了，再见，朱利安，我得回到车里了。玩得开心！替我问候威尔弗里德，希望他不要让各种动物填满小屋！”
“即使他那样做，我们也不会介意的！”朱利安说，他礼貌地等着莱曼夫人走远，直到听见汽车发动的声音。
他回到小屋旁，站在外面，俯瞰着壮观的景色。港口里停满了大大小小的船只。一艘轮船忙碌地驶向对岸的一个大海滨镇。
安妮来到朱利安身边。“壮观吧？”她说，“我们处在这么高的地方，仿佛能看到半个世界都在脚下。朱利安，港口中央是个岛吗？”
“是的，还是个树木茂盛的岛呢！”朱利安说，“不知道叫什么岛，谁住在那里？我都看不到那里的房子，你呢？”
迪克喊安妮，“安妮！我和乔治准备骑车回村里，给我们购物清单，可以吗？朱利安，除了换洗衣物和夜用物品，你还有什么需要我们从家里带吗？”
“有！先别走！”朱利安喊着，匆匆跑进小屋，“我列了个清单，我想我最好跟你们一起去，因为还需要带些食物和其他东西来，除非妈妈愿意下午开车带来。”
“是啊，好主意，”迪克说，“我们先去科林庄园拿乔治的东西，然后回家拿我们的。我会把买的东西和我们的行李都交给妈妈，这样她就会开车送过来，她也会喜欢这里的风景的！”
“我留下来，打扫小屋，研究研究这炉子怎么使用。”安妮高兴地说，“迪克，我一定会赶在妈妈下午来之前，把一切收拾得井井有条。噢！朱利安找到清单了。朱利安，你为什么不跟乔治和迪克一起骑车去？我很高兴一个人留在这里打发时间。”
“嗯，我会的。”朱利安把清单装进口袋说，“安妮，注意安全，我带着蒂米遛遛。”
三个孩子离开了，蒂米跟在后面，它很喜欢跑步。安妮一直等到看不见他们，才高兴地返回小屋。快到的时候，忽然听到有人喊她，转身发现是一个女人，她脸颊红红的，正朝她挥手。
“我是萨莉！”她喊道，“你需要我帮忙做饭和打扫卫生吗？威尔弗里德不让我来，但是如果你需要帮忙，我就来。”
“噢，萨莉，我想我们可以搞定的，”安妮说，“现在我们这么多人，我们可以干所有的活儿。您在这里住宿吗？”
“哦，小姐，我不住在这里！”萨莉走近些说，“我只是来帮忙，一会儿就回家。如果需要帮忙，就告诉我，我很高兴随时过来。那个捣蛋鬼威尔弗里德呢？小淘气鬼，早上跟我说话那么粗鲁。我要向他奶奶告状，而且不止那一件，他还取笑我，你不要听他胡说什么！”
“不会的，”安妮微笑着说，“你住在哪里？万一我们真需要你帮忙。”
“就在路对面的那片小树林里。”萨莉说，“你骑车经过那片小树林时，会看到我的小屋的。”
她消失在路对面的山上，安妮继续愉快地干她的家务活。她清理了小橱柜，然后找到一个桶，就提着去井边了。她把桶挂在绳子末端的钩子上，然后转动那个老旧的手柄，把悬挂在绳子上的桶滑到水里去。“哗啦！”一下桶就满了，安妮又把它转上来。水清澈见底，冷冽如冰。然而尽管如此，安妮还是犹豫是否要将它烧开来喝！
有人悄悄地来到她背后，大吼着跳向她！安妮吓得大叫一声松开了水桶，然后就看见威尔弗里德笑嘻嘻地绕着她跳着。
“傻瓜！”她说，“现在快去帮我再打一些水来。”
“那只大狗呢？”威尔弗里德环视着四周问，“我没看见它呢，如果它不在，你们任何人都不能住在这里。我喜欢它，它是只神奇的狗。”
“它随其他人下山回村里了，”安妮说，“现在你可以捡起桶再打些水了吗？”
“不，我才不呢，”威尔弗里德说，“我又不是你的仆人！你自己打！”
“很好，我自己来。但是我会告诉蒂米的主人乔治，你是多么的粗鲁，或许你很明白蒂米不会成为你的朋友。”安妮捡起桶说。
“我打水，我打水！”威尔弗里德喊着，抢过水桶，“不要跟乔治或者蒂米讲我的事，你敢说试试！”
然后他来到井边，打了满满一桶水。唉！真不知道他们跟这个古怪的孩子在一起会怎样！安妮一点都不喜欢他！
Chapter 5 WILFRID IS MOST ANNOYING - AND ANNE IS MOST SURPRISING!
Chapter 5 WILFRID IS MOST ANNOYING - AND ANNE IS MOST SURPRISING!
Wilfrid brought back the pail to Anne, and dumped it down. 'Like to see my pet beetles?' he said.
'No thank you,' said Anne. 'I don't like beetles very much.'
'Well, you ought to!' said Wilfrid. 'I've two very beautiful ones. You can hold them if you like.
Their tiny feet feel very queer when they walk all over your hand.'
'I don't mind beetles, but I don't WANT them walking over my hand,' said poor Anne, who really wasa bit afraid of what she called 'creepy-crawly' things. 'Do get out of my way, Wilfrid. If you had anymanners, you'd carry that pail indoors for me.'
'I haven't any manners,' said Wilfrid. 'Everybody tells me that. Anyway, I don't want to carry yourpail, if you don't want to see my beetles.'
'Oh go away!' said Anne, exasperated, picking up the pail herself. Wilfrid went to a little thick bushand sat down by it. He put his face almost on the grass, and looked under the bush. Anne feltuncomfortable. Was he going to call his beetles out? She couldn't help putting down her pail, andstanding still to watch.
No beetles came out from under the bush - but something else did. A very large, awkward-lookingtoad came crawling out, and sat there, looking up at Wilfrid with the greatest friendliness. Anne wasamazed. How did Wilfrid know the toad was there? And why in the world should it come out to seehim? She stood and stared - and shivered, because she really did not like toads. 'I know they havebeautiful eyes, and are intelligent, and eat all kinds of harmful insects, but I just can't go near one!'
she thought. 'Oh goodness - Wilfrid's tickling its back - and it's scratching where he's tickled it - justlike we would!'
'Come and say how do you do to my pet toad,' called Wilfrid. 'I'll carry your pail for you then.'
Anne picked up her pail in a hurry, afraid that Wilfrid might whistle up a few snakes next. What aboy! How she wished the others would come back! Why, Wilfrid might own a boa constrictor -or have a small crocodile somewhere - or... but no, she was being silly! If only the others would comeback!
To her horror the toad crawled right on to Wilfrid's hand, and looked up at him out of its reallybeautiful eyes. That was too much for Anne. She fled into the cottage, spilling half the water as shewent.
20
'I wish I was like George,' she thought. 'She wouldn't really mind that toad. I'm silly. I ought to tryand like all creatures. Oh my goodness, look at that enormous spider in the corner of the sink!
It's sitting there, looking at me out of its eight eyes! Wilfrid, Wilfrid - PLEASE come and get thisspider out of the sink for me!'
Wilfrid sauntered in, fortunately without the toad. He held his hand out to the spider and made acurious clicking, ticking noise. The spider perked up at once, waved two curious little antennaeabout, and crawled across the sink to Wilfrid's hand. Anne shuddered. She simply couldn't help it!
She shut her eyes, and when she opened them, the spider had gone and so had Wilfrid.
'I suppose he's now teaching it to dance, or something!' she thought, trying to make herself smile.
'I can't think how insects and animals and birds like him. I simply can't bear him. If I were a rabbit orbird or beetle, I'd run miles away from him. What's this curious attraction he has for creatures of allkinds?'
Wilfrid had completely disappeared, and Anne thankfully went on with her little jobs. 'I'll tidy up theloft where the boys will sleep,' she thought. 'I'll wash this living-room floor. I'll make a list of thethings in the larder. I'll clean that dirty window over there. I'll... good gracious, what's that noise?'
It was the sound of magpies chattering noisily - a harsh but pleasant noise. Anne peered out of thelittle cottage window. Well, what a sight! There stood Wilfrid in front of the window, a magpie oneach outstretched hand - and one on the top of his head! It stood there, chattering loudly, and thenturned round and round, getting its feet mixed up in the boy's thick hair.
'Come out here and I'll tell one of my magpies to sit on your head too!' shouted Wilfrid. 'It's such anice feeling. Or would you like a young rabbit to cuddle? I can call one for you with my little pipe!'
'I don't want a magpie on my head,' said Anne, desperately. 'For goodness sake get a nice little babyrabbit. I'd like that.'
Wilfrid jerked the magpies off his hands and shook his head violently so that the third one flew up,squawking cheerfully. He then sat down and pulled out his queer little whistle-pipe, as Anne called it.
She watched, fascinated, as the strange little dirge like tune came to her ears. She found her feetwalking to the door. Good gracious - could there be some peculiar kind of magic in that pipe thatmade her go to Wilfrid, just as the other creatures did?
21
She stopped at the door, just as a baby rabbit came lolloping round a tall clump of grass. It was thefunniest, roundest, dearest little thing, with a tiny bobtail and big ears.
It went straight to Wilfrid and nestled against him. The boy stroked it and murmured to it. Then hecalled to Anne softly.
'Well - here's the baby rabbit you asked for. Like to come and stroke it?'
Anne went softly over the grass, expecting the rabbit to bolt at once. Wilfrid continued to fondle it,and the little thing looked at him with big, unwinking eyes. Anne bent down to stroke it - butimmediately it leapt in fright and fled into the grass.
'Oh dear - why did it do that?' said Anne, disappointed. 'It was quite all right with you! Wilfrid, howdo you get all these creatures to come to you?'
'Shan't tell you,' said Wilfrid, getting up. 'Is there anything to eat in the cottage? I'm hungry.'
He pushed Anne aside and went into the cottage. He opened the larder door, and took down a tin.
There was a cake inside and he cut off a huge piece. He didn't offer Anne any.
'Couldn't you have cut me a piece too?' said Anne. 'You really are a rude boy!'
'I like being rude,' said Wilfrid, munching his cake. 'Especially to people who come to my cottagewhen I don't want them.'
'Oh don't be so silly!' said Anne, exasperated. 'It isn't your cottage - it belongs to your grandmother.
She told us so. Anyway, you said we could stay if Timmy stayed too.'
'I'll soon make Timmy my dog,' said Wilfrid, taking another bite. 'You'll see! Soon he won't want thatgirl George any more - and he'll follow at my heels all day and night. You'll see!'
Anne laughed scornfully. Timmy following at this boy's heels? That could never happen! Timmyloved George with all his doggy heart. He would never desert her for Wilfrid no matter how much hewhistled on pipes, or put on his special croony voice. Anne was absolutely certain of that!
'If you laugh at me, I'll call up my grass snake and my adder!' said Wilfrid, fiercely. 'Then you'll runfor miles!'
'Oh no I won't!' said Anne, hurrying into the cottage. 'Just watch yourself run!'
She picked up the pail of water, went out with it, and threw it all over the astonished Wilfrid!
Somebody else was most astonished too - and that was Julian, who had arrived back before theothers, anxious not to leave Anne alone in the cottage for too long.
22
He came just in time to see Anne drenching Wilfrid, and stared in the utmost amazement. Annebehaving like that? Anne looking really fierce - quiet, peaceful Anne! What in the world hadhappened?
'Anne!' he called. 'What's the matter? What's Wilfrid been doing?'
'Oh - Julian!' said Anne, glad to see him, but horrified that he had come just then. Wilfrid wasdrenched from head to foot. He stood there, gasping, taken- aback, bewildered. Why, Anne hadseemed such a quiet, frightened little thing - scared even of a spider!
'That girl!' said Wilfrid, half-choking, shaking the water off himself. 'That bad, wicked girl! She's likea tiger! She sprang at me, and threw the water all over me! I won't let her stay in my cottage!'
The boy was so angry, so wet, so taken-aback, that Julian had to laugh! He roared in delight, andclapped Anne on the back. 'The mouse has turned into a tiger! Well, you said you might one day,Anne - and you haven't lost much time! Let me see if you've grown claws!'
He took Anne's hands and pretended to examine her nails. Anne was half-laughing, half-crying now,and pulled her hand away. 'Oh Julian! I shouldn't have soaked Wilfrid - but he was SOIRRITATING, I lost my temper, and...'
'All right, all right - it's quite a good thing to do sometimes,' said Julian. 'And I bet young Wilfriddeserved all he got. I only hope the water was icy cold! Have you a change of clothes here, Wilfrid?
Go and get into them, then.'
The boy stood there, dripping wet, and made no effort to obey. Julian spoke again. 'You heard what Isaid, Wilfrid. Jump to it! Go and change!'
The boy looked so wet and miserable that Anne felt suddenly sorry for what she had done. She ran tohim and felt his wet shoulders. 'Oh, I'm sorry!' she said. 'I truly am. I don't know why I turned into atiger so suddenly!'
Wilfrid gave a little half-laugh, half-sob. 'I'm sorry too,' he mumbled. 'You're nice - and your nose islike that baby rabbit's - it's - it's a bit woffly!'
He ran into the cottage and slammed the door. 'Let him be for a while,' said Julian, seeing that Annemade a move to go after him. 'This will do him good. Nothing like having a pail of cold water flungover you to make you see things as they really are! He was really touched when you said you weresorry. He's probably never apologized to anyone in his life!'
'Is my nose like a rabbit's?' said Anne, worried.
23
'Well, yes - just a bit,' said Julian, giving his sister an affectionate pat. 'But a rabbit's nose is very nice,you know - very nice indeed. I don't think you'll have much trouble with Wilfrid after this littleepisode. He didn't know that you had the heart of a tiger, as well as a nose like a rabbit's!'
Wilfrid came out of the cottage in about ten minutes, dressed in dry clothes, carrying his wet ones ina bundle. 'I'll hang those out on the bushes for you, to dry in the sun,' said Anne, and took them fromhim, smiling. He suddenly smiled back.
'Thanks,' he said. 'I don't know how they got so wet! Must have been pouring with rain!'
Julian chuckled and smacked him gently on the back. 'Rain can do an awful lot of good at times!'
he said. 'Well, Anne, we've brought you back a whole lot of goods for your larder. Here come theothers. We'll carry everything in for you - with Wilfrid's help too!'
5.风云初起
风云初起
威尔弗里德提着水桶来到安妮身边，放下。“想看看我的宠物甲虫吗？”他说。
“不了，谢谢你。”安妮说，“我非常不喜欢甲虫。”
“噢，你会喜欢的！”威尔弗里德说，“我有两只非常漂亮的甲虫。如果你喜欢，你可以拿着它们。它们的小脚在你手里走时，感觉很奇妙的。”
“我不讨厌甲虫，但是我不要它们在我手里爬。”可怜的安妮说，她真的有点害怕他所说的“爬虫”之类的东西，“威尔弗里德，不要挡着我的路，如果你有礼貌的话，帮我把水提到屋里去。”
“我就是一点礼貌也没有，”威尔弗里德说，“大家都这么说我。
不管怎样，如果你不想看我的甲虫，我就不想帮你提水。”
“那你让开！”安妮愤怒地说着，自己提起了水桶。威尔弗里德走到一片密一点的灌木丛边，坐下。他几乎把脸贴到了草丛上了，向灌木丛下看。安妮觉得很不舒服，他是想唤他的甲虫出来吗？她忍不住放下桶，站在那里看着。
灌木丛下没有出来甲虫，但是出来了别的东西。一只非常大的长相怪异的蟾蜍爬了出来，坐了下来，非常友好地看着威尔弗里德。安妮惊呆了，威尔弗里德怎么知道蟾蜍在那里的？它为什么出来见他啊？她站在那里盯着，颤抖了一下，因为她真的不喜欢蟾蜍。“我知道它们有美丽的眼睛，而且很聪明，吃所有的害虫，可是我真的不能靠近它们！”她心里想，“天哪！威尔弗里德在挠它的背，它在抓他挠过的地方，像我们人类那样做！”
“过来跟我的宠物蟾蜍打个招呼，”威尔弗里德喊道，“然后我会帮你提水。”
安妮匆忙提起水桶，怕威尔弗里德一会儿又唤出一些蛇来。这是个什么孩子啊！她真希望其他人快点回来！为什么，威尔弗里德或许拥有一条大蟒蛇，或者一只小鳄鱼，或者……不，她太傻了！
其他人快点回来就好了！
让安妮惊恐的是，那只蟾蜍跳到了威尔弗里德的手上，瞪着美丽的眼睛望着他。安妮受不了了，她赶紧飞奔回小屋，路上洒了一半的水。
“真希望我跟乔治一样，”安妮想，“她不会介意那只蟾蜍的。我太傻了，我应该尝试着去喜欢所有东西。啊，天哪！水池角落里有只大蜘蛛！它趴在那里，用八只眼睛盯着我！威尔弗里德，威尔弗里德！快来帮我把这只蜘蛛弄走！”
威尔弗里德悠闲地回到小屋里，幸好没有带蟾蜍来。他向蜘蛛伸出手，发出一阵“咔哒，滴滴”声。蜘蛛立刻活跃起来，晃着两只小“牙”，沿着水池爬到威尔弗里德手里。安妮打了个冷战，她实在忍不住了！于是，她闭上了眼睛，再睁开眼睛时，蜘蛛已经不见了，威尔弗里德也不见了。
“我猜他现在正在教蜘蛛跳舞，或者什么的！”她想着，努力地笑笑，“我想象不出虫子、动物和鸟儿怎么那么喜欢他。我只是受不了他。如果我是只兔子或者鸟儿或甲虫，我一定会离他远远的。他究竟有什么魔力让所有动物都喜欢他呢？”
威尔弗里德彻底离开了，安妮感激地继续干活。“我得打扫下男孩们睡觉的阁楼。”她想，“得洗下起居室地板，得列个橱柜里的物品清单，得擦擦那扇脏兮兮的窗户，得……哦，天哪！那是什么声音？”
是喜鹊在叽叽喳喳叫，这叫声刺耳却很快乐。安妮向窗外望去。哎，多有意思啊！威尔弗里德站在窗外，伸着两只手，手上分别站着一只喜鹊，还有一只在他头上！它站在那里，大声地叫着，然后转起圈来，两只脚埋在男孩茂密的头发里。
“出来吧，我让我的一只喜鹊也站在你头上！”威尔弗里德喊道，“这感觉真好！或者你喜欢抱抱兔子吗？我可以用我的小笛子帮你唤一只来！”
“我不想要喜鹊站在我头上，”安妮无奈地说，“你要不唤一只温顺的小兔子来吧，我喜欢那样的。”
威尔弗里德推开手上的喜鹊，猛地摇了摇头，然后第三只也愉快地叫着飞走了。他坐了下来，拿出安妮所说的奇怪的小笛子。当那奇妙的挽歌一样的曲调传入耳际时，安妮开始神色痴迷，然后发现自己走到了门口。天哪！那笛子有什么魔力吗？就这样让她像其他动物那样走向威尔弗里德？
当一只小兔子绕着一丛高高的草，蹦蹦跳跳地出来时，安妮在门口停了下来。那是只有趣的、圆滚滚的、特别可爱的小家伙，长着短短的小尾巴和长长的耳朵。
它径直来到威尔弗里德身边，依偎着他。男孩轻抚着它，对着它耳语，然后他轻声喊安妮。
“好了，这就是你要的小兔子，愿意过来摸摸它吗？”
安妮轻轻地走过草地，以为小兔子会一下子跳走。可威尔弗里德继续轻抚着它，小家伙瞪着大眼睛，一眨不眨地望着他。安妮弯腰摸摸它，然而它还是一下就跳了起来，跑到草丛里去了。
“哦，亲爱的，它为什么那样？”安妮沮丧地说，“它跟你一起就没事！威尔弗里德，你是怎么让这些动物都靠近你的？”
“不告诉你，”威尔弗里德站起来说，“小屋里有吃的东西吗？我饿了。”
他推开安妮，去小屋里了。他打开橱柜，拿出一个罐子，里面有一个蛋糕，他切下一大块，一点都没给安妮。
“你不能顺便帮我也切一块吗？”安妮说，“真是个粗鲁的孩子！”
“我喜欢做个粗鲁的人，”威尔弗里德嚼着蛋糕说，“尤其是对待那些不请自来的人。”
“你不要这么愚蠢！”安妮愤怒地说，“这不是你的小屋，是你奶奶的，是她让我们来的。不管怎样，你说过，只要蒂米住下，我们就可以住。”
“蒂米很快就会归我所有，”威尔弗里德又咬了一口蛋糕说，“你等着瞧！很快它就不需要那个叫乔治的女孩了。它会日夜跟在我身后。等着瞧！”
安妮鄙视地笑了，蒂米跟在这个男孩身后？绝不会发生的！蒂米全心全意地爱着乔治。不管威尔弗里德怎么吹笛子，或用低沉的声音讲话，蒂米都不会离开乔治，投靠威尔弗里德的。安妮十分肯定！
“你再嘲笑我，我就唤我的草蛇和蝰蛇来！”威尔弗里德生气地说，“把你吓跑！”
“不，我不会的！”安妮说着，赶紧回到小屋，“小心吓跑你自己！”
她抓起水桶就跑出去，泼向惊讶的威尔弗里德！另一个人也惊呆了，是朱利安，他担心把安妮一个人留在小屋太久，所以比其他人回来得早了一点。
他一回来正好看见安妮浇了威尔弗里德一身水，完全惊呆了。
安妮怎么会这样？安妮看起来生气极了，这可是安静温柔的安妮！
到底发生了什么事？
“安妮！”他喊道，“怎么回事？威尔弗里德做了什么？”
“啊，朱利安！”安妮说。她很高兴见到他，但是很惊讶他这个时候回来了。威尔弗里德从头湿到脚，站在那里喘息着，又惊讶又困惑。为什么？明明安妮看起来那么安静，那么胆小，甚至害怕一只蜘蛛！
“是那个女孩！”威尔弗里德大喘着气，甩了甩身上的水说，“狡猾的坏女孩！像只老虎！跑过来，泼了我一身水！我不让她住在我的小屋里了！”
看见男孩这么生气，浑身湿漉漉的，又这么惊讶，朱利安忍不住笑了。他高兴地大笑着，拍了拍安妮的背，说：“老鼠变成老虎了！对，安妮，你说过有一天你会的，你真利索！让我看看长爪子了没！”
他捧起安妮的手，假装检查她的指甲。安妮抽回手，半笑半哭起来：“朱利安！我不该弄湿威尔弗里德的，可是他太烦人了！我生气了，所以……”
“好了好了，有时这么做是好事。”朱利安说，“肯定是小威尔弗里德自找的，我倒希望那水是冰凉的！威尔弗里德，你有换洗衣服吗？快去换。”
男孩站在那里，湿漉漉的，没有动弹的意思。朱利安又说了一遍：“威尔弗里德，你听见我的话了吧。快去！去换衣服！”
看到男孩浑身湿漉漉的，样子惨兮兮的，安妮顿时对自己的行为感到抱歉了。她跑向他，摸着他湿乎乎的肩膀。“哦，对不起！”她说，“我真的很抱歉，我不知道自己怎么忽然变成了‘老虎’！”
威尔弗里德半笑半呜咽着，“我也很抱歉，”他嗫嚅着，“你一直很友好，而且你的鼻子很像那只小兔子的鼻子，有点……有点傻傻的！”
他跑进小屋，“砰”地关上了门。“让他自己待会儿吧。”看到安妮想去追时，朱利安说，“这样对他有好处，没有什么比被浇一桶凉水，更能让人看清事物本质了！当你向他道歉时，他真被触动了。
他长这么大，可能从未向人道过歉！”
“我的鼻子真像兔子的吗？”安妮担心地问。
“呃，是的，只有一点点。”朱利安慈爱地拍拍妹妹说，“但是，你知道的，兔子的鼻子很漂亮的，真的很漂亮。这个小风波过后，我相信你跟威尔弗里德不会再有别的问题了，他之前不知道你有老虎之心，和兔子的鼻子！”
大约过了10分钟，威尔弗里德穿着干净衣服，拿着一堆湿衣服，从小屋里出来了。“我帮你挂在树枝上晒晒。”安妮笑着从他手里接过来说。
他也立刻笑了，说：“谢谢你，我不知道为什么这么湿，肯定是被雨淋湿了！”
朱利安笑了，轻轻地拍拍他的肩，“雨有时候会干很多好事！”他说，“好了，安妮，我们为你的橱柜带来了好多东西。等其他人来了，我们帮你把所有东西提进来，威尔弗里德也会帮我们的！”
Chapter 6 LUCAS - AND HIS TALE
Chapter 6 LUCAS - AND HIS TALE
It was fun storing all the shopping away. Anne enjoyed it more than anyone, for she really was amost domesticated little person.
'A real home-maker!' said Dick, appreciatively, when he saw how neat and comfortable she had madethe loft, where the three boys were to sleep. 'Just about room for the three of us, plus all the baggagein the corner! And how good the larder looks!'
Anne looked at her well-stored larder, and smiled. Now she could give her little 'family' really nicemeals. All those tins! She read the names on them. 'Fruit salad. Tinned pears. Tinned peaches.
Sardines. Ham. Tongue.' A new cake in that round tin, big enough to last for at least three days.
Biscuits. Chocolate wafers - good old Julian - he knew how much she loved those -and George did, too!
Anne felt very happy, as she arranged all her goods. She no longer felt guilty at drenching poorWilfrid. Indeed she couldn't help feeling a little thrill when she remembered how she had suddenlyturned into a tiger for a minute or two! It was fun to be a tiger for once. 'I might even be one again, ifthe chance arose,' thought Anne. 'How surprised Wilfrid was - and Julian too. Oh dear - poor Wilfrid.
Still, he's much nicer now.'
24
And indeed he was! He was most polite to both the girls, and, as Dick said, he didn't - throw hisweight - about nearly so much. They all settled down very well together in the little cottage.
They had most of their meals out-of-doors, sitting on the warm grass. It was rather a squeeze indoors,for the cottage really was very small. Anne enjoyed herself preparing the meals, with sometimes alittle help from George - and the boys carried everything out. Wilfrid did his share, and was pleasedwhen he had a clap on the back from Julian.
It was glorious sitting out in the sun, high up on their hill. They could look down on the harbour,watch the yachts and the busy little boats, and enjoy the wonderful views all round.
George was very curious about the island that lay in the middle of the harbour. 'What's it called?'
she asked Wilfrid. But he didn't know. He did know, however, that there was a queer story about it.
'It belonged to a lonely old man,' he said. 'He lived in a big house in the very middle of the wood. Theisland was given to his family by a king - James the Second, I think. This old man was the very verylast one of his family. People kept wanting to buy his island, and he had some kind of watchmen tokeep people from landing on it. These watchmen were pretty fierce - they had guns.'
'Gosh - did they shoot people who tried to land, then?' asked Dick.
'Well - they shot just to frighten them off, not to hurt them, I suppose,' said Wilfrid. 'Anyway, a lot ofsightseers had an awful fright when they tried to land. BANG-BANG! Shooting all round them! Mygranny told me that someone she knew, who had a lot of money, wanted to buy part of the island -and he had his hat shot right off when his boat tried to land!'
'Is there anyone there now?' asked Julian. 'I suppose the old fellow is dead? Has he a son or anyone tofollow him?'
'I don't think so,' said Wilfrid. 'But I don't know an awful lot about it. I tell you who does, though- one of the groundsmen on the golf-course, called Lucas. He was once one of the watchmen whokept visitors away from the island.'
'It might be rather interesting to talk to him,' said Dick. 'I'd rather like to walk over the golf-course,too. My father plays a good game of golf, and I know something about it.'
'Well, let's go now,' said George. 'Timmy is longing for a good long walk, even though he ran all theway down to the village and back today! Walk, Timmy? Walk?'
'Woof-woof,' said Timmy, and leapt up at once.
25
Walk? Of course he was ready for a walk! He leapt all round George, pretending to pounce at herfeet. Wilfrid tried to catch hold of him, but couldn't. 'I wish you were my dog,' he told Timmy.
'I'd never let you out of my sight.'
Timmy ran up to him then, and gave him a loving lick. It was astonishing how he seemed to likeWilfrid. Nobody could understand it. As George said, 'Timmy is usually so particular about makingfriends! Still, Wilfrid is nicer than he was!'
The Five, with Wilfrid too, went up the hill, crossed over the road that ran along the top, and climbedover a stile. They found themselves on one of the fairways of the golf-course, not far from a green, inwhich stood a pole with a bright red flag waving at the top.
Wilfrid knew very little about the game of golf, but the others had watched their parents play many atime. 'Look out - someone's going to pitch his ball on this green,' said Julian, and they stood by thehedge to watch the man play his ball. He struck it beautifully with his club, and the ball rose, and fellright on to the green. It rolled to within about a foot of the hole in which the flag-pole stood.
Timmy ran forward a few steps, as he always did when a ball rolled near him. Then he rememberedthat this was golf, and he must never, never touch a ball on the fairway or on the green.
The players passed by, and went on with their game. Then they disappeared, to play off another tee.
'Well, let's see if we can find Lucas now,' said Wilfrid, crossing the fairway to where he could get agood look over the course. 'You'll like him. There's not much he doesn't know about the animals andbirds here. I think he's a wonderful man!'
Wilfrid stood on the slope of a hill and looked all round. 'There he is!' he said, pointing to where aman was trimming up a ditch. 'See? Down there. He's using his bill-hook to make things tidy.'
They went down the hill towards the ditch at the bottom. 'I bet there's an awful lot of balls in thatditch,' said Wilfrid. 'Hey, Lucas! How are you?'
'Afternoon, young sir,' said the groundsman, turning towards them. His face was as brown as a well-ripened nut, and his arms and shoulders were even browner. He wore no shirt or vest, and his dark,deep-set eyes twinkled as they took in the five children and the dog.
He held out a brown hand to Timmy, who licked it gravely, wagging his tail. Then Timmy smeltLucas all over and finally lay down with his head on the man's feet.
26
'Ha!' said Lucas to Timmy, and gave a loud, hearty laugh. 'Think I'm a-going to stand here allafternoon, do you? Well, I aren't. I got work to do, ole dog, so git up! You're a right good-un, you are,a-laying on my foot, so's I can't move a step! Want me to stop and have a rest, don't you?'
'Lucas, we came to ask you something,' said Wilfrid. 'About the island in the harbour. What's itsname - and does anyone live there now?'
'We can see it from that little cottage almost at the top of the hill on the other side of the road,'
said Dick. 'It looks awfully quiet and lonely.'
'And so it is,' said Lucas, sitting down on the bank of the ditch. Timmy at once sat up beside him,sniffing him with pleasure. He put his arm round the dog, and began to talk, his bright eyes goingfrom one to other of the children. He was so friendly, and so completely natural that the children felthe was an old, old friend. They sat down too, sniffing the smell of the gorse bushes nearby.
'They smell like coconut,' thought Anne. 'Yes - just like coconut!'
'Well, now,' said Lucas, 'that island's always been a mystery-place. It's called Wailing Island by somefolks because the wind makes a right queer wailing noise round some of its high cliffs. And otherscall it Whispering Island because it's full of trees that whisper in the strong winds that always blowacross it. But most of us call it Keep-Away Island - and that's the best name of all, for there's neverbeen any welcome there, what with the dark cliffs, the cruel rocks, and the dense woods.'
Lucas paused, and looked at the listening faces around him. He was a born story-teller, and knew it.
How often Wilfrid had listened to his tales of the birds and animals he met during his work on thecourse! Lucas was one of the few people that the boy admired and loved.
'Do go on, Lucas!' said Wilfrid, touching the man's bare, warm arm. 'Tell us about the rich old manwho hated everyone, and bought the island years ago.'
'I'm telling the story my own way,' said Lucas, with great dignity. 'You sit patient now, or I'll start myditching again. Sit like this dog, see - he don't even twitch a muscle, good dog that he is.
Well now, about this rich old man. He was so afraid of being robbed that he bought that lonelyisland. He built himself a great castle right in the middle of the thick woods. Cut down about ahundred trees, to make room for it, so the story goes, and brought every single stick and stone fromthe mainland. Did you see the old quarry on this here golf-course, as you came along to me?'
27
'Yes, we did,' said Julian, remembering. 'I felt sorry for anyone who sent a golf-ball there!'
'Well, young sir, out of that quarry came the great stones that the old man used for his castle,'
said Lucas. ' 'Tis said that big, Hat-bottomed boats had to be made to ferry the stones across to theisland - and to this day the road through this golf-course is the one made by horses dragging the greatstones down to the water's-edge.'
'Were you alive then?' said Wilfrid.
'Bless you, boy, no, of course not,' said Lucas, with a great chuckle of a laugh. 'Long afore my time,that was. Well, the stone house - or castle - whatever you like to call it - was built. And the old manbrought to it all kinds of treasures - beautiful statues, some of gold, it was said, but that I disbelieve.
Ah, many's the queer tale I've heard of what that rich old man took over to Whispering Island - agreat bed made of pure gold, and set with precious stones - a necklace of rubies as big as pigeons'
eggs - a wonderful sword with a jewelled handle worth a king's fortune -and other things I disremember.'
He paused and looked round. Julian asked him a quick question. 'What happened to all these things?'
'Well now, he fell foul of the king of the land, and one morning what did he see landing on the shoresof his island but ships of all kinds,' said Lucas, enjoying the rapt attention of his audience.
'A lot of them were sunk by the wicked rocks but enough men were left to storm the queer stonecastle in the wood, and they killed the old man and all his servants.'
'Did they find the treasures the old fellow had collected?' asked Dick.
'Never a one!' said Lucas. 'Never a one. Some say it was all a tale - the old man never did bring anywonders there - and some say they're still there, on Whispering Island. Meself, I think it's all a yarn -but a good yarn at that!'
'Who owns the island now?' asked Dick.
'Well, an old fellow and his wife went to live there - maybe they paid rent to the Crown for it, maybethey bought it - but they didn't care for anything except for the birds and the animals there,' saidLucas, picking up his curved bill-hook again, and hacking lightly at some briars.
'They wouldn't allow nobody there, and it was they who kept the gamekeepers with guns to frightenaway sightseers. They wanted peace and quiet for themselves, and for all the wildlife on the island -and a fine idea too. Many a time when I was there with the other keepers - three of us 28there were - many a time I've had rabbits gambolling over my feet, and snakes gliding by me -and the birds as tame as canaries.'
'I'd love to go there,' said Wilfrid, his eyes shining. 'I'd have a good time with all the wild creatures!
Can anyone go there now?'
'No,' said Lucas, getting up. 'Not a soul has lived in the old stone castle since the old man and hiswife fell ill and died. The place is empty. The island belongs to a great-nephew of the old couplenow, but he never goes there. Just keeps a couple of men on the island to frighten off visitors -pretty fierce they are, so I've been told. Well, there you are, that's the story of Whispering Island- not very pleasant - a bit grim and ugly. It belongs to the birds and the beasts now, and good luck tothem!'
'Thank you for telling us the story,' said Anne, and the old countryman smiled down at her, his eyeswrinkling, and his brown hand patting her cheek.
'I'll be off to my hedging and ditching again,' he said, 'and I'll feel the sun warm on my bare back, andhear the birds a-singing to me from the bushes. That's happiness enough for anyone - and pity it isthat more folks don't know it!'
6.耳语岛传说
耳语岛传说
安妮最爱把所有买来的东西都存放好，这是一件非常有趣的事，她真的是个很会居家的小姑娘。
“真会持家！”看到安妮把三个男孩睡觉的阁楼打理得又整洁又舒适时，迪克赞许地说，“我们三个睡觉的房间，还有角落里的包裹！还有橱柜，都是那么的整齐！”
安妮看着整齐的橱柜，舒心地笑了，现在她可以给他们的小家做一顿美味的晚餐了。她看着瓶瓶罐罐上面标的名字：“水果沙拉、梨罐头、桃子罐头、沙丁鱼罐头、火腿、牛舌。”罐子里还有一个新烤的蛋糕，至少够吃三天了。饼干、巧克力华夫饼，亲爱的好朱利安，他知道她多喜欢这些，还有乔治也喜欢！
安妮高高兴兴地整理着她的东西。她不再为弄湿了可怜的威尔弗里德而自责了，相反，想起自己变成老虎的那一瞬间，竟然有点兴奋！偶尔变一次老虎也很有意思。“有机会，我还会再变一次的！”安妮想，“威尔弗里德好惊讶啊，还有朱利安！唉，可怜的威尔弗里德！不过，他现在友好多了。”
他的确友好多了！像迪克说的，威尔弗里德对两个女孩子很有礼貌，他开始不再那么仗势欺人了。大家都在小屋里安顿下来。
孩子们常常坐在外面温暖的草地上吃饭，因为屋里实在太拥挤了，小屋真的很小。安妮喜欢自己做饭，乔治有时候会帮点忙，男孩们帮忙把东西拿到外面。威尔弗里德也会干活，朱利安拍他的背时，他会很高兴。
在山顶上，坐在阳光下，景色真的很壮观。他们可以俯瞰港口，看着轮船和忙碌的小船，享受这一切美景。
乔治对港口中间的小岛非常好奇，“那座岛叫什么名字？”她问威尔弗里德，可他不知道。然而他却知道那里有一个奇怪的传说，“那个岛属于一位孤独的老人，”他说，“他住在树林中央的一座大房子里，这岛是国王詹姆斯二世赐给他家的。人们一直想买他的岛，所以他找了一些警卫阻止人登陆，那些警卫很厉害，他们有枪。”
“天哪！那他们射击过登岛的人吗？”迪克问。“呃，我觉得，他们只是开枪吓跑他们，不会伤到他们。”威尔弗里德说，“不管怎样，很多游客都在登岛时吓坏了。‘砰！砰！’四周都是枪声！我奶奶给我讲过她认识的一个人，他很有钱，想买下岛的一部分，结果乘船准备登岛时，帽子被枪打掉了！”
“那里现在有人吗？”朱利安问，“我想那个老人会不会已经去世了？他有儿子或者其他继承人吗？”
“我觉得没有，”威尔弗里德说，“但我知道的不多。我认识一个对那座岛很了解的人，他是高尔夫球场的一个管理员，叫卢卡斯，曾经是一个阻止人们登岛的警卫。”
“跟他聊聊或许会很有趣，”迪克说，“我也想在高尔夫球场走走，我爸爸很擅长打高尔夫，所以我了解一些。”
“好，那我们现在去吧，”乔治说，“蒂米正等着好好散散步呢，尽管它今天一路跑回村里又跑回来了！散步，蒂米？散步？”
“汪汪。”蒂米迅速地站起来叫道。
散步？它当然准备好了！它围着乔治跳来跳去，假装猛扑她的脚。威尔弗里德想抓住它，结果没抓住。“我多希望你是我的狗啊，”他对蒂米说，“我永远不会让你离开我的视线。”
蒂米跑向他，亲昵地舔了舔他。真奇怪它竟然那么喜欢威尔弗里德，大家都不明白。乔治说：“蒂米交朋友就是这么讲究！当然，威尔弗里德比之前友好多了！”
小伙伴们一起爬到了山顶，穿过沿着山顶的路，爬过一堵墙。
他们发现自己到了高尔夫球场的一条球道上，离一片果岭不远，里面有一根杆子，上面红旗飘扬。
威尔弗里德不太了解高尔夫球，但其他小伙伴们经常看自己的父母打高尔夫球。“小心！有人要打球过来了。”朱利安说。他们站在树篱边上看着那人打球，他用球杆优美地击球，球升起来，准确地落在果岭上，然后滚进旗杆位置的洞里。
像平常看到球滚到它身边那样，蒂米向前跑了几步。然后它想起来这是高尔夫球，它永远永远不能碰球道或果岭上的高尔夫球。
打球的人从他们身边走过，继续比赛，然后从他们的视线中消失了，他们是去发球台发球了。
“好了，我们看看现在能不能找到卢卡斯。”威尔弗里德说，他穿过球道，走到了一个方便查看球场的位置，“你们会喜欢他的，他几乎认识这里的所有动物，我觉得他是个很不错的人！”
威尔弗里德站在一个山坡上，环视着四周，“他在那里！”他指着一个正在修水池的人说，“看到了吗？那下面，他正在用钩镰整理东西。”
他们向下面的水池走去。“我敢打赌那个水池里有很多很多的球。”威尔弗里德说，“嘿，卢卡斯您好。”
“下午好，小先生。”球场管理员转过头来说。他脸上的皮肤是棕色的，如熟透的核桃一样，胳膊和肩膀的颜色更深。他用黝黑的眼睛，逐一扫视着五个孩子和那只狗。
他朝蒂米伸出棕色的手，蒂米摇着尾巴，认真地舔了舔他的手。蒂米仔细地嗅了嗅卢卡斯，然后躺下，脑袋枕着卢卡斯的脚。
“哈！”卢卡斯爽朗地笑了，他对蒂米说，“你以为我今天下午就站在这里，对吧？不，我不会的。我还得干活，老伙计，站起来！
你太有趣了，你躺在我脚上了，所以我挪不动步了！想让我停下休息，对吧？”
“卢卡斯，我们来是想请教一个问题，”威尔弗里德说，“关于港口里那个岛。它叫什么名字，现在还有人住在那里吗？”
“我们从路对面那个差不多在山顶上的小屋能看到它，”迪克说，“它看上去那么安静，又那么孤单。”
“的确是的。”卢卡斯坐在池边说，蒂米立刻坐在了他身后，开心地嗅着他。他揽过狗，明亮的眼睛逐一扫过孩子们。他是那么友好，那么纯朴，孩子们甚至觉得他是个认识很久很久的老朋友了。
他们也坐了下来，闻着身边草丛的味道。“闻起来像椰子，”安妮心想，“对！就像椰子！”
“好，现在开始讲了。”卢卡斯说，“那个岛一直是个神秘之地。
一些老乡叫它哀号岛，因为风总是吹着它高高的峭壁，发出哀号声。还有些人叫它耳语岛，因为岛上长满了树，大风吹过时，就会发出耳语声。但是，我们大多数人叫它‘防范岛’，并且这是最好的名字，因为那里不管是漆黑的峭壁，锋利的岩石还是茂密的森林，从来都不欢迎外人造访。”
卢卡斯停下了，看着一张张聆听的脸蛋。他知道自己天生是个讲故事的高手，威尔弗里德听他讲了多少关于他在球场工作时遇见的动物的故事啊！他可是这个男孩为数不多的崇拜和敬爱的人之一呢。
“继续啊，卢卡斯！”威尔弗里德碰碰他温暖的胳膊说，“给我们讲讲那个几年前买下这个岛，讨厌任何人的富有的老人。”
“我在按自己的方式讲呢，”卢卡斯自豪地说，“耐心听，要不我就继续清理水池了。像这只狗一样乖一点，看，它几乎一动不动的，好样的。好了，现在，关于那个富有的老人。他太担心被抢劫了，所以买下了那座孤岛，在茂密的森林正中央建了一栋大城堡。
为了盖房子，砍了大概100棵树，听说那里所有的木头和石头都是从陆地运来的。你们跟我过来时，看到高尔夫球场那个老采石场了吗？”
“嗯，看到了，”朱利安回想起来说，“我为把球打进里面的人难过！”
“嗯，年轻人，那里开采出来的大石头就是老人建城堡用的。”卢卡斯说，“据说石头太大了，只好造平底的船来运石头。现在这个高尔夫球场的路还是当时马拉石头到水边时轧出来的。”
“那时候，您出生了吗？”威尔弗里德说。
“孩子，没有，我当然还没出生，”卢卡斯大笑着说，“那是发生在我出生之前很久的事情。那个石头房子，或者城堡，随便你们怎么称呼它，总之它建成了。老人把所有的财宝都带去了，其中有美丽的雕像，据说有些还是金的，但是我不信。啊，我听了很多关于那个富有的老人带东西到耳语岛的故事，一张宝石装饰的纯金床、一条带有鸽子蛋大的红宝石项链、一把宝剑，它的珠宝剑柄可以匹敌整个皇家的财富，还有其他的一些东西我都记不清了。”
他停了下来，看了看四周。朱利安问了个简单的问题，“那所有的东西都怎样了？”
“他与国王发生了冲突，有一天早上他看到各种各样的船靠在岛的岸边。”卢卡斯说，他非常享受听众们全神贯注地听他讲，“一些船被巨大的石头击沉了，但也剩下了足够多的人，他们席卷了森林里的城堡，杀了老人和他的仆人们。”
“他们找到老人的财宝了吗？”迪克问。
“没有！”卢卡斯说，“一个都没有！有人说那只是个传说，老人实际上从没带东西过去，还有人说财宝还在耳语岛那里。我个人觉得，这就是个故事，是个好故事！”
“现在这个岛归谁了？”迪克问。
“一个老人和他妻子去住了，或许他们向皇室付租金了吧，也有可能他们把岛买下了。但是，他们除了关心那里的动物，其他的概不关心。”卢卡斯说着，捡起他的弯钩镰，轻轻地朝一些荆棘砍去，“他们不允许不相干的人去，于是他们雇了一些持枪警卫，用来吓跑游客。他们想为自己和岛上的野生动物保持安宁，这也是个好主意。当时我和其他警卫在那里，我们有三个人，常常让兔子在我脚边嬉戏，蛇围着我滑行，鸟儿像金丝雀一样乖巧。”
“我想去那里，”威尔弗里德说，他的眼睛闪闪发光，“我会与所有的野生动物玩得很好！现在有人能去吗？”
“不能，”卢卡斯站起来说，“自从那个老人和他妻子病倒去世后，没有人住过那个老石头城堡，那里空空的。现在它属于那对老夫妇的侄孙，但他从来都不去，只留了几个人在那儿吓退游客，听说那些人很凶狠。好了，这就是耳语岛的故事了，不怎么好，还有点冷酷和不祥，不过现在它属于那些鸟儿和野兽了，祝它们好运！”
“谢谢您给我们讲故事。”安妮说。这个乡下老人低头朝她笑了笑，他的眼睛皱皱的，棕色的手拍拍她的脸颊。
“我得回树篱旁，继续清理水池了。”他说，“我可以感受温暖的阳光照在我的后背上，可以听见灌木丛里的鸟儿们对我歌唱。这对任何人来说都足够幸福了，可惜很多人不知道啊！”
Chapter 7 UP ON THE GOLF-COURSE
Chapter 7 UP ON THE GOLF-COURSE
The children walked round the golf-course together, after talking to old Lucas. 'We must keep out ofthe way of anyone playing,' said Dick, 'or we might get hit on the head with a ball! Hey, Timmy,what are you doing in the bracken?'
Timmy came out with something in his mouth. He dropped it at George's feet. It was a golf-ball,fairly new. George picked it up. 'What do we do with this?' she said. 'There's no golfer near us. Itmust be a lost ball.'
'Well, all balls lost on golf-courses should be taken in to the pro,' said Julian. 'By right they belong tohim if found on the course.'
'What's a pro?' asked Anne.
'A professional golfer - a man who's very very good at the game, and is in charge of a golf-course,'
explained Julian. 'Well I'm blessed - here comes old Tim again with another ball.
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Timmy, we ought to hire you out to golfers who keep losing their balls - you'd save them no end oftrouble!'
Timmy was pleased to be patted and praised. He set off into the rough again at once, sniping here andthere.
'Anyone would think that golf-balls smelt like rabbits or something, the way Timmy sniffs them out!'
said Anne, as Timmy ran up with yet another ball. 'My word, golfers must be jolly careless, losing somany balls!'
They went on round the course, which was set with great stretches of gorse, full of brilliant blossom.
A baby rabbit fled from the bracken as Timmy nosed there for balls. Timmy chased it, and thefrightened little creature dodged this way and that, trying to escape. 'Let it go, Tim, let it go!' yelledGeorge, but Timmy was much too excited to pay any attention.
Wilfrid suddenly bent down as the rabbit raced near him, and gave a curious low whistle. The rabbitswerved, came straight towards him, and leapt into his arms, lying there trembling. Timmy jumpedup to it at once, but George dragged him away.
'NO, Timmy. Sorry, but NO, you can't have the little thing. Down! DOWN, I say!'
Timmy gave George a disgusted look, and pattered off into the bracken, nosing for balls again.
He was very cross with George. Rabbits were meant to be chased, weren't they? Why did Georgehave to spoil his fun?
George stared at Wilfrid. The rabbit was still nestling in his arms, and he was making a curious noiseto it. The tiny thing was trembling from head to tail. Everyone watched it, glad that it was safe. Theywere all silent, astonished at the way that Wilfrid had rescued the little creature. How had the rabbitknown that Wilfrid's arms were ready to save it?
He took it to the bracken, dropped it gently, and watched it race like lightning to the nearest burrow.
Then he turned and patted Timmy, who stood silently by, watching.
'Sorry, Tim,' he said. 'It's so little, and you're so big!'
'Woof,' said Tim, exactly as if he understood, and he gave Wilfrid's hand a quick lick. Then hepranced round the boy, barking, as if he wanted a game, and Wilfrid raced off with him at top speed.
The others followed, impressed once again by Wilfrid's uncanny way with animals. He was such ahorrid little boy in some ways - so rude, so mannerless, so selfish - then how was it that animals likedhim so much? George frowned. She thought it was all wrong that animals should 30love Wilfrid and go to him - why, even Timmy was all over him! If she wasn't careful he wouldspend more time with Wilfrid than with her! That would never do!
Timmy found five more balls, and soon Julian's pockets were heavy with them. They made their wayto the small club-house in the distance, meaning to give in the balls. It was set in a little dip, andlooked friendly and welcoming. They all went in at the door, and Julian walked over to the pro, whowas checking some score-cards. He emptied his pockets of balls and grinned. 'A present from ourdog!' he said.
'My word - did he find all those?' said the pro, pleased. 'Not bad ones, either. I'll stand you all somelemonade or orangeade - which will you have?'
They all had orangeade, and the pro sent a packet of biscuits to Timmy, who was waiting patientlyoutside. He was delighted!
'We're staying in that little cottage up on the hillside,' said Dick. 'Do you know it?'
'Course I do!' said the pro. 'My grandmother lived there once upon a time. You've a wonderful viewthere, haven't you? One of the finest in the world, I reckon! You can see Whispering Island fromthere, too. Ought to be called 'Mystery Island'! It's said that folks have gone there, and never comeback!'
'What happened to them?' asked Anne.
'Oh well - maybe it's all a tale!' said the pro. 'There's supposed to be priceless things there, packedaway somewhere - and collectors from all over the world have come here, and tried to get over to thatisland - not to steal, you understand, but just to see if they could find anything worthwhile and buy itfor museums - or maybe for their own collections. It's said there are statues in the wood, white assnow - but that I never did believe!'
'And didn't the collectors ever come back?' asked Julian.
'It's said that a lot of them didn't,' said the pro, 'but that may be all silly tales. But I do know that twomen came down here from some museum in London, and hired a boat to go across. They took awhite flag with them so that the two keepers wouldn't shoot at them - and after that nobody heard aword about them. They just disappeared!'
'Well - what could have happened to them?' asked Julian.
'Nobody knows,' said the pro. 'Their boat was found miles out to sea, drifting - and empty. So thepolice reckoned a mist came down, they lost direction, and ended by drifting way out to sea.'
31
'But did they jump out of their boat, and try to swim back - and get drowned?' asked Dick. 'Or did apassing steamer or yacht save them?'
'They weren't picked up, that's certain,' said the pro. 'Else they'd have arrived safely back at theirhomes, sometime or other. But they didn't. No - I reckon the poor fellows were drowned. Of course,maybe they were shot by the keepers, when they tried to land, and their boat was set adrift!'
'Didn't the police do anything?' asked Julian, puzzled.
'Oh yes - they went across to the island in the coastguard patrol boat,' said the pro. 'But the keepersswore they'd seen nobody arriving, and that they were the only people on the place. The police landedand searched everywhere, and they found nothing except the great white castle-like house in thewoods and hundreds of wild animals, so tame that they'd sit and watch you as you walked by.'
'All very mysterious,' said Julian, getting up. 'Well, thanks for the welcome orangeade, and for yourinformation! We'd already heard a bit from a groundsman of yours - Lucas - a real old countryman,and a born story-teller!'
'Ah, Lucas - yes, he knows that island well,' said the pro. 'He was once one of the keepers, I believe!
Well - come and see me again some time - thanks for the balls. It isn't everyone who's honest enoughto come and give them in when they find them!'
They all said good- bye and went out. Timmy pranced along in joy. Sitting down outside theclubhouse didn't suit him at all!
'Did you enjoy your biscuits, Tim?' asked George, and he ran up and gave her hand a quick lick.
What a question! He always enjoyed biscuits! He ran off into the bracken and began to nose aboutthere again, hunting for balls.
The others went to walk up the hill, talking about the island. 'I wonder what really did happen tothose two collector men who were never heard of again,' said Anne. 'Funny that their boat was foundadrift and empty.'
'They must have been drowned, of course,' said Dick. 'I wonder if anything is left of the old treasuresthat were once taken there. No - there wouldn't be - the police would have made a very thoroughsearch!'
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'I wish we could go to the island!' said George. 'I don't expect the keepers would shoot at us, wouldthey? They might even let us on, to make a change for them - they must be so bored with onlythemselves to talk to.'
'That's very wishful thinking, George,' said Julian. 'We are CERTAINLY not going near the island,so put that right out of your head.'
'Well - I knew it was impossible, really,' said George. 'But wouldn't it be a grand adventure if wemanaged to get on the mysterious Whispering Island and explore it without the keepers knowing!'
'Not such a grand adventure if we were all peppered with shot from the keepers' guns!' said Dick.
'Anyway, we wouldn't find anything of interest - the treasures must have been removed long ago.
The only possible things of interest would be the very tame wild creatures there! Wilfrid would gomad with joy - wouldn't you Wilfrid?'
'I'd like it very much,' said the boy, his eyes shining. 'What's more, I might hire a boat myself and rowround the island to see if I could spot any animals there.'
'You'll do nothing of the sort!' said Julian, at once. 'So don't try any silly tricks, see?'
'I shan't promise!' said Wilfrid, irritatingly. 'You just never know!'
'Oh yes, I do know! You're just trying to sound big!' said Julian. 'Come along quickly, everyone -it's past our dinner-time, and I'm ravenous! What's for lunch, Anne?'
'We'll open a tin of tongue,' said Anne, 'and there's plenty of bread left, and lettuce, which I left inwater. And tomatoes. And heaps of fruit.'
'Sounds good!' said George. 'Dinner, Timmy, dinner!'
And, hearing that welcome word, Timmy shot up the steep hill at top speed, his tail waving joyously.
'Wish I was a dog and could tear up a hill like that!' said Anne, panting. 'Give me a push, Julian!
I'll never get to the top!'
7.高尔夫球场见闻
高尔夫球场见闻
与卢卡斯聊过之后，孩子们绕着高尔夫球场走。“我们一定不要走到他们打球的球道上，”迪克说，“不然会被球打到脑袋的！嘿！
蒂米，你在草丛里干什么？”
蒂米出来了，嘴巴叼着个东西，放到了乔治脚边，是个崭新的高尔夫球。乔治捡了起来，“我们怎么处理它？”她说，“附近也没高尔夫球手，这一定是丢失的球。”
“嗯，高尔夫球场上所有丢失的球都应交给专业选手，”朱利安说，“他有权拥有被找到的丢失在球场的球。”
“什么是专业选手？”安妮问。
“专业的高尔夫球手，就是一个经常参加高尔夫比赛，而且经常在高尔夫球场上练习的人。”朱利安解释道，“天哪！蒂米又找到一只球。蒂米，我们应该把你雇给总是丢球的高尔夫球手，这样你就可以帮他们解决麻烦了！”
蒂米喜欢被爱抚和夸奖。它立刻又跑进了深草区，这里闻闻，那里嗅嗅。
“有没有人觉得蒂米闻高尔夫球的方式，像闻兔子或其他东西吗？”蒂米又叼回一只球时，安妮说道，“哎呀，高尔夫球手弄丢这么多球，一定是非常粗心！”
他们继续绕着球场走着。球场盛开着大片灿烂的荆豆。就在蒂米寻找高尔夫球时，高高的草丛里跳出一只小兔子。蒂米追上去，小兔子东躲西藏，想要逃跑。“放了它，蒂米！”乔治喊道。蒂米太兴奋了，没有听见。
小兔子跑到威尔弗里德附近时，他忽然弯下腰，低低地吹了一声。小兔子转身，直冲他跑来，跳到了他怀里，趴在那儿瑟瑟发抖。蒂米立刻跳起来够小兔子，乔治连忙把它拽走了。
“不，蒂米。抱歉了，但是不可以，你不能咬那小家伙。坐下！
我说坐下！”
蒂米生气地看了乔治一眼，又跑进草丛里找球去了。它非常生气，兔子本来就是被追的，不是吗？为什么乔治非要破坏它的兴致？
乔治盯着威尔弗里德。小兔子还趴在他怀里，他正跟它讲着奇怪的话。小家伙全身都在颤抖，所有人都看着它，很高兴它没事。
没有人说话，他们为威尔弗里德解救这小家伙的方法感到惊讶，小兔子怎么知道威尔弗里德的怀抱可以救它呢？
他把它抱到深草中，轻轻地放下，看着它闪电般地冲进最近的洞穴里。然后他转过身来，拍拍蒂米，蒂米正站在那里静静地看着。
“对不起，蒂米，”他说，“它太小了，你太大了！”
“汪！”蒂米叫道，好像它听懂了一样，然后迅速地舔了舔威尔弗里德的手。它围着男孩欢快地跳着、叫着，仿佛想玩游戏，威尔弗里德以最快的速度跑了出去。
其他人跟在后面，再一次被威尔弗里德与动物相处的离奇方式折服了。他在某些方面是那么令人讨厌，粗鲁、无礼、自私，然而动物们为什么那么喜欢他呢？乔治皱了皱眉头。她觉得动物们喜欢威尔弗里德，亲近他，都是错误的，竟然连蒂米都归顺他了！如果她一不小心，蒂米跟威尔弗里德在一起的时间，就会远远超过和她在一起的了！绝对不行！
蒂米又找到了五个球，很快朱利安的口袋就沉甸甸的了。他们来到了远处的小俱乐部，想把球交出去。俱乐部地势有点低，看起来很不错。他们一起进屋，朱利安向一位专业选手走去，他正在查看一些计分卡。朱利安笑着把球从口袋倒出来，说道：“这是我们的狗给您的礼物！”
“哎呀！都是它找到的？”专业选手高兴地说，“而且都是好球！
我请你们喝柠檬水或者橘子汁吧，你们想喝哪个？”
他们都喝了橘子汁，蒂米耐心地在门外等着，专业选手给了它一袋饼干。蒂米很高兴！
“我们住在山坡上那座小屋里，”迪克说，“你知道那小屋吗？”
“当然知道了！”专业选手说，“我奶奶曾经在那里住过一段时间。你们那里景色优美，对吧？我敢说，那是世界上最美的地方之一。从那里还可以看见耳语岛，不，应该叫‘神秘岛’！据说去了那里的人，再也没有回来过！”
“他们怎么了？”安妮问。
“呃，这有可能只是个传说！”专业选手说，“传说那里有无价之宝，藏在某个地方，来自世界各地的收藏家都想到岛上去，不是盗窃，你们懂的，只是想看看能不能找到有价值的东西，替博物馆买下，或者买来收藏。传说还有洁白似雪的木雕，但是我从来不信！”
“然后收藏家们都没回来？”朱利安问。
“据说很多都没回来，”专业选手说，“不过有可能只是些无聊的故事罢了。但是，我的确认识两个伦敦博物馆的人，他们从这里下去，雇了一艘船过去。他们带了一面白旗，所以警卫们没有开枪射击他们，但是他们就那么消失了！”
“啊！那他们出什么事了？”朱利安问。
“没人知道，”专业选手说，“后来他们的船出现在离海几公里外的地方，空空地漂着。警察推测，他们由于大雾，迷失了方向，漂到了海外。”
“但是他们从船上跳出去了吗？是游回来了，还是溺水了？”迪克问，“路过的轮船或快艇救了他们吗？”
“他们没有被救起来，这是肯定的，”专业选手说，“不然，无论早晚，他们都该安全回家了。但是他们没有回家，我敢肯定这两个可怜的人淹死了。当然，也有可能他们尝试登岛时，被警卫打死了，船自己漂走了！”
“警察没做点什么吗？”朱利安疑惑地问。
“哦，他们做了。他们驾驶边防巡逻船去了岛上，警卫发誓没有看见人来，并且他们是唯一在岛上的人。警察搜遍了小岛，除了看见城堡一样的白色木屋和成千上万的动物，其他的什么也没见到。
动物们都非常温驯，有人经过时，它们就静静地坐着，注视着。”
“那么神奇。”朱利安站起来说，“谢谢您的橘子汁和您的信息！
我们从您的场地管理员——卢卡斯那里听到过一些。他是个地道的乡下老人，讲故事的天才！”
“啊，卢卡斯，是的，他非常了解那个岛，他曾经做过那里的警卫。”专业选手说，“谢谢你们帮我找到球，有时间记得来找我，并不是所有人都这么诚实地交过来的！”
他们一起跟专业选手说再见，然后出来了。蒂米高兴地蹦蹦跳跳，安静地坐在俱乐部外面太不适合它了！
“蒂米，喜欢你的饼干吗？”乔治问。它跑过来，迅速舔了舔她的手。那还用说！它一直都喜欢饼干！它又跑到深草区，到处闻闻，找球去了。
其他人一边朝山上走去，一边谈论着耳语岛的事。“真不知道那两个音讯全无的收藏家发生了什么事？”安妮说，“奇怪的是，他们的船空空地漂浮着。”
“他们肯定是淹死了。”迪克说，“不知道被带到那里的财宝还有剩下的吗？不，应该没有了，警察肯定彻底搜查过了。”
“希望我们可以到岛上去！”乔治说，“我觉得警卫不会射击我们的，对吧？有可能他们还会允许我们上去给他们带去点变化呢。他们只能自己聊天，肯定无聊透了。”
“想想就算了，乔治。”朱利安说，“我们一定不能靠近耳语岛，所以趁早打消这个念头吧。”
“唉，我确实知道不可能的。”乔治说，“但是如果我们能躲过警卫，到神秘的耳语岛上去，那不是个大冒险吗！”
“如果我们都被警卫们用枪办了，就不是什么大冒险了！”迪克说，“不管怎样，我们捞不到好处的，那些财宝肯定很久以前就被转移了。唯一有意思的，可能就是那些温驯的野生动物了。威尔弗里德会高兴坏的，对吧，威尔弗里德？”
“我会喜欢的，”那男孩眼睛闪闪发光说，“另外我或许会自己雇条船，围着岛转转，看能不能找到什么动物？”
“你不能干那种事！”朱利安马上说，“不要想着干傻事，明白吗？”
“我可不保证！”威尔弗里德愤怒地说，“你不懂！”
“不，我懂！你就是试图像大人一样说话！”朱利安说，“大家快点，午餐时间过了。我好饿！安妮，我们午餐吃什么？”
“我们开一罐牛舌。”安妮说，“我们有足够的面包，我还泡了一些生菜，还有西红柿和一堆水果。”
“听上去不错！”乔治说，“吃饭了，蒂米，吃饭了！”
听到这热情的话，蒂米以最快的速度冲上了陡峭的山坡，愉快地摇着尾巴。
“真希望我也是只狗，可以那样爬山！”安妮气喘吁吁地说，“拉我一下，朱利安！我爬不上去了！”
Chapter 8 MOSTLY ABOUT WILFRID
Chapter 8 MOSTLY ABOUT WILFRID
Timmy was waiting for the children at the top of the hill, his tail waving, his mouth open as hepanted. He picked something up, as the children came, threw it into the air, and caught it.
'Another golf-ball, Timmy?' said Dick, as Timmy threw the ball into the air again with a toss of hisbig head.
'No - it's too big for that,' said George. 'drop it, Timmy. What have you found?'
Timmy dropped the ball at George's feet. It was bigger than a golf-ball, and had a hole right throughit. 'Oh, it's one of those balls that children throw up and try to catch on a stick,' said George.
'Somebody must have dropped it. All right, Tim, you can have it.'
'He won't swallow it, will he?' said Wilfrid, anxiously. 'It's not awfully big - and I once saw a dogswallow something by mistake, that he threw into the air to catch.'
'Timmy's much too sensible to swallow any ball,' said George. 'You needn't worry about him.
Anyway, I can do any worrying necessary. He's my dog.'
'All right, all right, all right!' said Wilfrid. 'Miss High-and-Mighty can look after her own dog.
Fine!'
George looked round at him furiously and he made a face at her. Then he whistled to Timmy -yes, he actually dared to whistle to him!
'Nobody whistles for my dog except me,' said George. 'And anyway, he won't come to you.'
But, to her surprise and horror, Timmy did go to Wilfrid, and pranced all round him, expecting agame. George called him sternly, and he looked at her in surprise. He began to trot over to her whenWilfrid whistled again, and obediently Timmy turned as if to go to him.
George caught hold of the dog's collar, and aimed a punch at the whistling boy. It missed him, and hedanced round, laughing.
'Stop it now, you two,' said Julian, seeing George's look of fury. 'I said STOP IT! Wilfrid, go onahead, and keep going. George, don't be an ass. He's only teasing you to make you lose your temper.
Don't please him by losing it!'
George said nothing more, but her eyes blazed. Oh dear! thought Anne, now we shan't have anypeace! She won't forgive Wilfrid for making Timmy go to him! Blow Wilfrid - he really is a littlepest at times.
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They were all very hungry for their lunch and very pleased with everything that Anne provided.
Dick went into the little cottage to help her, because George insisted on keeping her hand on Timmy'scollar all the time, in case Wilfrid should entice him to his side.
'He's making some of his peculiar noises now,' said Dick to Anne. 'Noises that animals can't seem toresist! I don't wonder that George has got Timmy tightly by the collar! I'm not a dog, but I find thoselittle whiny noises Wilfrid is making very curious indeed, and I'd love to go nearer!'
'Well, I hope we're not going to have black looks from George from now on,' said Anne.
'Wilfrid's an awful little idiot at times, and MOST irritating - but he's not bad underneath, if youknow what I mean.'
'Well, I don't really,' said Dick, cutting some tomatoes in half. 'I think he's a badly brought-up littlepest - and if I were a dog, I'd bite him, not fawn on him! Have I cut up enough tomatoes, Anne?'
'Good gracious, yes!' said Anne. 'However many do you think we're going to eat - forty or fifty?
Look, you open this tin for me, Dick. I do so hate opening tins. I nearly always cut myself.'
'Don't you ever open one again, then,' said Dick. 'I'm the official tin-opener from now on! Dear oldAnne, whatever should we do without you! You take everything on your shoulders, and we just letyou! George ought to help more. She's a girl like you - but she never gets the meals or anything. I'lltick her off one of these days.'
'No, don't,' said Anne, in alarm. 'I like doing things on my own. George would only break things orupset them. She's as ham-handed as a boy when it comes to washing up or setting out crockerythough she means well.'
'So boys are ham-handed, are they?' said Dick, pretending to be offended. 'When have I ever brokenanything, I'd like to know? I'm as careful as any girl, when I handle crockery!'
Alas for Dick! The glass he was holding suddenly slipped from his hand, fell to the floor, and broke!
Anne looked at him and gave a sudden delighted giggle. 'Old Ham-hand!' she said. 'Can't pick up aglass without dropping it! Look, take out this tray for me, and for goodness sake don't drop that!'
They all had a delicious lunch, and ate practically everything. Wilfrid sat a little away from everyone,scattering crumbs around as he ate. Birds of all kinds were soon round him, even hopping on to hishands. A magpie flew down to his left shoulder. Wilfrid greeted it like an old friend. 'Hallo, MaggiePie! How's the family? I hope Polly Pie has recovered from her cold. And 35is Peter Pie's bad leg better? And what about old Granpa Pie - does he still chase you young ones?'
The magpie put its glossy head on one side and chattered back to him in bird-language, which Wilfridappeared to understand. He stroked the bird's gleaming breast, and fondled it lovingly.
George deliberately didn't watch. She turned her back on Wilfrid and the magpie, and talked toTimmy. The others couldn't help being amused.
The magpie put Wilfrid's conversation to an end very suddenly. The boy was about to put half atomato into his mouth when the bird bent down its head and snatched away the tomato with itspowerful beak. Then it rose quickly into the air on its big wings, making a noise exactly as if it werelaughing!
Everyone roared with laughter except the surprised Wilfrid. 'He's gone to take your tomato to PollyPie, I should think,' said Anne, and that made everyone laugh again.
'I'll have another tomato now, please,' said Wilfrid.
'Sorry. You're unlucky. They're all gone,' said Dick.
It was lovely sitting up on the hillside, watching the boats in the harbour, and seeing the beautiful,white- sailed yachts bending to and fro in the strong wind that blew there. They could all seeWhispering Island quite clearly, and noticed that no boats went anywhere near it. Clearly everyoneknew that men might be there, watching for intruders.
'There might be badgers there,' said Wilfrid, suddenly. 'I've never been really close to a badger.'
'I shouldn't think anyone but you would want to be!' said George. 'Smelly things! There's one thing -you can't call one with your whistle-pipe - there aren't any here!'
'Wilfrid - get out your pipe and make the little rabbits come again,' said Anne, suddenly. 'While we'reall sitting here quietly, would they come?'
'Yes, I think so,' said Wilfrid, and felt in his pocket. He felt in another pocket, and looked worried.
Then he stood up and patted himself all over, looking really distressed. He stared round at the others,anguish on his face.
'It's gone,' he said. 'I must have lost it! It's gone! I'll never have another like it, never.'
'Oh, it must be in one of your pockets,' said Dick, touched by the look on the boy's face. 'Here, let mefeel.'
But no - the pipe wasn't there. Wilfrid looked as if he were about to burst into tears. He began to huntall round, and everyone helped him. No - not quite everyone. George didn't. Dick glanced at 36her, and frowned. George was pleased that the precious pipe was lost. How she must dislike poorWilfrid! Well, he was dislikeable at times, no doubt about it - but he was so distressed now thatsurely nobody could help feeling sorry for him!
George got up and began to clear away the remains of the meal. She carried plates and glasses to thehut, and after a while Anne followed her.
'I'm sorry for poor old Wilfrid, aren't you?' she said.
'No, I'm not,' said George, shortly. 'Serves him right! I hope he never finds his silly pipe. That willteach him not to try and get Timmy away from me!'
'Oh, don't be silly! He only does it for fun!' said Anne, shocked. 'Why do you take things so seriously,George? You know Timmy loves you better than anyone in the world and always will.
He's your dog and nobody, nobody else's! Wilfrid's only teasing you when he tries to get Timmy togo to him.'
'Timmy goes, though,' said George, desperately. 'And he shouldn't. He shouldn't.'
'He can't help it, I think,' said Anne. 'Wilfrid has some peculiar attraction for animals - and that littlewhistle-pipe of his is like a magic call to them.'
'I'm glad it's gone!' said George. 'Glad, glad, glad!'
'Then I think you're silly and unkind,' said Anne, and walked off, knowing that she could do nothingwith George in this mood. She worried a little as she went. Did George know where the pipe was?
Had she found it - and hidden it - or destroyed it? No - no! George could be difficult and unkind attimes, but she wasn't mean. And what a mean thing it would be, to destroy the beautiful little pipe,with its magic trills!
Anne went back to the others, meaning to try and comfort Wilfrid - but he wasn't there. 'Where's hegone?' asked Anne.
'To look for his precious whistle-pipe,' said Dick. 'He's really heartbroken about it, I think. He sayshe's going to walk back the way we came from the golf- course, and then he's going to walkeverywhere there that we walked this morning, and hunt and hunt. He's even going down to the club-house to see if he dropped it there. He'll never find it!'
'Poor old Wilfrid!' said Anne, tender-hearted as ever. 'I wish he'd waited for me. I'd have gone withhim. He's awfully upset, isn't he? Won't he be able to call the wild animals to him any more?'
37
'I've no idea,' said Dick. 'Er - I suppose old George doesn't know anything about it? Perhaps that's amean thing to say - but George might have found it and kept it just for a joke.'
'No. No, I don't think she'd do that,' said Anne. 'It would be a very poor joke. Well - we'll just have tohope Wilfrid finds it. What are you going to do this afternoon? Sleep, by the look of you!'
'Yes - sleep out in the warm sun here, till three o'clock,' said Julian. 'Then I'm going for a walk -down to the harbour. I might even have a bathe.'
'We'll all go,' said Dick, sleepily. 'Oh how lovely it is to feel lazy - and warm - and well-fed - andsleeeeeeeepy! So long, everyone! I'm asleep!'
8.威尔弗里德事件
威尔弗里德事件
蒂米在山顶等着孩子们，它摇着尾巴，张着嘴巴喘着气。孩子们上来时，它捡起了个东西，抛向空中，又接住了。
“又一个高尔夫球，蒂米？”当它用大脑袋把球抛到高空时，迪克问。
“不是，太大了。”乔治说，“放下，蒂米。你找到什么了？”
蒂米把球放到乔治脚边，这个球比高尔夫球大，中间有个洞。“哦，是一种孩子们抛着玩的，看谁能把球接到一根棍子上的那种球。”乔治说，“肯定是谁丢的。好，蒂米，这球属于你了。”
“它不会吞下去的，对吧？”威尔弗里德焦急地说，“这球不太大，我曾经看见一只狗把自己抛起来的东西，误吞下去了。”
“蒂米很谨慎，不会吞球的。”乔治说，“不用担心，不管怎样，该担心的是我，这是我的狗！”
“好，好，好！”威尔弗里德说，“趾高气扬小姐可以照顾好她的狗。”
乔治愤怒地打量着他，他瞪着乔治。然后，威尔弗里德朝蒂米吹了一声哨，是的，他竟然胆敢朝蒂米吹哨！
“除了我，任何人不可以朝我的狗吹哨，”乔治说，“不管怎样，它不会听你的。”
但是，令她惊恐的是，蒂米真的朝威尔弗里德跑去了，围着他蹦蹦跳跳，想要玩游戏。乔治严肃地喊蒂米，它吃惊地看着乔治。
威尔弗里德再次吹哨时，蒂米慢慢向乔治跑来，像跑向威尔弗里德一样乖巧。
乔治抓住蒂米的项圈，向吹哨子的男孩打了一拳。没打到，他蹦蹦跳跳地，笑着躲开了。
“停下来，你们俩！”看到乔治愤怒的表情，朱利安喊道，“我说停！威尔弗里德，你先走。乔治，不要犯傻，他只是故意惹你生气，不要让他得逞。”
乔治没再说话，眼睛里充满愤怒。哦，天哪！安妮想，我们以后别想安宁了！威尔弗里德引诱蒂米归顺自己，乔治不会原谅他了！威尔弗里德完了，他有时的确有点惹人厌！
午餐时大家都很饿了，都很喜欢安妮准备的食物。迪克走进小屋去帮她，因为乔治担心威尔弗里德再来诱拐蒂米，所以一直牵着蒂米的项圈不松手。
“他会发出一种奇怪的声音，”迪克说，“那是一种动物无法抵抗的声音。我觉得乔治用项圈牵不住蒂米！我不是狗，但是我发现威尔弗里德发出的声音很奇妙，我都忍不住想要走近些！”
“唉，从现在起，希望我们再也不要看到乔治怒气冲冲的样子了。”安妮说，“威尔弗里德有时就是个小傻瓜，很讨人厌，但是心地又不坏。你懂我的意思吧。”
“呃，不太懂。”迪克切开一个西红柿说，“我觉得他是个没有教养的小害虫。如果我是只狗，我会咬他，而不是讨好他！安妮，我切的西红柿够多了吗？”
“哦，天啊！够多了！”安妮说，“你觉得我们能吃多少？40个还是50个？快，迪克，帮我把这个罐子打开。我太讨厌开罐子了，几乎每次都割到自己。”
“那以后你不要自己开了，从现在起，我是你的御用开罐人了。”迪克说，“亲爱的好安妮，如果没有你，我们该怎么办啊？你承包了所有活儿，而我们就那么麻烦你！乔治应该帮忙的，她也是女孩，可是她从来不做饭或者做别的活儿，我一定得说说她！”
“不，不要，”安妮警告道，“我喜欢自己做事。乔治只会打碎或者打翻东西，尽管她是好意，可是每次洗刷或收拾瓷器时，她总会像男孩子一样笨手笨脚的。”
“所以男孩子都是笨手笨脚的，是吗？”迪克假装生气地说，“我想知道，我啥时候打碎过东西？我处理瓷器的时候，可像女孩子一样小心的！”
可惜，话刚说完，他手里的玻璃杯忽然掉到地上，摔碎了！安妮看着他，突然“咯咯”地笑起来。
“笨手笨脚的家伙！”安妮说，“只拿个杯子能别打碎吗？听着，把这个盘子给我，千万别打碎了！”
随后，他们都吃到了美味的午餐，吃光了所有的食物。威尔弗里德坐得离大家稍远一点，一边吃，一边在身边洒碎屑。鸟儿们马上围了过来，甚至跳到了他手上，一只喜鹊落到了他左肩上。威尔弗里德像欢迎老朋友一样对它，“嗨，喜鹊-鹊，家里都好吗？希望波利-鹊感冒康复了，皮特-鹊腿好些了吗？老爷爷-鹊怎么样了？它还总追你们这些年轻的小鸟吗？”
喜鹊光滑的脑袋转到一边，用鸟语回应他，看上去威尔弗里德都能听懂。他抚摸着鸟儿闪闪发光的胸脯，慈爱地轻抚着。乔治故意不看，她背对着威尔弗里德和喜鹊，对蒂米说话。其他人都忍不住乐了。
喜鹊忽然终止了与威尔弗里德的讲话。男孩正准备吃一块西红柿时，喜鹊低头，用它强壮的喙把西红柿抢走了。然后迅速扇动着大翅膀飞向空中，发出仿佛大笑的叫声。
除了威尔弗里德之外，大家都爆笑起来。“我觉得，他带着你的西红柿去给波利-鹊了。”安妮说，大家听了又大笑起来。
“请再给我一块西红柿。”威尔弗里德说。
“对不起，很不幸，都吃完了。”迪克说。
坐在山顶，看着下面港口里的船只，望着美丽的快艇，挂着白帆一前一后地迎风前行，真的非常惬意。他们都能清晰地看见耳语岛，发现没有船靠近它。很明显，大家都担心警卫在岛上时刻注意着入侵者。
“那里可能有獾！”威尔弗里德突然说，“我还没真正靠近过獾呢。”
“我觉得除了你没人想靠近它！”乔治说，“那是个臭家伙！有样东西，你用笛子唤不来的，因为这里没有！”
“威尔弗里德，拿出你的笛子来，把那些小兔子再唤来，”安妮突然说，“我们都静静地坐在这里的话，它们会来吗？”
“会的，我觉得，”威尔弗里德说着，摸了摸口袋，然后又摸了另一只口袋，看上去很着急。然后他站起来，上下拍了拍自己，看上去十分焦虑。他看了大家一圈，表情很痛苦。
“不见了，”他说，“我一定把它弄丢了！不见了！我再也没有那样的笛子了，再也没有了！”
“肯定在你的一个口袋里，”迪克说，他被男孩的表情触动了，“过来，我看看。”
但是没有，笛子不在。威尔弗里德看起来要哭了，他开始四处找，大家都帮他一直找。不，并不是所有人，乔治没有帮他。迪克瞅了她一眼，皱起了眉头。乔治很高兴那支珍贵的笛子丢了，她是多么讨厌可怜的威尔弗里德啊！唉，有时候他是很惹人厌，毋庸置疑。但他现在太难过了，大家都忍不住同情他。
乔治站起来，开始清理剩下的食物。她把盘子和杯子收到小屋里，不一会儿安妮跟了过来。
“我真为可怜的威尔弗里德难过，你呢？”她说。
“不，我没有，”乔治简洁地说，“活该！希望他永远找不到那个愚蠢的笛子。那会让他知道，永远别想把蒂米从我身边带走！”
“噢，别傻了！他那样只是玩玩而已！”安妮震惊地说，“乔治，你为什么把事情看得这么严重？你知道蒂米爱你胜过世界上的任何人，而且它永远爱你。它是你的狗，而不是其他任何人的！威尔弗里德引诱蒂米找他时，只是在逗你。”
“可是，蒂米过去了啊，”乔治失望地说，“它不应该，不应该！”
“它只是忍不住，我觉得，”安妮说，“威尔弗里德对动物有一种奇怪的吸引力，他那个小哨笛对它们来说好像有召唤魔力。”
“我很高兴它不见了，”乔治说，“高兴，高兴，高兴！”
“那我觉得你又傻又无情。”安妮说完，走开了，她知道这个时候她拿乔治毫无办法。她一边走一边有些担心，乔治知道笛子在哪里吗？她找到给藏起来了吗，或者给弄坏了？不，不，乔治有时也是很难相处，很无情，但是她不卑鄙。毁掉一个这么美丽，又有神奇声音的小笛子，多么卑鄙啊！
安妮回到其他人身边，想安慰安慰威尔弗里德，但是他不在。“他去哪儿了？”安妮问。
“去找他珍贵的哨笛了。”迪克说，“我觉得，他真是心碎了。他说他要重新走一遍我们去高尔夫球场的路，然后走一遍我们今天早上走过的每一个角落，找啊，找啊。他甚至去了小俱乐部看看有没有掉到那里。他永远也找不到了！”
“可怜的威尔弗里德！”一向心肠柔软的安妮说，“我希望他在这里等我，那样我就可以跟他一起去。他非常难过，是吧？他再也不能召唤野生动物了？”
“我不知道。”迪克说，“呃，或许这么说有点卑鄙，但是乔治或许找到了，给藏了起来，她只是开了个玩笑。”
“不，不，我觉得她不会那么做，”安妮说，“这个玩笑太差劲了。唉，我们祈祷威尔弗里德能找到吧。你们下午准备干什么？看你们这样，是要睡觉？”
“是的，在这温暖的阳光下睡到三点，”朱利安说，“然后我打算去港口散步，可能还会游个泳。”
“我们都去。”迪克困倦地说，“噢！这么温暖，肚子饱饱的，懒洋洋的，好困……啊！再见啦，大家！我困了！”
Chapter 9 OFF TO WHISPERING ISLAND
Chapter 9 OFF TO WHISPERING ISLAND
The two boys, and Anne and George, slept soundly in the sun until just past three o'clock. Then alarge fly buzzed around Anne's head, and awoke her. She sat up and looked at her watch.
'Gracious! It's ten past three!' she said, in surprise. 'Wake up, Julian! Dick, stir yourself! Don't youwant to go and bathe?'
Yawning loudly the two boys sat up, and looked all round. George was still asleep. Wilfrid hadn't yetcome back.
'Still hunting for his precious pipe, I suppose,' said Anne. 'Get up, you two boys. Dick, you're not tolie down, you'll only go to sleep again. Where are your bathing-things? I'll get them. And doesanyone know where our bathing towels are? We'll probably have to dress and undress with themround us!'
'They're up in our room, chucked into a corner,' said Dick, sleepily. 'Gosh, I was sound asleep. Ireally thought I was in my bed, when I awoke!'
Anne went to fetch the bath-towels and the bathing things. She called back to the boys. 'I've goteverything. Buck up, Julian, don't go to sleep again!'
'Right!' said Julian, sitting up and stretching himself. 'Oh this sun - it's GLORIOUS!'
He poked Dick with his toe. 'Get up! We'll leave you behind if you snore again. George, goodbye -we're going!'
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George sat up, yawning, and Timmy stood over her and licked her cheek. She patted him. 'All right,Timmy, I'm ready. It's so warm that I'm LONGING for a dip - and you'll love it too, Tim!'
Carrying their bathing-things they made their way down the hill, and across a stretch of moorland tothe edge of the sea, Timmy running joyously behind them. Beyond lay Whispering Island, a greattree-clad mass, and all around and about little boats plied, and yachts sailed in the wind, enjoyingthemselves in the great harbour which stretched far beyond the island to a big seaside town on theopposite coast.
The four went behind some rocks, and stripped off their clothes, emerging three minutes later in theirscanty bathing things. Anne raced to the edge of the water, and let it lap over her toes.
'Lovely!' she said. 'It's not a bit cold! I shall enjoy my swim!'
'Woof!' said Timmy and plunged into the water. He loved the sea too, and was a fine swimmer!
He waited for George to come in and then swam to her. She put her arms round his neck and let himdrag her along with him. Dear Timmy! How strong he was, thought George.
They had a wonderful time in the water. Further out the waves were big, and curled over likeminiature waterfalls, sweeping the children along with them. They yelled in joy, and choked whenthe water splashed into their mouths. It was an ideal day for bathing.
When they came out, they lay on the sand in the sun, Timmy beside George, keeping guard as usual.
It was really warm. George sat up and looked longingly out to sea, where the wind was whipping upthe waves tremendously.
'Wish we had a boat!' she said. 'If we were back home, I could get out my own boat, and we could goout in the cool breeze and get dry.'
Julian pointed lazily to a big notice not far off. It said 'BOATS FOR HIRE. INQUIRE AT HUT.'
'Oh good!' said George. 'I'll go and inquire. I'd love a good row!'
She slipped on her sandals, and went to the hut to which the sign pointed. A boy of about fifteen satthere, staring out to sea. He looked round as George came along.
'Want a boat?' he said.
'Yes, please. How much?' asked George. 'For four of us - and a dog.'
'Fifty pence an hour,' said the boy. 'Or a pound a day. Or three pounds a week. Better to take it by theweek if you're staying here. It works out very cheap then.'
George went back to the boys and Anne. 'Shall we take the boat by the week?' she said. 'It'll costthree pounds. We could do lots of rowing about, and it would be fun.'
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'Right,' said Dick. 'Anyone got any money?'
'There's some in my pocket, but not enough, I'm afraid,' said Julian. 'I'll go and fix up the boat for usto have tomorrow - we'll take it for a whole week. I can easily bring the money with me in themorning.'
The boat-boy was very obliging. 'You can have the boat today and onwards, if you like, you needn'twait till tomorrow,' he said. 'I know you'll bring me the money all right! So, if you'd like to have itthis afternoon, it's up to you. Choose which boat you like. They're all the same. If you want to take itout at night too, and do some fishing, you can - but tie it up safe, won't you?'
'Of course,' said Julian, going to look at the boats. He beckoned to the others, and they all came over.
'Any boat we like, day or night!' said Julian. 'Which do you fancy? Starfish - Splasho -Adventure - Sea-gull - Rock-a-bye? They all look good, sound little boats to me!'
'I'd like 'Adventure', I think,' said George, thinking that that particular little boat looked sturdy, dearieand sound. 'Nice name - and nice little boat!'
So Adventure it was! 'And a jolly good name for any boat of ours!' said Dick, pushing it down to thesea with Julian. 'Whooooosh! There she goes! Steady my beauty - we want to get in! Chuck in all ourclothes, George! We can dress when we feel cold.'
Soon they were all in the boat, bobbing about on the waves. Julian took the oars and pulled out to sea.
Now they were in the full breeze - and a spanking one it was too! 'I'm certainly not hot any more!'
said George, pulling her bathing-towel round her shoulders.
The tide was running out, and pulled the boat strongly out to sea. Whispering Island suddenly seemedvery much nearer! 'Better look out!' said George, suddenly. 'We don't know if a keeper's on guardsomewhere on the shore of the island. We're getting pretty near.'
But the out-going tide swept the boat on and on towards the island, so that very soon they could see asandy shore. Dick then took one oar, and Julian the other, and they tried to row against the tide andtake the boat back into calmer water.
It was no good. The tide was far too strong. Very soon the boat was quite near the shore of the islandand then an enormous wave flung them right up the sand, and left the boat grounded as it went backagain. It slid over to one side, and they all promptly fell out!
'Whew!' said Julian. 'What a tide! I'd no idea it ran so strongly, or I'd never have brought the boat outso far.'
40
'What shall we do!' said Anne, rather scared. She kept looking all round for a keeper with a gun.
Suppose they got into real trouble through coming right on to the island?
'I think we'll have to stay on the island till the tide turns, and we can row back on it,' said Julian.
'I can't think why that boat-boy didn't warn us about the tide. I suppose he thought we knew.'
They pulled the boat a little further up on the firm sand, took out their bundle of clothes, and hid themunder a bush. They walked up the beach towards a wood, thick with great trees. As they neared them,they heard a strange, mysterious sound.
'Whispering!' said George, stopping. 'The trees are really whispering. Listen! It's just as if they weretalking to one another under their breath! No wonder it's called Whispering Island!'
'I don't like it much,' said Anne. 'It almost sounds as if they're saying nasty things about us!'
'Shooey, shooey, shooey, shooey!' said the trees, nodding towards one another as the wind shookthem. 'Shooey, shooey!'
'Just the noise of whispering!' said George. 'Well - what do we do now? We'll have to wait an hour ortwo till the tide turns again!'
'Shall we explore?' said Dick. 'After all, we've got Timmy with us. No one is likely to attack us ifthey see him!'
'They can shoot him, can't they, if they have guns?' said George. 'If he growled one of his terrifyinggrowls, and ran at them, showing his teeth, they'd be scared to bits, and fire at him.'
'I think you're right,' said Julian, angry with himself for landing them all into what might be serioustrouble. 'Keep your hand on Timmy's collar, George.'
'You know what I think?' said Dick suddenly. 'I think we ought to try and find the guards, and tellthem the tide swept us on to the island quite by accident - we couldn't stop the boat surging on! We'renot grown-ups, come to snoop around, so they're sure to believe us - and we'd be safe from anychasing or shooting then.'
They all looked at Julian. He nodded. 'Yes - good idea. Give ourselves up, and ask for help!
After all, we hadn't any real intention of actually landing - the tide simply threw the boat into thatsandy cove!'
So they walked up to the back of the cove and into the wood, whose whispering was very loudindeed, once they were actually among the trees. No one was to be seen. The wood was so thick thatit was in parts quite difficult to clamber through. After about ten minutes very hard walking andclambering, Julian came to a stop. He had seen something through the trees.
41
The others pressed behind him. Julian pointed in front, and the others saw what looked like a greatgrey wall, made of stone.
'The old castle, I imagine!' Julian whispered, and at once the trees themselves seemed to whispereven more loudly! They all made their way to the wall, and walked alongside it. It was a very highwall indeed, and they could hardly see the top! They came to a corner and peeped round. A greatcourtyard lay there - quite empty.
'Better shout, I think,' said Dick, beginning to feel rather creepy, but before they could do that twoenormous men suddenly came down a flight of great stone steps. They looked so fierce, that Timmycouldn't help giving a blood- curdling growl. They stopped short at once, and looked all round,startled.
'The noise came from over there,' said one of the men, pointing to his left - and, to the children's greatrelief, both swung off in the wrong direction!
'We'd better get back to the cove,' whispered Julian. 'I don't at all like the look of those men -they look proper thugs. Quiet as you can, now. George, don't let Timmy bark.'
They made their way back beside the stone wall, through the whispering trees, and there they were, atthe cove.
'We'd better row back as quickly as we can,' said Julian. 'I think something's wrong here. Those menlooked like foreigners. They certainly weren't game-keepers. I wish we hadn't come.'
'Ju - where's our boat?' said Dick, in a shocked voice. 'It's gone. This can't be the right cove!'
The others stared round. Certainly there was no boat! They must have come to the wrong cove.
'It looks the same cove to me,' said George. 'Except that the sea has come in a bit more. Do you thinkit took our boat away - gosh, look at that big wave sweeping right in - and sucking back!'
'My word, yes! Our boat could easily have been dragged out on a wave like that!' said Julian, veryworried. 'Look out - here comes another!'
'It is the same cove!' said Anne, looking under a bush at the back. 'Here are our clothes, look! We hidthem here!'
'Take them out quickly!' called Julian, as another big wave swept right in. 'What an idiot I am!
We should have pulled our boat as far up as we could.'
'I'm cold now,' said Anne. 'I'm going to dress. It will be easier to carry a bathing-suit than a heap ofclothes!'
'Good idea!' said Dick, and they all promptly dressed, feeling warmer at once.
42
'We might as well leave our bathing-things under the bush where we left our clothes,' said George.
'At least we'll know it's the same cove, if we find them there!'
'The thing is - what are we going to do now?' said Julian, worried. 'No boat to get back in - and whyon earth did we choose one called Adventure! We might have known something would happen!'
9.误闯耳语岛
误闯耳语岛
两个男孩子，与安妮和乔治，在温暖的阳光下沉睡，刚刚过了三点。一只大苍蝇围着安妮的脑袋嗡嗡叫，把她吵醒了。她坐了起来，看了看表。
“天哪！三点多了！”她吃惊地说，“起床，朱利安，迪克，打起精神！你们不想去游泳了吗？”
两个男孩哈欠连天地坐了起来，向四周看看。乔治还在睡，威尔弗里德还没回来。
“我想，他还在找珍贵的笛子。”安妮说，“你们男孩起来，迪克，别躺下了，不然你又睡着了。你们的游泳用品呢？我去拿。你们知道我的浴巾在哪吗？我们可能得用它们挡着换衣服！”
“在我房间的一个角落里，”迪克困倦地说，“天啊！我睡得太香了，醒来时，还以为我睡在床上呢！”
安妮去取了浴巾和游泳用品。她回来喊男孩们。“我把东西准备好了。打起精神来，朱利安，别睡了！”
“好！”朱利安说着，坐了起来，伸着懒腰，“哦，太阳，太壮观了！”
他用脚趾戳了下迪克，说：“起来！你再睡着，我们就把你留下了。乔治，再见，我们走了。”
乔治打着哈欠，坐了起来。蒂米站在她身边，舔着她的脸。她拍了拍蒂米说：“没事，蒂米，我准备好了。太暖和了，我好想游泳，蒂米，你也会喜欢的。”
他们带着游泳用品下山了，穿过一片荒野向海边走去，蒂米高兴地跟着他们。对面是耳语岛，上面有一大片树林，周围到处是小船和快艇，不断地在风中航行，快乐地徜徉在这个大港口里，港口一直延伸到彼岸的一个海滨小镇。
四个人来到一堆岩石后面，脱下衣服，大约三分钟后，他们穿着泳衣出现了。安妮跑到水边，让海水打到脚趾上。“舒服！一点也不冷，我要游泳了！”她说。
“汪！”蒂米叫着跳进了水里。它也喜欢大海，它还是个游泳健将呢！蒂米等着乔治下水，然后游到她身边。她搂着它的脖子，让它拽着她一起游。“亲爱的蒂米！多健壮啊！”乔治想。
他们过得很愉快！远处浪花很大，像小瀑布一样卷起来，冲击着孩子们。他们快乐地喊着，偶尔被灌进嘴巴里的水呛着。这真是个游泳的好日子！
他们从水里出来，躺在阳光下的沙滩上，蒂米趴在乔治身边，像往常一样守护着。天气真的非常温暖，乔治坐了起来，渴望地望向大海，海风不断卷起巨浪。
“要是我们有艘船就好了！”她说，“如果我们回家的话，我可以拿自己的船，那样我们就可以乘着凉爽的微风出海，把身上吹干了。”
朱利安懒懒地指向不远处的一个大标志牌，上面写着：租船，室内咨询。
“噢！太好啦！”乔治说，“我去咨询下，我想划船！”
她穿上拖鞋，向指示牌所指的小屋走去。有个十五岁左右的男孩坐在那里，望着外面的大海。乔治过来时，他向四周看了看。
“租船？”他问。
“是的，请问多少钱？”乔治问，“我们有四个人和一只狗。”
“五十便士每小时，”男孩说，“或者一英镑一天，或者三英镑一周。你住在这里的话，最好是按周租，那样比较实惠。”
乔治回到男孩们和安妮身边，她说：“我们可以按周租吗？三英镑，我们可以用很多次，而且会很有趣。”
“好，”迪克说，“有人带钱了吗？”
“我口袋里有一点，但是恐怕不够。”朱利安说，“我去订下我们明天要用的船，租一整周，明早我可以带钱来。”
租船男孩非常友好。“如果你们想用船的话，今天就可以用了，不需要等到明天。”他说，“我知道你们一定会带钱来的！所以，如果想今天用也可以，你们自己决定。选一艘你们喜欢的船，都是一样的价格。如果想晚上开出去钓鱼的话也可以，但一定要绑好，可以吗？”
“当然。”朱利安说着，去看船了。他招呼其他人，然后他们都过来了。
“哪艘都行，白天晚上都可以用！”朱利安说，“你们喜欢哪艘？
海星、美人鱼、探险号、海鸥、摇篮？看起来都是不错的可靠的小船！”
“我喜欢‘探险号’，”乔治说，那小船看上去尤其结实、可爱又可靠，“我觉得它名字好，质量也好！”
就选“探险号”了！“我们的船有个好名字！”迪克说着，和朱利安一起把它推下了水，“呼！来啦！稳住，我的好船，我们要上来了！乔治，把我们的衣服都扔进来！我们冷的时候可以穿。”
很快，小伙伴们都上船了，随着海浪摇摆着。朱利安取下桨，伸进海里。现在他们完全置身于风里了，而且还是一股强风！“我确定我一点也不热了！”乔治说着，把浴巾披在了肩上。
潮水来了，把船猛烈地推向大海。耳语岛忽然显得非常近了！“最好小心点！”乔治忽然说，“我们不知道有没有警卫在岛岸的哪个地方守卫着，我们靠得太近了。”
可是潮水不断地把船推向岛的方向，很快他们就看见一片沙滩了。迪克和朱利安一人拿着一支桨，他们尝试着逆着潮水划，想划回平静点的海域。
但是毫无用处，潮水太强劲了，很快小船就靠近岛的岸边了。
一个巨浪把他们高高地抛向沙滩，巨浪退回时，船搁浅了。船向一边倾倒，他们都掉了出来！
“唷！”朱利安说，“这么大的潮水啊！我不知道它会这么强劲，不然我绝对不会把船划出这么远。”
“我们怎么办！”安妮恐惧地说。她不断地看着四周，寻找持枪警卫。他们来岛上真会遇上麻烦吗？
“我想我们得暂时住在岛上等退潮时，借着潮水回去了，”朱利安说，“我不明白那个租船男孩为什么不提醒我们有潮水，我想他以为我们自己知道。”他们把船向结实的沙滩拖了拖，拿出自己的衣服，藏在灌木丛后面。他们朝一片茂密的树林走去。当他们靠近时，听见了一种奇怪神秘的声音。
“是耳语！”乔治停下来说，“大树真的在耳语。听！真像它们在彼此窃窃私语！怪不得叫耳语岛！”
“我不太喜欢，”安妮说，“听上去好像在说我们的坏话！”
“嘘嘘，嘘，嘘！”风吹过时，大树彼此点着头说，“嘘嘘！”
“只是悄悄话的声音。”乔治说，“那我们现在干什么？要等到退潮，我们得再等一两个小时！”
“我们能去探险吗？”迪克说，“毕竟，我们有蒂米陪着。如果看见蒂米，没人敢袭击我们！”
“如果他们有枪，他们能射击它，不是吗？”乔治说，“如果蒂米发出恐怖的叫声，咧着嘴冲向他们，他们会被吓坏，会冲它开枪的。”
“我觉得你说得对，”朱利安说，他非常懊恼自己把大家置于危险境地，“牵好蒂米的项圈，乔治。”
“你们知道我怎么想的吗？”迪克突然说，“我认为我们应该试着找到警卫，告诉他们是潮水意外把我们冲到岛上来的。我们阻止不了被大浪席卷的船！我们是未成年人，不是来窥探的，他们会相信我们的。我们就不会被驱赶或者被枪击了。”
他们都看着朱利安，他点了点头，说：“对，好主意。投降，求助！毕竟，我们没有真想登岛，是潮水把船推到沙湾的！”
于是，他们回到沙湾，走进树林里。置身树林里时，会发现实际上树的声音很大。这里很难看清东西，树林太茂盛了，很难攀爬通过。大约连走带爬十来分钟后，朱利安停了下来。他从树林间隙看到了什么东西。
其他人躲在他后面。朱利安指了指前面，他们看见一个好像巨大的灰色石墙的东西。
“老城堡，我猜！”朱利安小声说。这时，大树讲悄悄话的声音听上去好像更大了。他们向墙走去，沿着墙边走。墙非常高，他们几乎看不到顶端！他们来到一个墙角，环视四周，看见一个大大的院子，空荡荡的。
“我觉得我们最好喊一下。”迪克说。他开始感觉毛骨悚然了。
还不等他们喊，两个彪形大汉忽然从巨大的石阶上下来了。他们看上去那么凶猛，蒂米忍不住发出令人毛骨悚然的叫声。两个大汉立刻停下了，环视四周，迟疑着。
“声音从那边传来的。”一个人指着他的左边说。两个人朝错误方向转过去了！孩子们大大松了一口气！
“我们最好回沙湾去，”朱利安小声说，“我一点都不喜欢那两个人，他们看上去就是暴徒。现在大家都尽量保持安静，乔治，不要让蒂米叫。”
他们回到墙边，穿过耳语的树林，终于回到了沙湾。
“我们最好尽快划船离开，”朱利安说，“我觉得这里情况不妙。
那些人像外国人，他们肯定不是警卫。真希望我们没来过这里！”
“朱利安，我们的船呢？”迪克惊恐地说，“不见了，这里肯定不是那个沙湾！”
其他人望向四周，确实没有船！他们一定走错了沙湾！
“我看着是一样的沙湾，”乔治说，“除非海浪又大了点。你们觉得会是海水带走了我们的船吗？天哪！看那个大浪，冲过来，又退回去！”
“哎呀！是的！我们的船很容易被这种浪带走！”朱利安焦急地说，“小心！又来了一个大浪！”
“是同一个沙湾，”安妮看着后面的灌木丛下说，“这是我们的衣服，看！我们藏在这里的！”
“快拿出来！”另一个大浪打过来时，朱利安喊道，“我真傻！我们应该尽力把船拖得更远些。”
“我冷了，”安妮说，“我要穿衣服了，提着洗澡包比抱着一堆衣服要轻快。”
“好主意！”迪克说。他们都迅速地穿上衣服，立刻觉得暖和了一些。
“或许我们最好把游泳用品也放在我们放衣服的灌木丛下比较好，”乔治说，“至少我们找到它们时，能知道这是同一个沙湾。”
“问题是，我们现在该怎么办？”朱利安焦虑地说，“没有船来这里救我们，我们为什么非选个‘探险号’呢！这回真的是要探险了！”
Chapter 10 THE FIVE ARE IN A FIX
Chapter 10 THE FIVE ARE IN A FIX
Julian went to the mouth of the cove and looked out over the waves, hoping that he might see theirboat bobbing somewhere. 'I could swim out to it if so,' he thought, 'and bring it in. No -there's not a sign of a boat! I could kick myself for being so careless!'
Dick came up, looking worried. 'I suppose it's too far to swim back to the mainland, isn't it?' he said.
'I could have a shot - and get another boat and come back for everyone.'
'No. Too far,' said Julian. 'The tide's too strong for any swimmer at the moment. We're certainly in afix!'
'We can't signal, I suppose?' said Dick.
'What with?' asked Julian. 'You could wave a shirt for an hour and it wouldn't be seen from themainland!'
'Well - we must think of something!' said Dick, exasperated. 'What about trying to find a boat here?
Surely those men must have one to get to and fro.'
'Of course!' said Julian, clapping Dick on the back. 'Where are my brains? They seem to be going softor something! We could snoop round and about tonight, to see if there's a boat anywhere.
They may have two or three. They'd have to get food from the mainland at times.'
The two girls and Timmy came up then, and Timmy whined. 'He doesn't seem to like this island,'
said George. 'I think he smells danger!'
'I bet he does!' said Dick, putting his hand on Timmy's firm head. 'I'm jolly glad he's with us. Can yougirls think of any good ideas - we can't!'
'We could signal,' said George.
'No good. A signal from here couldn't be seen,' said Dick. 'We've already thought of that.'
43
'Well - if we lighted a fire here on the beach tonight, when the tide's out, surely that would be seen?'
said Anne.
Dick and Julian looked at one another. 'Yes!' said Julian. 'If we lighted it on a hilly bit it would bebetter still - on that cliff up there, for instance.'
'Wouldn't the guards see it?' asked Dick.
'We'd have to chance that,' said Julian. 'Yes - we could do that. Good idea, Anne. I say - we're goingto get jolly hungry, aren't we? Anyone got anything to eat?'
'I've two bars of chocolate - a bit soft now though,' said George, digging into the pocket of her shorts.
'And I've some peppermints,' said Anne. 'What about you boys? You always take barley-sugars aboutwith you, Dick - don't say you haven't any just when we could all do with them!'
'I've a new packet!' said Dick. 'Let's all have one now!' He pulled the packet from his pocket andhanded it round. Soon they were all sucking barley-sugars. Timmy was given one too, but his wasgone in a flash!
'Wasted on you, Tim, absolutely wasted!' said Anne. 'Crick-crack, swallow - that's all a barley-sugarmeans to you! Why can't dogs suck a sweet as we do! They never seem to suck anything.
No, Timmy, don't go sniffing into Dick's pocket for another!'
Timmy was disappointed. He went snuffling round the cove, and then, scenting a rabbit smell, hefollowed it with his nose to the ground. The children didn't notice that he had disappeared, but wenton talking, trying to solve their very real difficulty.
No boat. No food. No way of getting help except by signalling in some way. Not very funny, thoughtDick.
And then, very suddenly, a loud sound broke the silence - CRACK!
Everyone jumped up at once. 'That was a gunshot,' said Dick. 'The keepers! But what were theyshooting at?'
'Where's Timmy?' cried George, looking all round. 'Tim, Tim, where are you TIM!'
Everyone's heart went cold. Timmy! No, the shot couldn't have been meant for old Timmy!
Surely the keepers wouldn't shoot a dog!
George was nearly mad with dread. She clutched at Dick, tears streaming down her cheeks.
'Dick! It couldn't be Timmy, could it? Oh Timmy, where are you? TIMMY! Come to me!'
44
'Listen! Listen a minute, George!' said Dick, as shouts came from the distance. 'I thought I heard Timwhine then. Isn't that him coming through the bushes?'
There was the noise of rustling as some creature pressed through the last year's old bracken fronds -and then Timmy's head appeared, his bright eyes looking for them.
'Oh Timmy, darling Timmy, I thought you'd been shot!' cried George, hugging the big dog. 'Did theyshoot at you? Are you hurt anywhere?'
'I bet I know why he was shot at,' said Dick. 'Look what he's got in his mouth - half a ham! drop it,you robber, you!'
Timmy stood there, the ham in his mouth, wagging his tail joyously. He had felt hungry, and wassure the others did too - so he had gone a hunting!
'Where did you get that, you bad dog?' said Julian. Timmy wished he could tell him. He would havesaid 'Well, I went sniffing after a rabbit - and I came to a shed stored with tins of food - and one wasopen with this piece of ham inside, waiting for me. And here it is!'
He dropped the ham at George's feet. It smelt extremely good. 'Well, thanks, old fellow,' said Julian.
'We could do with some of that - though we'll have to pay for it when we meet the owner, whoever heis!'
'Julian - he has been shot at!' said George, in a trembling voice. 'Look - his tail's bleeding, and somefur is gone.'
'My word, yes!' said Julian, examining Timmy's tail. 'Good gracious - those fellows mean business. Ireally think I'd better find them and tell them we're here, in case they take a pot-shot at us too!'
'Well, let's go now - all of us,' said Dick. 'They probably thought Timmy was a wolf or a fox orsomething, slinking through the trees. Poor old fellow!'
Timmy was not at all disturbed. He was so proud of finding and bringing back the ham that he evenwagged his wounded tail!
'It's quite certain that no animals or birds will be tame and friendly on this island now,' said Anne.
'They'll have been scared stiff by the game-keepers potting at this and that.'
'You're right,' said Julian. 'It rather makes me think that the fellows on the island are no longer merelygamekeepers, put in to preserve the wild life, and to frighten sight-seers away - but real, fierce guardsof some kind. Like those two horrible men we saw in the courtyard!'
'Well, what are they guarding then?' said George.
45
'That's what I'd very much like to find out,' said Julian. 'And I think perhaps I'll snoop round a bit andsee what I can discover. When it's getting dark, though, not now.'
'I wish we hadn't come,' said Anne. 'I wish we were safe in our cottage with Wilfrid. I wonder if he'sfound his whistle-pipe. Goodness, it seems ages since we hired that boat!'
'Can't we go quietly through the woods and explore a bit?' asked George. 'Or walk round the shore tosee if there's a boat anywhere? I'm getting bored, sitting here, talking.'
'Well - I suppose old Tim would give us warning at once if he heard anyone near,' said Julian, whowas also longing to stretch his legs. 'We'll go in single file, like Indians, and make as little noise as wecan. Timmy can go ahead. He'll give us instant warning if we come near any of the keepers.'
They all stood up, and Timmy looked at them, wagging his nicked tail. 'I'll look after you,' said histwo bright eyes. 'Don't be afraid!'
They made their way carefully and quietly through the whispering trees. 'Sh, sh, sh, shoo, shooey,'
said the leaves above their heads, as if warning everyone to go as quietly as possible.
And then suddenly Timmy stopped and gave a low, warning growl. They all stood still at once,listening.
They could hear nothing. They were in a dense part of the wood, and it was dark and sunless.
What was Timmy growling at? He took a step forward, and growled softly again.
Julian went forward too, as silently as he could. He stopped suddenly and stared. What in the worldwas that strange figure, gleaming out of the shadows? His heart began to beat loudly. The figurestood there, silently, an arm out-stretched as if pointing at him!
He thought it moved and he took a step backwards in fear. Was it a ghost or something? It was sovery very white and shone so queerly. The others, coming up behind, suddenly saw it too and stoppedin fright. Timmy growled again, and all the hackles on his neck rose up. What was THIS?
Everyone stood absolutely still, and Anne gave a gulp. She took hold of Dick's arm, and he held ittightly against him. And then George gave a very small laugh. To everyone's horror she wentforward, and touched the hand of the gleaming figure.
'How do you do?' she said. 'It is so nice to meet a well-mannered statue!'
Well! A statue! Only a statue! It had looked so real standing there, and yet so ghostly. Everyoneheaved a sigh of relief, and Timmy ran forward, and sniffed at the statue's flowing robes.
46
'Look around you,' said Julian. 'The wood's full of statues just here - and aren't they BEAUTIFUL! Ihope they don't suddenly come alive - they really look as if they might!'
10.侦探团遇困
侦探团遇困
朱利安走到沙湾口，眺望着浪花，希望能看到他们的船正在海上的某个地方漂着。“如果那样的话，我就可以游过去，”他想，“然后把它划回来。不过，没有船的影子！我这么粗心，真该踢自己两脚！”
迪克过来了，看上去也非常焦虑。“我想，游回岸边可能太远了，对吧？”他说，“我可以试试，然后另外找一艘船来接大家。”
“不行。太远了，”朱利安说，“这潮水对任何会游泳的人来说都太大了，我们陷入困境了。”
“我想，我们不能发信号吗？”迪克说。
“用什么？”朱利安说，“你可以挥舞一个小时的T恤，但是在那边根本看不见！”
“好吧，我们得想出个办法！”迪克恼怒地说，“试着在这里找艘船怎么样？那些人肯定有船从这里进出。”
“对呀！”朱利安拍了下迪克的背说，“我的脑子呢？真是笨死了。我们今晚可以探查下，看有没有船。他们或许有两三艘船，他们得不时从岸边运送食物过来。”
两个女孩带着蒂米过来了，蒂米呜咽着。“看上去它很不喜欢这个岛，”乔治说，“它可能嗅到了危险的味道。”
“肯定是的。”迪克拍拍蒂米结实的脑袋说，“很高兴它陪着我们，你们女孩们能想出好办法吗？我们想不出来了！”
“我们发信号！”乔治说。
“不行，人们看不见这里的信号，”迪克说，“我们已经想过这个了。”
“那，如果今晚我们在这里点起一堆火，等退潮后，应该会被发现吧？”安妮说。
朱利安和迪克互相看了一眼。“对！”朱利安说，“如果我们在高一点的地方点火的话，会更好。比如说，在那个礁石上。”
“不会被警卫们发现吗？”迪克问。
“我们必须试试，”朱利安说，“对，我们可以那么做！好主意，安妮！哎呀，我们很饿了，谁有吃的吗？”
“我有两块巧克力，可是有点软了。”乔治摸索着口袋说。
“我有点薄荷糖，”安妮说，“男孩们，你们呢？你们总带着麦芽糖游荡的，迪克，不要在关键时候，告诉我们你身上没有啊。”
“我有一袋新的！”迪克说，“我们都吃一块吧！”他从口袋里掏出一袋，分给大家。蒂米也得到一块，可是它一口就吃完了。
“蒂米，给你吃就是浪费！真浪费！”安妮说，“吧唧一吞，麦芽糖对你来说就这么回事。狗为什么不能跟我们一样咂巴糖块呢？看上去他们从不咂巴东西。不要！蒂米，不要再从迪克口袋里找一块了！”
蒂米很失望。它去四处嗅沙湾，闻到了兔子的气味，它的鼻子都快贴到地上了，顺着这气味一路走去。孩子们没发现它不见了，继续聊着天，希望能解决他们的困境。
没有船，没有食物，除了靠某种方法发信号，别无他法。
“真没意思。”迪克想。
突然间，所有人都跳了起来。“是枪声，”迪克说，“是警卫！可他们在打什么？”
“蒂米呢？”乔治环视四周，瞬间转为哭腔喊道，“蒂米，蒂米，你在哪里？蒂米！”
所有人的心顿时凉了。蒂米！不，那枪声不是打蒂米的！警卫不可能射击狗的！
乔治几乎吓疯了。她紧紧抓着迪克，泪流满面，说：“迪克！不是打蒂米的，对吧？蒂米，你在哪里？蒂米！回来！”
“听！听一下，乔治！”远处传来枪声时，迪克说，“我觉得我听到蒂米的叫声了，是它在穿过灌木丛过来了吗？”
好像有什么动物踩过欧洲蕨落叶，发出“沙沙”声。然后蒂米露出了脑袋，眼睛闪闪发光，寻找着他们。
“噢，蒂米，亲爱的蒂米，我以为你被枪打死了！”乔治抱着她的大狗，哭着说，“他们射击你了吗？你受伤了没？”
“我知道他们为什么射击它了。”迪克说，“看它嘴巴里是什么？
一半火腿！放下，你这个强盗！”
蒂米嘴巴里叼着一半火腿，站在那里，高兴地摇着尾巴。它很饿，确信别人也都饿坏了，所以它去打猎了！
“淘气狗，你从哪里找到的？”朱利安说。蒂米真希望能告诉他说：“呃，我追着一只兔子的气味，到了一个储存着罐装食物的小屋，其中一个罐子开着，里面放着这块火腿。然后我就叼着回来了。”
它把火腿放到乔治脚下，闻起来真香。“好，谢谢你，老伙计，”朱利安说，“我们可以靠这些应付一下，但是我们得在见到它主人时付钱，不管主人是谁！”
“朱利安，蒂米还是被打到了！”乔治声音颤抖地说，“看它的尾巴淌血了，掉了一些皮毛。”
“哎呀，是啊！”朱利安检查着蒂米的尾巴说，“老天啊，那些家伙真是吝啬鬼。我觉得，我们得找到他们，告诉他们，我们在这里，以免他们乱射我们！”
“好，我们现在去吧，所有人。”迪克说，“他们或许觉得蒂米是只狼或狐狸或其他猛兽，逃进了树林。可怜的老伙计！”
蒂米一点也没当回事。它为自己能找到并带回火腿而自豪，甚至高兴地摇了摇受伤的尾巴！
“现在可以肯定的是，这个岛上的动物和鸟类都不得安宁，”安妮说，“警卫们一会儿用枪指着这个，一会儿指着那个，估计早把它们吓傻了。”
“你说得对，”朱利安说，“我更确信，这个岛上的人不是致力于野生动物保护、阻止游客登岛的警卫，而是一些残酷的守卫，像我们在院子里看到的那两个可怕的人一样！”
“那，他们在守护什么？”乔治问。
“那就是我非常想弄明白的。”朱利安说，“我想我可能得搜寻下周围，看看能不能发现点什么。当然，是天黑的时候，不是现在。”
“我真希望我们没有来过这里，”安妮说，“真希望我们和威尔弗里德安全地待在小屋里，不知道他找到哨笛了没有。老天呀，感觉从我们租船到现在都过去好几年了！”
“我们不能悄悄地穿过树林，搜寻一下吗？”乔治问，“或沿着岸边看看，有没有船？坐在这里聊天，我有点无聊了。”
“好吧，我想一旦听到附近有人，蒂米会给我们示警的，”朱利安说，他也想活动下手脚了，“我们要像印第安人一样，排成单行进去，尽量小声。蒂米可以在前面。我们靠近警卫时，它就可以提前给我们示警了。”
于是他们都站了起来，蒂米摇着光秃秃的尾巴，看着他们。“我会照顾你们的，”它眨着明亮的眼睛，仿佛在说，“不要怕！”
他们小心翼翼地，静悄悄地穿过耳语的树林。“嘘嘘，嘘，嘘嘘……”头顶上的树叶说，仿佛在提醒大家尽力保持安静。忽然，蒂米停下了，发出一声警戒的低吼。他们立刻站住，静静地听着。
他们听不见任何声音，置身于一片茂密的树林里，暗无天日。
蒂米在低吼什么？它向前走了一步，又轻轻叫了一声。
朱利安也尽力安静地向前挪了一步。他一下子停下了，盯着。
那个奇怪的东西到底是什么，在黑暗中闪闪发光？他的心“怦怦”地跳了起来。那个东西静静地站在那里，伸着一个胳膊好像在指着他。
他感觉它动了，他恐惧地向后退了一步。是幽灵还是什么？它全身通白，还闪着奇怪的光。后面的其他人，忽然也看见了，惊恐地停了下来。蒂米又叫了一声，脖子上的毛全都竖了起来。这是什么？
大家都一动不动，安妮咽了一口唾沫！她紧紧抓着迪克的胳膊，迪克紧紧抱着胳膊。乔治却轻轻地笑了，她走向前，摸了摸那个闪闪发光的东西的手。
“你好，”她说，“很高兴遇见你，有礼貌的雕像！”
噢！一个雕像！只是个雕像而已！它站在那里如此逼真，像幽灵一样！大家都松了一口气。蒂米跑向前，嗅着它飘逸的袍子。
“看你身边，”朱利安说，“这片树林里都是雕像。真美！希望他们不要突然活过来，不过看上去很有可能啊！”
Chapter 11 A STRANGE DISCOVERY
Chapter 11 A STRANGE DISCOVERY
The children were astonished to see so many gleaming statues, standing in the darkness of the wood.
They wandered round them, and then came to a large shed. They peeped inside.
'Look here!' said Dick, excited. 'Long, deep boxes, strong as iron! And see what's in these two!'
They all came to look. In the first, packed in what looked like sawdust, was a beautifully carvedstatue of a boy. The next box seemed to be entirely full of sawdust, and Anne had to scrape quite a lotaway to see if anything was packed there too.
'It's a little stone angel!' she said, scraping sawdust from a quaint little face, a small crown and thetips of small wings. 'Lovely! Why are these statues being packed away like this?'
'Use your brain!' said Dick. 'It's obvious that they're works of art - and are probably very old.
They're being packed to send away in some boat or ship - to be transported somewhere where they'llfetch a lot of money - America, probably!'
'Did they come from the old castle, do you think?' asked George. 'It's quite near. I expect this shedbelongs to it. But how was it that the police didn't find them in the castle when they searched? Theymust have gone there, and looked into every corner! And what about the statues in the wood outside -why haven't they been packed away?'
'Too big, probably,' said Julian. 'And too heavy. A small boat wouldn't be strong enough to take greatthings like that. But those little statues are quite perfect for transporting - they don't weigh as much asthe big ones - and they aren't marked by the weather, through standing in rain, sun and snow! Not amark on them!'
'You're right,' said Anne. 'I noticed that those big ones outside were green here and there, and somehad bits knocked off them. I wish we could get inside the castle and see the things there!'
'The man at the golf-club, the one we took those lost balls to - he said something about statues aswhite as snow, standing in this wood - do you remember?' said Dick.
47
'Yes. They must have stood there for some time,' said Julian. 'I don't feel they can be very valuable,else they would be put carefully indoors, under cover. But these little beauties - I guess they're wortha lot of money!'
'Who do you suppose packed them in here?' said Anne.
'Maybe those big men we saw,' said Julian. 'Even small statues like these need someone very strongindeed to carry them here to this shed, and pack them like this. Then, of course, they would have tobe carried to some boat - or ship - probably to a boat first, and then rowed out to a waiting ship. But Idon't think those guards are the men behind all this - someone with great knowledge of old thingsmust be the ringleader. He probably heard the old legend of the island, came to have a look round,and made quite a lot of interesting discoveries!'
'Where?' asked George. 'In the castle?'
'Probably - though carefully hidden away!' said Julian. 'For all we know there may be scores of reallyvaluable old treasures hidden there still. That sword with a jewelled handle, for instance!
And the bed made of gold, and...'
'To think they might all be quite near us somewhere on Whispering Island!' said Anne. 'Wouldn't Ilove to be able to say I'd slept on a bed of pure gold!'
'Well, I think you'd find it jolly hard,' said Dick.
Timmy suddenly gave a small whine, and licked George's hand. 'What is it?' she said. 'What do youwant, Timmy?'
'Perhaps he's hungry,' said Anne.
'Thirsty, more likely!' said Julian. 'Look at his tongue hanging out!'
'Oh, poor Tim - you haven't had a drink for hours!' said George. 'Well - where on earth can we getyou one? We'll have to look for a puddle, I'm afraid. Come on!'
They left the shed where the beautiful little statues were lying in their sawdust, and went out into thesunshine. Everywhere was dry. Julian felt worried.
'We shall all be thirsty soon!' he said. 'I wonder where we can get some water?'
'Would it be too dangerous to go near the castle and see if there's a tap anywhere?' asked George,ready to face almost anything to get her dog a drink!
'Yes, it would,' said Julian, in a very decided voice. 'We're not going near any of those men withguns. They might have been told to shoot on sight, and that wouldn't be very pleasant. We'd bepeppered all over with shot!'
48
'Look - what's that round thing over there - like a little circular wall?' said Dick, pointing tosomething behind the shed where the statues lay in their boxes.
They all went over to it - and Anne guessed what it was at once! 'A well! An old well!' she said.
'Look, it has an old wooden beam over the top, with a pulley to wind and unwind a bucket. Is there abucket - let's hope so! We can let it down to the water and fill it for Timmy then.'
Timmy put his paws on the rim of the wall and sniffed. Water! That was what he wanted more thananything. He began to whine.
'All right, Timmy - we'll send the bucket down,' said George. 'It's still on the hook! Julian, thishandle's awfully stiff - can you turn it to let down the bucket?'
Julian tried with all his strength - and quite suddenly the rope loosened, and the bucket gave a suddenjerk and jump. Alas - it jerked right off the hook, and with a weird, echoing jangling sound, fell fromthe top to the bottom of the well - landing in the water with a terrific splash!
'Blow, blow, blow!' said Julian, and Timmy gave an anguished howl. He peered down at the lostbucket, now on its side in the water at the bottom of the well, gradually filling itself.
'It'll probably sink below the water now,' said Julian, with a groan. 'Is there a ladder down the well? -if so I could shin down and get the bucket.'
But there wasn't, though it looked as if there had been at some time, for here and there were staples inthe brick side of the well-wall.
'What can we do?' asked Anne. 'Can we possibly pull up the bucket?'
'No - I'm afraid we can't,' said Dick. 'But wait a minute - I could shin down the rope, couldn't I, andpick the bucket out of the water. And easily get up again, because George and Julian could turn thewell-handle, and pull me up that way!'
'Righto. Down you go then,' said Julian. 'The rope's good and strong, not frayed or rotten. We'll windyou and the bucket up all right!'
The boy sat on the side of the well-wall, and reached out for the rope. He swung himself on to it, andswayed there a moment or two, looking down the long, dark hole below him, with the water at thebottom. Then down he went, hand-over-hand, just as he so often did at school in the gym.
He came to the bottom, reached down, took hold of the bucket-handle, and filled the bucket full.
The water felt as cold as ice to his hand. 'All right. Pull me up!' he shouted, his voice sounding veryhollow and strange as it rose up through the well-walls.
49
Dick was heavy to pull up. Julian and George turned the handle valiantly, but it was slow work.
Gradually Dick came up nearer and nearer to the top. When he was half-way they heard him give anexclamation, and call out something, but they couldn't make out what it was and went on winding thegroaning rope, slowly but surely.
They reached down and took the bucket from Dick as soon as his head appeared at the top.
Timmy fell on it with excited barks, and began to lap vigorously.
'Didn't you hear me yelling to you to stop when I was halfway up?' demanded Dick, still swinging onthe rope. 'Don't let go that handle. Hang on to it for a minute.'
'What's the excitement?' asked Julian, in surprise. 'Why did you yell to us? We couldn't make outwhat you said.'
Dick swung himself to one side, caught hold of the well-top, and hauled himself up, so that he couldsit on the well-wall. 'I shouted because I suddenly saw something jolly peculiar as I came up thewell,' he said. 'And I wanted to stop and see what it was!'
'Well - what was it?' asked Julian.
'I don't quite know. It looked awfully like a little door! An iron door,' said Dick. 'I say, don't letTimmy drink all that water - he'll be ill. We'll let the pail down again in a minute and get some morefor ourselves.'
'Go on about what you saw,' said George. 'How could there be a door in the side of a well going deepdown into the earth?'
'Well, I tell you, there was one,' said Dick. 'Look, Timmy's gone and upset the pail now! Let's send itdown on the pulley to be filled again, and I'll go down on the rope again too. But when I come up andyou hear me shout 'Stop!' just STOP winding, see?'
'Here's the bucket for the hook,' said Julian. 'I'll be careful not to jerk it off this time. Ready?'
Down went Dick and the bucket again - splash went the bucket and filled with water once more.
Then up came Dick again, wound up by Julian and George as before. As soon as they heard himshout 'STOP' they stopped their winding and peered down.
They saw Dick peering hard at the side of the well-wall, and pulling at it with his fingers. Then heshouted again. 'All right. UP WE go!'
They hauled him up to the top, and he clambered off the rope, swung himself on to the well-wall andsat there.
50
'Yes. It is some kind of opening in the well-wall - it is a door - and it has a bolt this side to undo, butit was too stiff for my fingers. I'd have to go down and jiggle it about with my knife before I couldloosen it.'
'A door in a well! But where on earth would it lead to?' said Julian, astonished.
'That's what we're going to find out!' grinned Dick, rather pleased with himself. 'Who would everthink of putting a door in the side of a well? Somebody did - but WHY? Very cunning - andmysterious - and unguessable. I rather think I'll go straight down again and see if I can't open thatdoor - and discover what it leads to!'
'Oh DO, Dick, do!' said George. 'If you don't, I will!'
'Hang on to the rope. Down I go again!' said Dick. And down he went, much to Timmy's surprise.
The others looked down anxiously. Could Dick open the well-door? What would he find behind it?
Quick, Dick, quick - everybody's waiting for you!
11.岛上奇遇
岛上奇遇
看到漆黑的树林里，耸立着这么多闪闪发光的雕像，孩子们非常惊讶。他们绕过雕像，来到一个大棚子前，偷偷向里看去。
“看这里！”迪克兴奋地说，“又长又深的箱子，像铁砖一样结实！看看这两个里面是什么！”
他们都跑过去看。在第一个箱子里，是一个美丽的男孩雕像，包在锯屑一样的东西里。第二个箱子看上去装满了锯屑，安妮推开一些，想看看里面是否也有东西。
“是一个天使石像！”她说着，把锯屑从雕像精巧的小脸上抹掉，还看见有一顶小皇冠，一截小翅膀尖，“好可爱啊！为什么这些雕像被这样放着？”
“动动脑筋。”迪克说，“很明显，它们是艺术品，可能很古老。
它们被打包起来，用船运出去换钱，可能是运到美国！”
“你觉得它们是城堡里的吗？”乔治问，“隔得这么近，我觉得这个棚子是城堡的。不过，那些警察搜寻的时候，怎么会没发现呢？
他们一定去过城堡，检查了每一个角落！树林里的雕像是怎么回事，为什么没被打包运走呢？”
“或许是太大了，”朱利安说，“而且太重，小船承载不了。但是这些小雕像非常适合运输，它们不像那些大的那么重，而且它们不会受气候侵蚀，无论风吹日晒，都不会留下痕迹！一点痕迹都没有！”
“你说得对，”安妮说，“我注意到，外面那些这里绿一块，那里绿一块，而且有些地方都被敲掉了。希望我们可以进入城堡，看看里面的东西！”
“高尔夫球场那个男人，就跟我们说过树林里站着雪白的雕像，你们记得吗？”迪克说。
“对，它们一定在这里很长时间了，”朱利安说，“我觉得它们不算太值钱，不然，它们就会被放在室内，遮盖起来。但是这些小的美丽雕塑，应该很值钱！”
“你觉得是谁把它们打包放这里的呢？”安妮问。
“或许是我们看到的那些大汉。”朱利安说，“哪怕是这种很小的雕像，也得是很强壮的人才能把它们搬到这个棚子里，包装起来的。当然，它们还得被搬上船，或者先搬到小船上，划出去等大船。但是，我觉得那些警卫不是这事的幕后黑手，罪魁祸首应该是个非常懂古董的人。他可能听说过岛屿的神话传说，然后来转转，发现了这些有趣的东西！”
“在哪里？”乔治问，“城堡里吗？”
“或许是，但是小心地隐藏起来了！”朱利安说，“我们都知道，可能还有大量值钱的宝物藏在那里。比如，那个有珠宝剑柄的宝剑！黄金床，还有……”
“想想，它们可能就在这耳语岛上，离我们很近！”安妮说，“我能说我想睡在纯金床上吗？”
“嗯，我觉得你很难找到它。”迪克说。
蒂米忽然轻轻地叫了一声，舔了舔乔治的手。“什么事？”她说，“蒂米你在说什么？”
“或许它饿了。”安妮说。
“更有可能是渴了！”朱利安说，“看它伸着舌头！”
“噢！可怜的蒂米，你好几个小时没喝水了！”乔治说，“唉！我们从哪里弄点水给你喝呢？恐怕我们得找个水坑。”
他们离开放着美丽小雕像的棚子，回到阳光下，其实大家都很渴了。
朱利安很担心，“我们都渴了！”他说，“可是我们去哪里打水呢？”
“如果去城堡附近看看有没有水龙头，会不会太危险了？”乔治说。为了给她的狗弄水喝，她准备豁出去了！
“是的，太危险了，”朱利安肯定地说，“我们不能靠近任何一个持枪的警卫。他们可能收到了命令，见人就开枪。那样并不好玩，我们会被乱枪打死的！”
“看！那个圆形的东西是什么，像个小拱墙？”迪克指向放着盒装雕像的棚子后面说。
他们都走上前去，安妮一下就猜到是什么了！“一口井！一口古井！”她说，“看，上面有个旧木梁，带着放桶的滑轮。有桶吗？但愿有！那样我们就可以放下去，给蒂米弄点水喝。”
蒂米趴在井边，嗅了嗅。水！那是它最想要的水！它开始低声叫了起来。
“好了，蒂米，我们会放桶下去，”乔治说，“它在钩子上。朱利安，手柄转不动，你能把桶转下去吗？”
朱利安用尽全部力气试了试，绳子忽然松了，桶一下跳跃起来。唉！它从钩子上脱落了，掉进了井里，发出一阵古怪的、刺耳的回声，溅起一阵大水花！
“糟糕！糟糕！”朱利安说，他向下看着掉落的桶，渐渐地沉下了井底。蒂米发出一阵痛苦的号叫。
“桶可能正在向下沉，”朱利安无奈地说，“井里有梯子吗？有的话，我可以下去把它提出来！”
但是没有梯子。可能以前是有的，因为井壁上有排列零落的铁桩子。
“我们怎么办？”安妮说，“我们还可能把桶提上来吗？”
“不能，我觉得提不上来了。”迪克说，“但等等，我可以利用绳子下去，把桶提出来，不是吗？这很容易上来，乔治和朱利安可以转动手柄，拉我上来！”
“行，那你下去吧。”朱利安说，“绳子很结实，不会断或烂掉，我们会把你和水桶拉上来！”
迪克坐到井边，抓住绳子，绑在自己身上，使劲摇晃了一两下，看着身下又深又黑的洞，底下都是水。然后，他下去了，双手交替着，像他在学校健身房时一样。
迪克来到井底，伸手向下，抓住水桶把手，装满了水。水碰到他的手，像冰一样冷。“好了，拉我上去！”他喊道。迪克的声音从井壁传上去时，听上去非常空洞、古怪。
要拉起迪克很费劲。朱利安和乔治用力地转动着手柄，但是很慢。渐渐地，迪克离上面越来越近。上到一半的时候，他们听见迪克发出一声惊叫，喊了句什么，但是他们听不清，继续转着吱吱呀呀的手柄，很慢，但是很稳。
迪克一露头，他们就伸下手去，接过来水桶。蒂米兴奋地扑到了桶上，高兴地喝起来。
“我上到一半时喊停，你们没听见吗？”迪克问，身上还绑着绳子，“别松开手柄，坚持一分钟。”
“什么事那么激动？”朱利安惊讶地说，“你为什么朝我们喊？我们听不清楚你说的是什么呢。”
迪克转到另一边，抓住井沿，一躬身，坐在了井壁上。“因为我上来时，看到一些很奇怪的东西。”他说，“我想停下来，看看是什么！”
“是什么呢？”朱利安问。
“我 不 太 清 楚， 看 上 去 很 像 一 个 小 门， 一 个 铁 门。”迪 克说，“哎，不要让蒂米都喝完，会撑坏的。我们一会儿再打一桶自己喝。”
“继续说你看到的，”乔治说，“井壁上怎么会有门呢？”
“嗯，我告诉你，真的有一个。”迪克说，“看，蒂米不见了，它把桶打翻了！我们放到滑轮上，再打一桶吧，我也顺着绳子再下去一次。当我上来时，听见我喊‘停！’你们就停止转动，明白吗？”
“这是挂桶的钩子，”朱利安说，“我会小心别再把它弄掉了。准备好了吗？”
迪克下去了，桶也下去了。桶溅起水花，又灌满了。迪克跟着绳子上来了，朱利安和乔治跟上次一样转动着。他们一听到迪克喊“停”，马上停止转动，朝下张望。
他们看见迪克努力盯着墙，使劲用手指拉着什么。随后他又喊一声：“好了，拉我上去！”
他们把他拉上来，他解开绳子，跳到井沿上坐下。
“是的，井壁上有个出口，是个门。边上有个螺栓，打开着，但是我用手指掰不动。我得下去，先用刀子晃晃它，再拧开它。”
“井里居然有个门！但是它到底通往哪里呢？”朱利安惊奇地说。
“这正是我们要搞明白的！”迪克非常开心地说，“谁会想到在井里安一个门呢？有人这么做了，但是为什么？这么狡猾、神秘，不可思议。我想再下去一次，看能不能打开那个门，看看到底有什么？”
“噢，迪克，去吧！”乔治说，“如果你不下去，我就去！”
“抓住绳子，我再下去一趟！”迪克说。蒂米实在搞不懂，迪克怎么又下去了。其他人都焦急地盯着井下面。迪克能打开门吗？他会在门后面发现什么呢？快，迪克，快，大家都在等着你！
Chapter 12 A GREAT SURPRISE - AND A SHOCK FOR GEORGE
Chapter 12 A GREAT SURPRISE - AND A SHOCK FOR GEORGE
As soon as Dick shouted 'STOP' Julian and George hung on to the rope to stop it going down anyfurther. Dick was swinging just opposite the strange door. He began to feel round it, and to jiggle it.
It had no lock, apparently, but there was a bolt on his side. He tried to push back the bolt - andsuddenly it came away from the door, and dropped down into the well. It had rusted so much that itcould not even hold to the door, once it was handled!
The door felt loose, now the bolt was gone. Dick ran his hands round it, trying to loosen it further,and banged it with his fist. Rust fell off it, and Dick's hands were soon brown with the old old rust.
He saw a little knob at the top of the door and gave it a tug. Ah - the door felt looser now. He ran hisknife all round the edges, scraping away all the rust he could find. Then he managed to get hisstrongest knife-blade in between the door-edge and the well-wall, and used it as a lever to force thedoor open.
It opened slowly and painfully, with creaks and groans. It was about eighteen inches high and notquite so much wide. Dick pulled it back with difficulty and then peered through the hole.
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He could see nothing at all but black darkness - how very disappointing! He fumbled in his pocket tosee if he had a torch. Yes - good! He shone it through the little door, his hand trembling withexcitement. What would he see?
His torch was small and not very powerful. The light fell first of all on a face with gleaming eyes, andDick had such a shock that he almost fell down the well. The eyes seemed to glare up at him in a verythreatening manner! He switched his torch to the right - and yet another face gleamed up at him. 'Aqueer face,' thought Dick. 'Yellow as can be! YELLOW! YELLOW! I believe that face is made ofgold!'
His hand was trembling even more, he shone his torch here and there through the opening, catchingfirst one yellow face in its light, and then another. The faces had yellow bodies too, and their eyesglinted very queerly.
'I believe - yes, I really do believe - that I've found the hiding-place of the golden statues!'
thought Dick. 'And those gleaming eyes must be precious jewels. My word, I did have a shock whenI saw them all looking at me! Whatever is this place they're in?'
'DICK! What can you see? Do tell us!' yelled Julian, and poor Dick almost fell off the rope when theshouts echoed round him. 'Pull me up!' he shouted. 'It's too extraordinary for words. Pull me up andI'll tell you!'
And before a minute had passed, he was standing by the others, his eyes gleaming almost as brightlyas the eyes of the golden statues, his words tumbling over one another.
'That door leads into the place where all the treasures are hidden. The first thing I saw was a goldenstatue staring at me - brilliant eyes in a yellow face - a golden face, real gold! There are dozens ofthem. I don't think they liked me much - they glared so! Thank goodness they didn't say a word -though I half expected them to. My word, what a hiding-place - right down under the earth!'
'There must be another entrance to it,' said Julian, thrilled to hear such extraordinary news. 'The welldoor must be a secret one. Statues couldn't be pushed through it. My word, what a find, Dick.'
'Let's all go down in turn and look through the door!' said George. 'I can't believe it. I think I must bedreaming it. Quick, let me go down!'
One by one they all went down on the rope and looked through the door. Anne came back ratherscared. She had felt very queer when she had seen the silent statues looking at her. 'I know 52they're not really looking, it's only that their eyes gleam,' she said. 'But I kept expecting one or otherto take a step forward and speak to me!'
'Well - the next thing to do is to climb down through the door, and see exactly where the statues are,underground,' said Julian. 'And find out the opening they were brought in by. There must be a door atthe other end of the room, through which they were brought. What a hiding-place, though! Nowonder the police could find nothing in the way of statues or other treasures.'
'We might find the golden sword there, with the jewelled handle!' said Anne. 'And the golden bed.'
She had hardly finished speaking when there came a loud noise from behind them. Timmy wasbarking his head off! Whatever was the matter?
'Sh!' said George, fiercely. 'You'll bring the guards here, you idiot! Stop it!'
Timmy stopped barking and whined instead. Then he ran off towards the wood, his tail wavinghappily. 'Who in the world is he going to meet?' said George, amazed. 'Someone he knows, by thelook of his tail!'
The others all followed Timmy, who raced along towards the cove where they had landed - and lost -their boat. And there, in the cove, was another boat! A small one, to be sure, but still, a boat- and by it, fondling Timmy, was Wilfrid! Wilfrid! What an amazing thing!
'WILFRID! How did you get here - did you hire that boat? Did you come all by yourself? Did you...'
Wilfrid grinned round in delight, thrilled at the surprise he was giving everyone. Timmy licked himwithout stopping, and George didn't even seem to notice!
'Well,' he said, 'you didn't come back, so I guessed something was wrong - and when the boat boytold me you'd taken one of his boats, and it had been reported tossing about, empty on the water nearthe island, I guessed what had happened - I said, 'Aha! they didn't make the boat fast when they got tothe island - and now they're marooned there! You were pretty mean to go without me - but I guessedyou'd be pleased to see me, if I borrowed a boat and came over!'
Anne was so pleased that she gave the boy a hug. 'Now we can go back whenever we want to,'
she said.
'But we don't want to, at the moment,' said Dick. 'We've made some startling discoveries, Wilfrid- and I'm jolly pleased you'll be able to share in them! Er - what have you got in your pocket?
Something keeps poking its head out at me.'
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'Oh, that's only a baby hedgehog,' said Wilfrid, taking it out gently. 'It got trodden on - by a horse Ithink - so I'm just caring for it for a day or two.' He put it back into his pocket. 'But I say - go on - tellme what you've found. Not the lost treasures, surely?'
'Yes!' said Anne. 'We saw them when we went down a well near the castle.'
'Gracious - did somebody throw them into the water there?' said Wilfrid, amazed.
'No,' said Dick, and told him about the curious door in the side of the well-wall. Wilfrid's eyes nearlyfell out of his head.
'I am glad I came!' he said. 'I nearly didn't. I thought you wouldn't really want me - and I knewGeorge wouldn't be pleased, because of Timmy. I can't help him coming round me - and anyway he'dfeel hurt if I pushed him off.'
Timmy came nosing round him at that moment, with his ball. He wanted Wilfrid to throw it for him.
But Wilfrid didn't notice the ball. He just patted the soft head, and went on talking.
'The boat boy wasn't very pleased when he heard that the boat you hired was loose on the sea. Hesaid you'd hired it for a week, and there it was, back the same day, wet and empty! His cousinbrought it in. No damage done.'
'I'll make it up to him when I see him,' said Julian. 'I haven't paid him for the hire of it either, but heknows I will, when I get back. I had no idea that the sea would throw up waves here whose backwashwould drag out an unmoored boat.'
'You ought to have taken me with you,' said Wilfrid, grinning. Timmy, tired of trying to make himthrow his ball, went off to George, who was only too pleased to. She threw it into the air, and Timmyleapt up and caught it.
Then very suddenly he made a horrible noise and rolled over, kicking as if he were in great pain.
'What's the matter, Timmy?' cried George, and rushed to him. Wilfrid ran too. The dog was choking,and his eyes were almost starting out of his head.
'That ball's stuck in his throat!' cried Wilfrid. 'I knew it was dangerous! I told you it was! Cough it up,Timmy, cough it up. Oh, you poor, choking thing! Oh Timmy, Timmy!'
The boy was beside himself with fear that the dog would choke, as he had once seen another dog do,and as for George, she was wild with terror. Poor Timmy's eyes looked terrible as he choked andchoked, trying to get the ball out of his throat.
'He'll choke to death,' cried Wilfrid. 'Julian, force his mouth open, and hold it. I must try to get out theball. Quick!'
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Timmy was growing weaker, and it was not too difficult to force his mouth wide open. Wilfrid couldsee the ball down the dog's throat - the ball with the hole in the middle. He put his small hand into thedog's big mouth, and forced his fore-finger into the hole in the ball. His finger-joint stuck there -Wilfrid gently drew back his hand - and the ball came too, on his finger! There it was, with his fingerstill stuck in the hole! Timmy began to breathe again, great panting breaths, while George stroked hishead and cried for joy that he was all right.
'I shouldn't have given you that ball, I shouldn't!' she said. 'It was too small for a big dog like you- and you will throw them up into the air and catch them. Oh Timmy, Timmy, I'm very very sorry.
Timmy, are you all right?'
Wilfrid had gone off but now came back with some water from the pail. He dipped his hand in it andlet drops of water drip into the dog's mouth. Timmy swallowed it gratefully. His throat was sore, butthe water was cool and soothing. George let Wilfrid do this without a word. She looked rather whiteand shaken. Why - Timmy might be dead by now if Wilfrid hadn't put his finger into that hole in theball, and drawn it out!
'Thank you, Wilfrid,' she said, in a low voice. 'You were very clever.'
'Thank goodness the ball had a hole through it,' said Wilfrid, and he put his arms round Timmy'sneck. The dog licked him gratefully. Then he turned and licked George too.
'He says he belongs to both of us now,' said George. 'I'll share him with you. You saved his life.'
'Thanks,' said Wilfrid. 'I'd love to have just a bit of him - he's the nicest dog I know!'
12.惊喜与惊吓
惊喜与惊吓
迪克一喊停，朱利安和乔治就抓住转轮，防止绳子继续往下。
迪克正好悬在那扇铁门对面。他开始在门周围摸了摸，然后晃了晃。这门显然没锁，但是边上有个螺栓，他想把它推开。结果螺栓突然掉进了井里，它锈得太厉害了，所以一碰就掉了！
螺栓掉了后，门松了。迪克想再弄开一点，他抓着门，用拳头捶了两下。铁锈剥落了下来，很快手上就沾满了棕色的铁锈。
他看见门上方有个小把手，就用力拉了一下。啊！门更松了。
他用小刀沿着门缝划，把找到的铁锈都划掉。然后把小刀最结实的部分插入门缝，想把门撬开。
门吱吱嘎嘎地开了，那么慢，那么费力。它大约有18英寸高，不大宽。迪克费劲地把它拉开，向里看。
漆黑一片，什么也看不见。真扫兴！他摸索着口袋，看有没有带手电筒。带了，太好啦！迪克隔着门照过去，他激动得手开始颤抖了，能看到什么呢？
他的手电筒很小，不太亮。最先照到的是一张眼睛闪闪发光的脸，迪克吓了一跳，差点掉进井里，那双眼睛好像恶狠狠地盯着他。他把手电筒转到右边，又是一张瞪着他的脸。“奇怪的脸，”迪克想，“好黄啊！黄色，黄色，那脸是金子做的！”
他的手抖得更厉害了，他从门口用手电筒照照这里，照照那里，看到了一张金黄的脸，然后又是一张金黄的脸。那些金黄的脸，连接着金黄的躯体，眼睛奇怪地闪烁着。
“我相信，是的，确信，我找到金雕像的隐藏地点了！”迪克想，“那些闪闪发光的眼睛一定是珍贵的宝石。天哪，发现它们都注视着我时，真的好震惊！它们这是在哪里啊？”
“迪克！你看到什么了？快告诉我们！”朱利安喊道，听到他的回声，可怜的迪克吓得差点从绳子上掉了下去。“拉我上去！”他喊道，“太离奇了！拉我上去，我给你们讲。”
一会儿，他就站在大家身边了。他的眼睛闪闪发光，几乎赶上金雕像的眼睛了。他滔滔不绝地讲着。
“那个门通往藏有所有宝物的地方。我第一眼看到的就是盯着我的金雕像，金黄的脸上，镶嵌着闪闪发光的眼睛。一张金脸，真的是金子！还有很多呢。它们那样盯着我！我觉得它们不太喜欢我。
谢天谢地，它们一句话也没说。然而，我有点盼着它们说。哎呀，地底下，这是多么好的隐藏地点啊！”
“肯定还有另一个入口！”听到这么离奇的消息，朱利安说，“雕像从这个门进不去，井里的门肯定是个秘密通道。天哪，迪克，多么神奇的发现啊！”
“我们都轮流下去看看吧！”乔治说，“太不可思议了，我觉得我一定在做梦。快，让我下去！”
他们一个一个地顺着绳子下去，都看到了门后的东西。安妮回来了，看上去很恐惧，当看到那些雕像盯着自己时，她觉得很诡异。“我知道它们只是眼睛发光而已，并没有盯着我。”她说，“可是，我总觉得有一两个人会走过来，跟我说话！”
“好了，接下来要做的就是，进去看看雕像到底在地下的什么位置，”朱利安说，“然后找到把雕像搬进来的入口。房间的一头，肯定有个门，可以运进雕像去。多么隐秘的地方啊！怪不得警察也没找到雕像和其他宝物。”
“或许我们能找到有宝石手柄的宝剑！”安妮说，“还有金床。”
还没等她说完，就听见从他们后面传来一阵很大的声音。蒂米狂吠着！出什么事了？
“嘘！”乔治生气地说，“傻瓜！你会引来警卫的！别叫了！”
蒂米停了下来，只是低吼着。然后它突然快乐地摇着尾巴，向树林跑去。“它是要去见谁？”乔治惊奇地说，“从尾巴看，是它认识的人！”
蒂米朝他们登陆后丢船的沙湾冲去，其他人都跟在蒂米后面。
在那里，沙湾上，有一艘船！确切地说，是一艘小船。船边，是威尔弗里德！威尔弗里德正抚摸着蒂米。多么奇妙啊！
“威尔弗里德！你怎么过来的？你租的船吗？你自己来的吗？
你……”
威尔弗里德高兴地对大家笑着，为自己给大家带来的惊喜而激动。蒂米不停地舔着他，乔治竟然都不在意了！
“嗯，”他说，“你们没回来，所以我觉得出事了，租船男孩告诉我，你们租了他一艘船后，有人发现那艘船空着，漂浮在岛附近的海上，我就猜到了。我说：‘啊哈！他们到岛上后，没固定好船，现在被困在那里了！’你们不带我一起来，太小气了。但是我猜，如果我租一艘船过来的话，你们应该会很高兴见到我的！”
安妮太高兴了！她拥抱了一下眼前的小男孩，“现在我们随时可以回去了。”她说。
“但是我们现在不想回去。”迪克说，“威尔弗里德，我们有一些惊奇的发现，非常高兴能与你分享！呃，你口袋里是什么啊？有个小东西一直在伸脑袋看我。”
“噢，一只小刺猬宝宝而已，我想，它可能让马踩到了。我只照顾它一两天。”威尔弗里德说着，轻轻地把它拿了出来，然后又把它装进了口袋，“哎，我说，快继续，告诉我你们的发现。不会是丢失的宝物吧？”
“正是！”安妮说，“我们下到城堡边上的一个井里时发现的。”
“天哪！有人把它们扔进水里了？”威尔弗里德惊奇地说。
“不是。”迪克说。然后，他告诉了威尔弗里德井壁上那个奇怪的小门。威尔弗里德惊讶地眼睛都快瞪出来了。
“真高兴我来啦！”他说，“我差点就不来了。我想你们应该不需要我。因为蒂米的事，我知道乔治会不高兴。我阻止不了它围着我转，而且如果我赶走它的话，它会伤心的。”
这时，蒂米叼着它的球来了，围着威尔弗里德嗅起来。它想要威尔弗里德帮它扔球。但是威尔弗里德没有注意到球，只是轻轻拍着它柔软的脑袋，继续说话。
“租船男孩听说租给你们的船在海上漂着时，不太高兴。他说你们租了一周，结果一天就回来了，船还空空的、湿漉漉的。船是他堂哥帮他带回来的，不过没有破损。”
“见到他时，我会补偿他的。”朱利安说，“我还没付租金，但他知道我回去时，会支付的。我不知道在这里会起浪，没绑缆绳，结果退潮又把船拖走了。”
“你们应该带着我一起来的。”威尔弗里德笑着说。蒂米厌倦了尝试让他帮忙扔球，去找乔治了。乔治很高兴帮它，她把球抛向空中，蒂米跳起来，接住了。
突然，蒂米发出一声恐怖的叫声，翻滚着，脚乱踢着，看上去非常痛苦。“怎么了，蒂米？”乔治喊着，向它跑去。威尔弗里德也跑过去了。狗狗快透不过气来了，眼睛几乎凸出来了。
“那只球卡在它喉咙里了！”威尔弗里德喊道，“我知道这球很危险！我告诉过你！咳出来，蒂米，咳出来。噢！可怜的朋友，窒息了。蒂米，蒂米！”
男孩简直疯了，害怕狗噎到，因为他之前看到过一只狗那样，而乔治吓坏了。可怜的蒂米，大口喘着气，希望把球弄出来时，它的眼睛看上去那么恐怖。
“它会被噎死的，”威尔弗里德哭道，“朱利安，扒开它的嘴巴，撑住。我必须把球拿出来，快！”
蒂米虚弱地呜咽着，扒开它的嘴巴没那么难。威尔弗里德能看到狗狗喉咙里的球，是那个中间有洞的球。他把手伸进蒂米的大嘴巴里，用力把食指伸进球的洞里。他的手指卡在那里了，他轻轻地抽回手来，球也出来了，在他手指上！是的，他的手指还在球的洞里！蒂米又可以呼吸了，急促地呼吸着。乔治摸着它的脑袋，喜极而泣。
“我不该给你那个球的，真不该！”她说，“对你这么大的狗来说，那个球太小了。噢，蒂米，蒂米，对不起！蒂米，你没事吧？”
威尔弗里德走开了，现在又提着一桶水回来了。他把手放进水里，把水滴进蒂米的嘴巴。蒂米感激地咽了下去。它的喉咙刚刚被卡得很疼，水又清凉又滋润。乔治没有说什么，她脸色苍白，颤抖着。如果不是威尔弗里德把手伸进球的洞里，取出球来，或许蒂米已经死了。
“谢谢你，威尔弗里德，”她低声说，“你真机敏。”
“谢天谢地，那个球中间有个洞。”威尔弗里德说着，搂过蒂米的脖子。蒂米感激地舔着他，然后，转身舔了舔乔治。
“它说，它是我们两个人的了。”乔治说，“我与你共同拥有它，是你救了它。”
“谢谢你，”威尔弗里德说，“我拥有一点点就行，它是我见过的最棒的狗！”
Chapter 13 A MEAL - A SLEEP - AND A DISAPPEARANCE
Chapter 13 A MEAL - A SLEEP - AND A DISAPPEARANCE
'I feel hungry again,' said George, who always had a very good appetite indeed. 'We've finished allthat ham, haven't we? I had to give old Timmy some. What about a barley sugar, Dick?'
'Two more left for each of us - just ten,' said Dick, counting. 'Sorry, Timmy, old thing - none for youthis time. Have one, everybody? We'll have five left then!'
'Oh, I quite forgot to tell you,' said Wilfrid, taking a barley sugar. 'I brought some food in my boat! Ididn't think you'd taken any, and I guessed you'd soon be jolly hungry!'
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'You're a marvel, Wilfrid!' said Julian, wondering why he had ever disliked the boy. 'What have youbrought?'
'Come and see,' said Wilfrid, and they all went over to the boat, Timmy walking as close to the boy ashe could. Higgledy-piggledy in the boat was a pile of tins, a large loaf of bread, and a pound packageof butter, looking rather soft.
'Gracious!' said Anne, in delight. 'How in the world did you carry all these from the cottage to yourboat? Look everyone, Wilfrid has even brought some plates and spoons!'
'I put everything into a sack, and carried them over my shoulder,' said Wilfrid, enjoying everyone'sdelighted surprise. 'I fell over going down the hill to the shore, and all the tins rolled out, and simplyshot down the slope!'
Everyone laughed at the thought of the tins rolling at top speed down the hill. Anne slipped her armthrough Wilfrid's and gave it a squeeze.
'You did jolly well,' she said, and Wilfrid beamed at her, astonished and pleased at everyone's warmfriendliness. Timmy went up to the boat and began sniffing at the bread. Then he turned and barkedas if to say 'Is there anything here for me?'
Wilfrid understood at once. 'Oh yes, Timmy!' he said.
'I brought a special tin of dogmeat for you - here you are - a large tin of Waggomeat!'
Timmy recognized the tin at once, and barked joyfully. He pawed Wilfrid as if to say 'Come on, then- open it! I'm hungry!'
'Anyone got a tin-opener?' said George. 'It would be too dreadful if we couldn't open the tins!'
'Gosh - I never even thought about that!' said Wilfrid. 'What an ass I am!'
'It's all right. I've a thing on my pocket-knife that's supposed to open tins,' said Dick, taking out a verylarge closed knife. 'I've never bothered to use it - so let's hope it will work the trick. Chuck me a tin,Wilfrid.'
Wilfrid threw him the tin of Waggomeat. With everyone watching very anxiously indeed, Dickopened a peculiar-looking tool in his knife, and gashed the point into the top of the tin. It worked!
'First time I've ever used it,' said Dick, running the gadget round the tin-top. 'Three cheers for the manwho thought of including it in a knife!'
'Will Timmy be able to swallow yet?' asked George, anxiously. 'His throat must still be hurting himwhere that wooden ball choked him.'
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'Oh, Timmy will be able to judge that for himself,' said Julian. 'If I know anything about him, noteven a sore throat will stop him from wolfing half that tin!'
Julian was right. As soon as Wilfrid scraped out a third of the meat with his knife on to a flat stonenearby, Timmy was wolfing it in great gulps!
'Nothing much the matter with your throat now, Tim!' said Anne, patting him. 'Dear old Tim.
Don't ever choke again. I simply couldn't bear it!'
'Let's have a meal ourselves now,' said George. 'We'll open more of those tins. We don't need to bestingy about them because we can leave in Wilfrid's boat at any time, and get back to the mainland.'
Soon they had opened a tin of tongue, two tins of fruit, and a large tin of baked beans. They cut thebig loaf into six pieces (one for Timmy, of course) and then sat down at the back of the cove to feast.
'Best meal I ever had in my life!' said Dick, enjoying himself. 'Tasty food - fresh air - sea nearby- sun on our heads - and friends sitting all round me!'
'Woof!' said Timmy, at once, and gave Dick a very wet lick.
'He says he couldn't agree more,' said Anne, with a laugh.
'The sun's going down,' said George. 'What are we going to do? Go back to the mainland in Wilfrid'sboat - or stay here for the night?'
'Stay here,' said Julian. 'Nobody knows we're here, and I want to snoop round a bit tonight, whenthose men can't see me. There's a lot of things that puzzle me. For instance, how on earth do theysend away the things from here - such as those packed statues we saw? It must mean that a fairly bigvessel comes along to collect them, I suppose. And I'd like to know how many men there are on theisland - presumably the guards we saw, with guns - and the men who have found that undergroundcave, where everything was hidden. Then we'll go back, tell the police, and leave things to them!'
'Couldn't Wilfrid take the two girls back to the mainland, then come back with the boat?' said Dick. 'Idon't think we ought to let them run any risk.'
Before Julian could reply, George spoke quickly - and crossly. 'We're staying here - though Anne cango back if she wants to. But Timmy and I are staying with you boys, so that's that.'
'All right, all right, no need to shout!' said Dick, pretending to cover his ears. 'What about you,though, Anne? You're the youngest, and...'
57
'I'm staying,' said Anne. 'I'd be worried stiff all night if I left you on the island. And I certainly don'twant to miss any excitement!'
'Right,' said Julian. 'We all stay then. Wilfrid, did you know that Timmy has his nose in the pocketwhere you keep your hedgehog?'
'Yes. They're just making friends,' said Wilfrid. 'Anyway, the hedgehog's only a baby - his quillswon't prick Timmy's nose, they're still too soft. He's a dear little thing. I thought I'd call him Spiky.'
'Wuff,' said Timmy, quite agreeing. He was sitting between George and Wilfrid, very happy indeed,for both fondled him and patted him at the same time.
'I think I'll take a walk round the island,' suddenly announced Wilfrid. 'Timmy, like to come withme?'
Timmy got up at once, but George pulled him down. 'Don't be an ass, Wilfrid,' she said.
'Timmy's been shot at once, by the men here - and I'm not going to risk it again - besides, we don'twant them to know we're here.'
'I'd be very careful,' persisted Wilfrid. 'I wouldn't let them spot me. They didn't spot me coming overin the boat.'
Julian sat up very suddenly. 'How do we know they didn't?' he said. 'I never thought of that!
They might have a telescope - they might keep watch all the time - they might even have seen us inour boat! After all, they can't risk being spied on!'
'I don't think they could have seen us,' said Dick. 'They would have made a search.'
'I'm jolly sure they didn't see me,' boasted Wilfrid. 'They'd have been waiting for me on the shore, ifthey had.' He got up and looked all round. 'I think I'll go for my walk now,' he said.
'NO! You are DEFINITELY not to go for a walk, Wilfrid,' said Julian, and lay back in the sun again.
It was sinking now, but still very bright. Dick began to think of the night, and how he and Julianwould snoop round and find the way into that strange place underground where those golden statuesstood silently in the darkness.
Then he fell fast asleep, and only awoke when Anne gave him a friendly punch. He sat up and begana long and leisurely conversation with his sister - and then Anne suddenly looked all round.
'Where's Wilfrid?' she said. They all sat up then, and looked startled. Wilfrid was nowhere to be seen!
58
'He must have slipped away without a sound!' said Dick, angrily. 'The little idiot. He's been gonequite a long time! He'll get caught, as sure as can be. Good thing Timmy didn't go with him - hemight have been caught too - and shot!'
George put her arms round Timmy in fear. 'Timmy would never go with Wilfrid if I wasn't there too,'
she said. 'What a little fathead he is! I say - those men will guess there's someone else on the islandwith Wilfrid, won't they? They might even make him tell all he knew - and where the boat is, andeverything!'
'What shall we do?' said Anne. 'We'd better go after him.'
'Timmy will track him for us,' said George, getting up. 'Come on, Tim. Find Wilfrid. Find that sillydisobedient boy Wilfrid!'
Timmy understood at once. He put his nose to the ground, found Wilfrid's scent, and began to walkaway. 'Not too fast, Timmy,' said George, and he at once slowed down. George looked round at thelittle place among the bushes where they had been sitting. 'Had we better take a tin or two with us?'
she said.
'Yes. Good idea,' said Julian. 'You just never know!'
He and Dick took a couple of tins each, stuffed uncomfortably into their pockets. Blow Wilfrid!
'He must have gone in this direction,' said Dick. 'I never spotted him slinking away, the littlenuisance! I'm surprised Timmy didn't make a sound! Track him, Tim, track him!'
'Listen!' said Anne, suddenly, and she stopped. 'Listen!' They all listened - and didn't at all like whatthey heard. It was Wilfrid's voice, yelling in fright.
'Let me go! Let me go!'
And then a stern, loud and threatening voice came. 'Who are you with? Where are they? You're notalone, we're certain of that!'
'Quick - we must hide!' said Julian, angry and worried. 'Dick, look about for a good place and I willtoo.'
'No good,' said Dick. 'They'll beat everywhere for us. Better climb trees.'
'Good idea!' said Julian. 'Anne, come with me. I'll give you a shove up. Hurry, everybody!
Hurry!'
13.餐后迷踪
餐后迷踪
“我感觉又饿了，”乔治说，她一向胃口很好，“我们把那个火腿都吃完了，对吧？我得给蒂米吃一点东西。迪克，给我颗麦芽糖好吗？”
“我们每人只能再吃两颗了，总共只有10颗了。”迪克数着说，“对不起，蒂米，老伙计，这次没东西给你吃了。每人一颗？那我们就还剩五颗了！”
“哦，我忘记告诉你们了，”威尔弗里德拿了一颗麦芽糖说，“我带了些食物在船里！我觉得你们没带食物，很快就会饿的！”
“你真了不起，威尔弗里德！”朱利安说，心里思考着，自己之前怎么不喜欢他呢，“你带了什么？”
“你们来看看。”威尔弗里德说。他们都向船走去，蒂米紧紧挨着威尔弗里德。船里乱乱地堆着一堆罐子、一大条面包和一磅黄油，看上去很软。
“天哪！”安妮高兴地说，“你是怎么把这么多东西从小屋运到船上的？大家快看，威尔弗里德竟然还带了一些盘子和勺子！”
“我把所有东西放进麻布袋里，扛去的。”威尔弗里德说，他非常高兴为大家带来惊喜，“我从山上去海边时，摔了一跤。所有罐子都滚出来了，直接滚到了斜坡下。”
大家想象着所有罐子高速滚到山下的样子，都笑了。安妮捏了捏威尔弗里德的胳膊。
“你做得太好了。”她说。威尔弗里德朝她笑了，他非常开心，很喜欢大家之间这种温暖的友情。蒂米走到船上，开始嗅面包，然后回过头叫了起来，仿佛在说：“有吃的给我吗？”
威尔弗里德马上明白了。“哦，是的，蒂米！”他说。
“我特地带了一罐肉给你，给，一大罐！”
蒂米看到了，开心地叫了起来。它拍一下威尔弗里德，仿佛说：“打开，快点！我饿了！”
“有人带开罐器了吗？”乔治说，“打不开罐头的话，可就太糟糕了！”
“天哪！这一点我没想到！”威尔弗里德说，“我真傻！”
“没关系的，我的折刀上有个东西可以开罐头。”迪克说着，拿出来一个大折刀。“我从来没用过，希望可以用，递个罐头给我，威尔弗里德。”
威尔弗里德把罐头扔过来。大家都焦急地看着，迪克从刀子上打开了一个奇怪的工具，把尖插进罐子上方，开了！
“第一次用，”迪克说着，把小工具在罐头上方转了一圈，“为发明把开罐器放到刀子上的人，欢呼三声！”
“蒂米能吞咽了吗？”乔治担心地问，“木球噎到的地方，肯定还疼。”
“哦，蒂米自己会判断的。”朱利安说，“据我了解，喉咙再疼，它也能吃下半罐！”
朱利安说对了。威尔弗里德取出三分之一的肉，刚放到光滑的石头上，蒂米马上狼吞虎咽地吃了起来。
“蒂米，你的喉咙无大碍了。”安妮拍拍它说，“亲爱的蒂米，再也不要噎到了，我会很难受的！”
“我们吃饭吧，”乔治说，“多打开些罐头，我们不需要吝啬了，因为我们可以随时乘威尔弗里德的船离开，回到岸边去。”
很快，他们就打开了一罐牛舌，两罐水果，还有一大罐烘豆。
他们把面包切成六块（当然，给蒂米一块），然后大家坐在沙湾后面吃起大餐来。
“这是我这辈子吃到的最好吃的饭！”迪克满足地说，“吃着美味的食物，呼吸着新鲜的空气，坐在海边，晒着阳光，好朋友陪在身边！”
“汪！”蒂米立刻叫了一声，深深地舔了迪克一下。
“它说你讲得太对了！”安妮大笑着说。
“太阳快下山了，”乔治说，“我们接下来要干什么？乘威尔弗里德的船回岸边，还是留下来过夜？”
“留在这里吧，”朱利安说，“没人知道我们在这里，我想等晚上，那些人看不见时，我去探查一下，太多东西让我困惑了。比如，我们所见的那些打包好的雕像之类的东西，他们到底要怎样运出去。我觉得，肯定得有个很大的船来这里，才能运走。我想看看这岛上有多少人，比如，我们看到的持枪守卫，和发现存有宝物的地下洞穴的人。然后，我们再回去报警，让警察处理！”
“可不可以让威尔弗里德先把两个女孩带回岸边，然后再乘船回来？”迪克说，“我觉得我们不应该让她们俩跟着冒险。”
还没等朱利安回答，乔治急忙生气地说：“我要留在这里，安妮想回去的话，可以回去。但是蒂米和我会陪着你们，就这么定了。”
“好，好，不用喊！”迪克假装捂着耳朵说，“你呢，安妮？你最小，而且……”
“我也留下，”安妮说，“让你们自己在岛上，我会担心死的。而且我可不想错过任何激动时刻！”
“好吧，”朱利安说，“那我们都留下。威尔弗里德，你知道蒂米把鼻子伸到你装刺猬的口袋里了吗？”
“知道啊，它们在交朋友。”威尔弗里德说，“不管怎样，这个小刺猬只是个小宝宝，它的刺太软了，还扎不到蒂米的鼻子。它是个可爱的小东西，我想叫它‘斯皮奇’。”
“汪。”蒂米赞同地叫道。它坐在乔治和威尔弗里德之间，非常开心，因为两人同时轻抚着他。
“我想，我得围着岛转一圈。”威尔弗里德突然说，“蒂米，愿意跟我一起去吗？”
蒂米一下子站了起来，但是乔治把它拽下了。“别傻了，威尔弗里德，”乔治说，“蒂米被那些人打到过一次了，我不能再让它去冒险了。另外，我们也不想让他们知道我们在岛上。”
“我会非常小心，”威尔弗里德坚持道，“我不会让他们看到我的，我乘船来的时候，他们就没看到。”
朱利安忽然坐了起来。“我们怎么确定他们没看到？”他说，“我从没想过这点！他们可能有望远镜，时刻注意着一切！或许他们已经看见我们在船里了！总之，他们不能被监视！”
“我认为他们没看见我们。”迪克说，“看到的话，他们早就搜查了。”
“我确信他们没看见我，”威尔弗里德自豪地说，“如果看到了的话，早在岸边等我了。”他站起来，向四周看了看，“我觉得我该散步去了。”他说。
“不可以！威尔弗里德，你不能去散步。”朱利安说完，又躺在了阳光下。太阳正在慢慢落下，天空仍然很亮。迪克开始考虑晚上的事。他和朱利安怎么才能探查，找到进入奇怪地下洞穴的入口呢？那些金雕像就那么静静地矗立在黑暗中。
很快，他就睡着了。直到安妮轻轻推他一下，才醒过来。他坐了起来，跟妹妹开始了漫长而慵懒的聊天。安妮忽然向四周看了看。
“威尔弗里德呢？”她说。然后他们都惊讶地坐了起来。威尔弗里德不见了！
“他肯定悄悄地走了。”迪克生气地说，“这个小傻瓜！他离开很久了，肯定会被抓住的！还好蒂米没有跟着去，不然也会被抓住打死的！”
乔治害怕地搂住了蒂米。“如果我不去，蒂米一定不会跟着威尔弗里德去的。”她说，“他真傻！哎呀，那些人会猜到岛上还有其他人跟威尔弗里德一起吧，会吗？他们或许会让他说出自己知道的所有事情，包括船在哪里，以及关于我们的所有事情！”
“我们怎么办？”安妮说，“我们最好追上他。”
“蒂米会帮我们追踪到他的，”乔治站了起来说，“快，蒂米。找找威尔弗里德，找找那个不听话的蠢男孩，威尔弗里德！”
蒂米马上明白了。它把鼻子贴着地面，找到了威尔弗里德的气味，朝着一个方向跑了起来。“慢点，蒂米。”乔治说。蒂米立马放慢了速度。乔治看了看灌木丛中这个小地方，他们曾在这里坐过。“我们要带两个罐头吗？”
“嗯，好主意！”朱利安说，“难以预料会发生什么！”
他和迪克分别拿了几个罐头，鼓鼓囊囊地塞在口袋里，然后去寻找愚蠢的威尔弗里德！
“他一定朝这个方向去了，”迪克说，“我都没看见他溜走，小讨厌鬼！真奇怪，蒂米竟然没吭声！追踪他，蒂米，追踪他！”
“听！”安妮忽然说，然后停了下来，“听！”他们都开始听，但是一点都不喜欢他们听到的声音，那是威尔弗里德的声音，他正恐惧地喊着。
“放我走，放我走！”
接着，传来了一个严厉的、恐怖的声音：“谁和你一起来的？他们在哪里？我们知道，你不是自己来的！”
“快！我们得躲起来！”朱利安又气又急地说，“迪克，和我找个藏身的好地方。”
“没什么好地方。”迪克说，“他们会到处找我们，最好是爬到树上。”
“好主意！”朱利安说，“安妮，跟我来，我们托你上去。快，大家！快！”
Chapter 14 WILFRID HAS AN ADVENTURE ON HIS OWN
Chapter 14 WILFRID HAS AN ADVENTURE ON HIS OWN
'What about Timmy? He can't climb,' said George, fearfully. 'He might be shot.'
'Put him under a bush and tell him to sit, sit, sit!' said Julian, urgently. 'He knows perfectly well whatthat means. Go on, George, quick.'
George took Timmy by the collar and led him to a very thick bush. She pushed him under it. Heturned himself round, poked his nose out of the leaves, and looked at her in surprise.
'Sit, Timmy! Sit, and keep quiet!' said George. 'Sit, sit, sit - and keep quiet. Understand?'
'Woof,' said Timmy, very quietly, and withdrew his nose, so that nothing of him could be seen at all.
He knew perfectly well what George meant. Clever old Timmy!
Dick was giving Anne a shove up a tree with drooping branches thick with leaves. 'Get as high as youcan,' he said, in a low voice. 'And then stay put till you hear me call you. Don't be afraid. OldTimmy's down here to protect you!'
Anne gave him rather a small smile. She was not like George, fearless and always ready to rush intotrouble. Anne was all for a peaceful life - but how could she have that if she was one of the Five!
The boys and George were now high up in trees, listening to the shouting going on. ApparentlyWilfrid was not going to give away his friends - one up to him!
'How did you get here?' a man was shouting.
'In a boat,' said Wilfrid.
'Who was with you?' shouted another man.
'Nobody. I came alone,' said Wilfrid, perfectly truthfully. 'I wanted to visit the island. I'm an animal-lover and I heard that all the wild creatures here were tame.'
'A likely story that!' sneered a man's voice. 'Huh! Animal-lover!'
'All right then - look what I've got here in my pocket,' said Wilfrid, and apparently showed the manhis baby hedgehog. 'He was trodden on by a horse - and I've been looking after him.'
'Very well - you can go back to your boat, and row away,' said the man. 'AT ONCE! mind. And don'tlook so scared. We shan't hurt you. We've business of our own here, and we don't want strangersround - not even silly little kids with hedgehogs in their pockets!'
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Wilfrid took to his heels and fled. He felt lost now. He would never find the others - or the covewhere his boat was. WHY had he disobeyed Julian? Had the others heard the men shouting at him?
Which way should he go?
He had entirely lost his sense of direction and had no idea whether to go to the left or the right.
He began to panic. Where could the others be? He must find them, he must! He ran through the trees,wishing that Timmy was with him. Then he stopped. Surely this was quite the wrong way?
He turned and went in a different direction. No, this couldn't be right either, he didn't recognize athing!
He thought he heard voices in the distance. He stood and listened. Could it be the others? If onlyGeorge would tell Timmy to find him! But she wouldn't, in case he was shot at. Was that noise voices- or was it just the wind? Perhaps it was the others looking for him. Wilfrid rushed off towards thedistant sound. But alas, it died down. It was only the wind!
The trees thinned out into bushes - and then Wilfrid suddenly saw the sea in the distance! Good!
If he could get to it, he could walk round the shore till he came to his cove. He would know where hewas then. He began to run towards the blue sea.
Through the bushes he went, and came out at last on to what seemed to be a very high cliff. Yes -there was the sea, below and beyond. If only he could scramble down the cliff he could bear to theright and at last come to his cove. He came to the edge of the cliff and looked down - and then hestarted back in fear. What was that noise - that awful, dreadful noise? It was like a giant wailing andwailing at the top of his voice, the wailing going up and down in the wind. Wilfrid found his kneeswere shaking. He simply didn't dare to go on. He sat down and tried to get his breath, putting hishands over his ears to keep out the horrible wailing.
And then he suddenly remembered something and heaved a sigh of heartfelt relief. 'Of course -these must be the Wailing Cliffs we were told about!' he thought thankfully. 'We heard about theWhispering Wood - and it does whisper - and the Wailing Cliffs - and they do wail! At least, it'sreally the wind, of course. But goodness, what a queer, strange sound!'
He sat for a while longer, then, feeling much bolder, he went to the edge of the great cliff, and lookedover. He stared down in surprise.
'There's somebody down there - three or four people! Mustn't let them see me - they must belong tothe men on the island! What are they doing down there?'
61
He lay down and peered over. Four men were there - but, as Wilfrid watched, they disappeared.
Where had they gone? He craned over the cliff to see. 'There must be caves in the cliff, I suppose,' hesaid to himself. 'That's where they've gone! Gosh, I wish this wailing would stop. I shall start wailingmyself in a minute!'
After some time voices came faintly up to him, as he lay watching, and he saw two men coming outon to the rocks below again. What were they carrying? A long, deep box - why, it looked exactly likeone of the boxes in which the others had seen those beautiful little statues, packed in sawdust!
'So that's how they get them away from here - take them down through some passage in the cliffs- to a waiting boat. Where's the boat, thought I can't see one. Not arrived yet, perhaps.'
He watched with intense interest as the men carried out box after box and piled them on a great flatrock that abutted on a stretch of fairly calm water.
'Big boxes - little ones - my word, those men have been busy lately!' thought Wilfrid, wishing andwishing and wishing that the others were with him. 'I wonder what's in them. Not the bed of gold,that's certain. I bet it would be far too big to put into a boat. Have to be pulled to pieces first! Hallo -here comes another box - a small one this time. Good gracious, they'll soon need a steamer to take allthese!'
Almost as he said the words, he saw a small steamer in the far distance! 'Well! There's the steamer,just as I said! I bet the boat will appear soon, and be loaded - and then chug off to the waitingsteamer!'
But the steamer came no nearer, and no boats appeared. 'Waiting for the tide, I expect,' thoughtWilfrid. 'Goodness, what will the others say when I tell them all this! They won't believe me!
And I bet they won't scold me for going off by myself!'
He decided to go back and find the others and tell them what he had seen. He set off trying toremember the way. Surely he must be near the place where he had left them? And then quitesuddenly, someone leapt out from behind a tree and caught hold of him!
'Let me go, let me go!' shouted Wilfrid, in a panic. And then he gave a cry of relief, as he suddenlysaw Timmy running towards him.
'Timmy! Save me!'
But Timmy didn't come running to save him. He stood there, looking up at him, rather puzzled, whilepoor Wilfrid went on struggling, really frightened!
62
Then Wilfrid heard a giggle. A GIGGLE? Who in the world could be giggling just then? He forcedhimself to look round - and saw Dick and Anne, doing their best not to laugh, and George holding hersides. His captor let go of him and began to laugh too. It was Julian!
'I say - this is too bad! You gave me a most awful fright,' said Wilfrid. 'I've already been capturedonce this afternoon. Whatever do you think you're doing?'
'Where have you been, Wilfrid?' said Julian, rather sternly. 'I forbade you to go for a walk - and youwent.'
'I know. I went off by myself - and a man caught me and scared me. Then I ran away and lost myself.
I couldn't find any of you,' said poor Wilfrid. 'But my word, I saw something very very interesting onthat walk of mine!'
'What?' asked Julian, at once.
'Let's sit down, and I'll tell you,' said Wilfrid. 'I feel quite shaky. You really were beasts to jump onme like that.'
'Never mind, Wilfrid,' said Anne, feeling sorry for the boy, who really did look rather shaken.
'Now go on, tell us everything that happened.'
Wilfrid sat down. He was still trembling a little. Everything seemed to have happened at once.
He began to tell the others about the Wailing Cliffs, and all he had seen.
They all listened with intense interest. 'So that's the other way to the underground treasure-chamber -through a passage in the cliffs!' said Julian. 'I never thought of that! My word, that's something toknow. I vote we go and explore the cliffs ourselves, when there's nobody about.'
'Well, it had better be in the evening,' said Wilfrid. 'Just in case we were spotted climbing down thecliffs to find the passage - if there is one, and I think there must be! Those men might be on thewatch, now they know there's someone on the island. I bet they guess I'm not the only one -even though I told them I came alone.'
'I vote we have something to eat,' said George. 'We can talk over everything then. It's ages since wehad a meal. Let's go and open some more tins, and plan what we're going to do tonight. This isgetting too exciting for words. Isn't it, Timmy?'
'Woof,' agreed Timmy. Too exciting, he thought. Yes - and dangerous, too. He'd keep close toGeorge that evening, as close as ever he could! If she went into danger, Timmy would be close by herside!
14.威尔弗里德探险
威尔弗里德探险
“蒂米怎么办？它不会爬树。”乔治害怕地说，“它可能会被射击的。”
“把它放到灌木丛里，告诉它‘坐下，坐下’！”朱利安急切地说，“它知道那意味着什么。快！乔治，快！”
乔治牵着蒂米的项圈，走到一片茂密的灌木丛里，把它推进去。蒂米转过身，露出鼻子来，吃惊地看着她。
“坐下，蒂米！坐下，安静！”乔治说，“坐下，坐下，安静。明白吗？”
“汪。”蒂米小声地叫了一下，抽回了鼻子。这样一点都看不到它了。它明白乔治的意思，聪明的蒂米！
迪克把安妮托到一棵垂着树枝、叶子茂密的大树上。“尽力爬到高处，”他低声说，“然后静静地待着，直到我喊你为止。不要怕，蒂米在下面保护你！”
安妮微微一笑。她不像乔治那样，无所畏惧，随时准备涉险。
安妮喜欢安静，可是作为侦探团一员，她又怎能如愿？
男孩们和乔治也都在高高的大树上了，听着持续传来的吼声。
显然，威尔弗里德不打算出卖他的朋友们。为他欢呼！
“你怎么来的？”一个人喊道。
“乘船。”威尔弗里德说。
“和谁？”另一个人喊道。
“没有人。我自己来的。”威尔弗里德非常真诚地说，“我想参观这个岛。我是动物爱好者，听说这里的所有野生动物都很温驯。”
“同样的故事！”一个男人冷笑道，“哈，动物爱好者！”
“那好吧，看看我口袋里是什么。”威尔弗里德说，很明显他让那个男人看到刺猬宝宝了，“它被马踩到了，我在照顾它。”
“很好，你可以回到船上离开了，”男人说，“马上！别一脸害怕的样子，我们不会伤害你的。我们有自己的事要做，我们不希望周围有陌生人，哪怕是一个口袋里装着刺猬的傻小孩也不行！”
威尔弗里德拔腿就跑，他感觉自己迷路了，找不到其他人，也找不到他的船所在的沙湾了。他为什么不听朱利安的话？其他人听见那些男人吼他了吗？他该走哪条路呢？
他完全迷路了，不知道该往左还是往右。他开始害怕，其他人在哪里啊？他一定要找到他们，一定！威尔弗里德穿过树丛，希望蒂米陪着他。然后他停了下来，这条路好像不对？他转身往另一个方向。不，这个方向也不对，他辨别不出来了！
突然，威尔弗里德仿佛听到远处有声音。他站着，听着。是其他人吗？要是乔治让蒂米来找他就好了！但是她不会同意的，怕蒂米被枪打中。那是人的声音还是只是风声呢？或许是其他人在找他。威尔弗里德朝远处的声音跑去。可惜，声音渐渐小了，那只是风声！
威尔弗里德从树林跑到了灌木丛。他忽然看到了远处的大海！
太好了！如果能到那里，他就可以沿着海岸回到他的沙湾，他就知道自己在哪里了。于是他朝蔚蓝的大海跑去。
穿过灌木丛，他最终来到了一处更像是悬崖的地方。是的，那里是大海，在悬崖下面。如果爬下去，向右转，就可以到达他的沙湾了。他来到悬崖边，向下看了看，然后惶恐地退了回来。那是什么声音？一种可怕的，让人毛骨悚然的声音。像巨人一声一声地高声哀号着，声音随着风忽高忽低的。威尔弗里德发现自己的腿在颤抖，他不敢继续往前走了。他坐了下来，试着平静一下，捂住耳朵，想要挡住那恐怖的哀号声。
忽然他想起了什么，然后松了一口气。“当然了，这一定就是我们听说的哀号崖了！”他感激地想着，“我们听说过耳语树林，它确实有耳语的声音。那这哀号崖，当然也有哀号的声音了！至少，真的是风声。但是天哪！这是多么古怪，奇特的声音啊！”
他又坐了一会儿，然后感觉胆子大了些。他来到悬崖边，向下看，惊讶地望着下方。“那里有人，三四个人！千万不能让他们看到我！他们一定跟岛上的人是一伙儿的！他们在下面干什么呢？”
他趴下，偷偷向下看。有四个人，但是，威尔弗里德看着看着，他们消失了。他们去哪里了呢？他伸长了脖子看。“我想悬崖上肯定有洞穴。”他自言自语道，“那就是他们去的地方。天哪！真希望这悬崖不要哀号了，让我自己一个人哭会儿吧！”
过了一会儿，他趴在那儿看时，哀号的声音小了。他看见两个男人又出来了，他们来到了下面的石头上。他们在搬什么？一个又长又深的箱子，为什么，看上去那么像朱利安他们看到的那些，里面裹着锯末，装着美丽小雕像的箱子！
“所以，这就是他们运走雕像的办法，从悬崖里的某个通道弄下来，然后等船。船在哪里呢？我没看到。或许，船还没来。”
他兴致勃勃地看着那些人，抬出一个又一个箱子，摞在紧邻一片平静海水的大平石头上。
“大箱子，小箱子，天哪！那些人好忙碌啊！”威尔弗里德想，他盼呀，盼呀，盼着其他人跟他在一起，“我猜猜里面是什么。不是金床，肯定的，我敢保证，床太大了，一艘船装不下。需要先拆成小块！噢，又来了一个箱子，这次是个小的。天啊，他们很快就得需要轮船，才能都运走了！”
他话音刚落，就看到远处来了艘小轮船！“哈！如我所料，来轮船了！我相信，小船很快就现身了，然后装满，嘎吱嘎吱地响着，等待轮船！”
可是轮船没有继续靠近，小船也没现身。“我猜是在等潮水，”威尔弗里德想，“天哪，如果我告诉大家这些事情，他们会怎么想啊！他们不会相信我的！我保证他们也不会骂我自己离开的！”
他决定返回去，找到大家，告诉他们自己看到的事情。威尔弗里德站起身，努力回想路线。他能肯定现在在自己离开他们的地方附近。突然，有人从一棵树后跳了出来，抓住了他！
“放开我，放开我！”威尔弗里德惊恐地喊着。忽然他看见蒂米向他跑来了，于是放松地哭了。
“蒂米，救我！”
但是蒂米没有过来救他。蒂米站住了，不解地仰头看着他，而可怜的威尔弗里德继续挣扎着，着实吓坏了！
威尔弗里德听见了咯咯的笑声。笑声？到底谁会在这时候笑啊？他努力转身看，他看见了迪克和安妮，他们正在努力忍住笑，乔治正捧腹大笑。抓着他的人松开了手，也大笑了起来。是朱利安！
“哎呀，太不好玩了！你们吓死我了！”威尔弗里德说，“我下午已经被抓过一次了，你们觉得再这么对待我好吗？”
“威尔弗里德，你去哪里了？”朱利安非常严肃地问，“我警告过你不要去散步，你还是去了。”
“我错了。我自己离开后，有一个人抓住了我，恐吓了我。然后我跑了，结果迷路了，找不到你们了。”可怜的威尔弗里德说，“但是我发誓，我在路上看到了非常有趣的事！”
“什么事？”朱利安马上问。
“坐下，我告诉你们。”威尔弗里德说，“我还感觉浑身发抖。你那样跳到我身后，太恐怖了！”
“别怕，威尔弗里德。”安妮说，她感觉非常抱歉。这可怜的男孩，看上去真的在发抖。“现在，继续吧，告诉我们发生的所有事情。”
威尔弗里德坐下了，他还有点发抖，一切发生得太快了。他开始给大家讲哀号崖，以及他看到的一切。
大家都兴致勃勃地听着。“所以，那就是通往地下宝库的路，通过悬崖里的一个通道！”朱利安说，“我从没想到过！天啊，我们要弄明白。我提议，悬崖附近没人时，我们自己去探索一下。”
“嗯，最好是傍晚时分，”威尔弗里德说，“以防我们爬下悬崖寻找通道时被发现，如果有通道的话。不过我觉得一定有！那些人可能在守候着，因为他们知道有人在岛上。尽管我告诉他们我是自己来的，但是他们肯定不相信。”
“我提议我们吃点东西，”乔治说，“然后再详谈。我们都好几年没吃饭了。我们再打开些罐头，然后计划下今晚要做的事。越来越刺激了，真是无以言表啊，是不是，蒂米？”
“汪！”蒂米赞同地叫道。它想，太刺激了！是的，也太危险了。那晚它紧挨着乔治，像往常一样近。如果乔治陷入危险，它一定要陪在身边！
Chapter 15 JULIAN HAS AN EXCITING PLAN
Chapter 15 JULIAN HAS AN EXCITING PLAN
The five children talked and talked, as they opened more tins and had a most peculiar meal of hamspread with fruit salad and beans. They finished up with another barley sugar each. George gave hersto Timmy who disposed of it with a crick-crack-swallow!
'Have we all got torches?' asked Julian. 'I know it will be bright moonlight tonight, but as we shallpresumably be getting down - or up - dark caves, we shall want torches.'
Yes - they each had a torch. Wilfrid, for some reason, had two, rather small, but quite efficient.
'What's the plan going to be, Ju?' asked George, and Timmy gave a little whine, as if to say, 'Yes, tellus.' He sat by George, listening earnestly, with Wilfrid on the other side of him. At times he sniffed atthe baby hedgehog still in the boy's pocket, and apparently quite happy there. Wilfrid had been busycatching insects for it, much to Timmy's interest.
'I propose that we go to the cliffs - the Wailing Cliffs - as soon as it's twilight, and make our waydown,' said Julian. 'There is probably some kind of pathway down, I should think - even if only arabbit-path. I'll lead the way down, of course. Anne and Wilfrid are to come between me and Dick,with George and Timmy behind.'
'Right!' said everyone.
'We are, of course, to make as little noise as possible,' said Julian. 'And do try not to send stoneshurtling down the path or cliff just in case anyone's about! When we get down to the rocks, we'll letWilfrid go ahead, because he saw where the men went in and out earlier on.'
Wilfrid felt suddenly important. My word - it was like planning an exploration! He suddenlyremembered something - the wailing noise.
'I hope the girls won't be scared when they hear the awful wailing noise,' he said. 'It's only the windscreaming in and out of the holes and corners of the great cliffs.'
George made a scornful noise. 'Who's scared of the wind!' she said.
'Timmy might be,' said Julian, smiling. 'We know what makes the wailing. He doesn't! You may haveto hold him when it begins, George. He'll be a bit restive.'
'He won't!' said George. 'Timmy's not afraid of anything in the world!'
'Oh yes, he is,' said Dick, at once. 'I know something that scares him dreadfully - makes him put histail down and flop his ears.'
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'You do not!' said George, angrily.
'Well, haven't you seen him when you speak sharply to him?' said Dick, with a chuckle. 'He goes allshaky in the legs!'
Everyone laughed except George. 'He does not,' she said. 'Nothing scares Timmy, not even me.
So shut up, Dick.'
'It may be that it would be best for only one or two of us to go right into the depths of the caves,'
went on Julian. 'If so, the rest must wait in hiding. Just keep on the look-out for any signal from me. Idon't expect we shall see a soul down there tonight, but you never know. If there is a way through thecliffs to that underground chamber where we saw the golden statues, we shall be in real luck. Weshall then be absolutely certain how things can be taken in and out.'
'Taken in? But I thought they had been there for ages,' said Dick, 'and were probably only taken outto sell. Smuggled out.'
'Well, I think it may be more than that,' said Julian. 'It might even be a central clearing-ground for agreat gang of high-class thieves, who would hide valuable stolen goods there till it was safe to sellthem. However, that's only guessing!'
'I think somebody's discovered the underground chamber, full of that rich old man's treasures, and istaking them out bit by bit,' said Dick. 'Anyway, whatever it is, it's awfully exciting. To think weknow so much!'
'All because we went down the well to get some water!' said Anne.
'Put on your sweaters,' said Julian. 'It may be freezing cold in the wind that rages round those cliffs!'
'I'm longing to start!' said George. 'It's an adventure, this - do you hear that, Timmy? An adventure!'
'Anything more, Julian?' asked Anne. Julian always sounded so very grown-up when he gave them aplan of campaign. She felt very proud of him.
'That's the lot,' said Julian, 'except that we'll have some sort of a meal before we go this evening.
Wilfrid will have to lead the way for us, as he's the only one who knows it - but when we come to thecliff, I'll lead you down. Can't have anyone missing a footstep and rolling headlong, frightening anyrobber or smuggler!'
65
'Do you hear that, Timmy?' said George, and Timmy whined, and put a paw on George's knee as if tosay, 'It's a pity you haven't sure feet like mine, with rubber pads beneath, so that your footing isalways sure!'
George patted his paw. 'Yes - you've fine sure feet, Tim. I wish I could buy some like them!'
The time seemed to go very very slowly after that. Everyone was eager to start, and kept looking attheir watches! The sun left a bright glow in the sky, so they would probably start more or less indaylight, which would, however, soon fade into twilight.
They had another meal, but strangely enough, nobody felt very hungry! 'We're too excited!' saidJulian, giving Timmy a biscuit. Timmy was the only one who didn't seem at all excited. As forGeorge, she fidgeted and fidgeted until everyone was quite tired of her!
At last they started off. Wilfrid led them at first, as he knew the way. Actually he found that he didn'treally know it - it was the loud wind that guided him, just as it had done before. 'Awfully like far-offvoices shouting to one another,' he said, and everyone at once agreed.
When they came near to the cliff, the sound gradually changed into the mournful wailing noise thatgave the cliffs their name. 'EEEE-ee-OOOOO-oo-EEEEEEEEAH-OOO!'
'Not very nice,' said Anne, shivering a little. 'It sounds as if someone is crying and sobbing andhowling!'
'Good name for this place - Wailing Cliff,' said Dick. 'I say - what a wind up here! I'm glad my hair'smy own! It would certainly be blown off if it weren't! Hang on to old Timmy, George -he's more blowable than we are - not so heavy!'
George put her hand on Timmy's collar at once. How DREADFUL if Timmy were to be blown overthe cliff! He gave her a grateful lick. He didn't like the wind here very much - it had a truly miserablevoice!
They came to the edge of the cliff and looked down cautiously, in case anyone should be on the rocksbelow. But, except for some big gulls preening their feathers there, there was no sign of life.
'No boats about - no steamer - nothing,' said Dick. 'All clear, Julian!'
Julian had been looking for a good path down the cliff. There didn't seem to be a continuous one.
'We'll have to go so far - then climb down a bit - then walk along that ledgy bit, see - then climbdown that slanting rock - the great big one - and get down on to the more level rocks. OKeveryone?'
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'I'll let Timmy go first,' said George. 'He is so sure-footed and will know the best way. Go on, Timmy- lead us down!'
Timmy understood at once and went in front of Julian. He took the first little path down the cliff, sliddown the next bit, walked along the ledge that Julian had pointed out, and then stood and waited foreveryone. He gave a little bark as if to say, 'Come along. It's easy! Follow me!'
They all followed, some more carefully than others. George and Wilfrid were least careful, and poorWilfrid lost his footing and slid quite a long way on his behind. He didn't like it at all, and lookedquite scared!
'Watch your feet, now, Wilfrid,' said Julian. 'It's getting a bit dark, so don't try any funny tricks.
You tried to jump over that big stone instead of stepping over carefully. I really don't want to sendTimmy down to the bottom of the cliff to pick up your pieces!'
At last they were all down the cliff, and on the rocks below. The tide was out, so that waves did notsplash up and soak them. Anne suddenly slipped into a pool and made her shoes wet, but that didn'tmatter. They were only rubber ones.
'Now - exactly where did you see those men, Wilfrid?' asked Julian, stopping on a big flat rock.
Wilfrid jumped beside him, and pointed.
'See the cliff over there? See that funny rock shaped rather like a bear? Well, that's where I saw themen. They went by that rock, and disappeared.'
'Right,' said Julian. 'Now, no more talking please - though this wailing sound would drown almostanything. Follow me!'
He went over the rocks towards the big bear- like one that Wilfrid had pointed to. The othersfollowed, a little tide of excitement welling up inside them. Anne caught hold of Wilfrid's hand, andsqueezed it. 'Exciting, isn't it?' she said, and Wilfrid nodded eagerly. He knew he would have beenscared stiff by himself - but with the others it was an adventure - a really exciting adventure!
They came to the bear-like rock. Near it was a dark place in the cliff - a way in? 'That's where themen came out, Julian,' said Wilfrid, keeping his voice low. 'Do we go in there?'
'We do,' said Julian. 'I'm going in first and I'm going to stand quite still and listen, as soon as I get thesound of the wind and sea out of my ears. If I hear nothing I'll whistle, see? Then you can all come intoo.'
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'Right!' said everyone, thrilled. They watched as Julian went to the dark slit-like opening. He pausedand looked inside. It was so dark that he knew they would all need their torches! He switched on hispowerful one and shone it into the passage. He saw a ditch that ran slanting upwards for some way,and on either side, a rocky ledge, not too rough. Water ran down the rocky ditch and bubbled outbeside him, to join the sea over the rocks.
'I'm just going into the cliff tunnel a little way, to see if I can hear anything or anyone,' he said.
'Wait here.' He disappeared inside the dark opening and everyone waited in impatient excitement.
A gull suddenly swooped down close to their heads. 'Ee-ooo, ee-ooo, EEE-OOO!' it screeched andmade them all jump violently. Wilfrid almost fell off his rock, and clutched at George.
Timmy growled, and looked up angrily at the seagull. Silly bird, frightening everyone like that!
There came a low whistle, and Julian appeared again, his torch switched on. 'All clear,' he said. 'Ican't hear a sound inside the opening, and I've been some way along. It's not hard going. There's afunny little stream flowing down, and a ledge either side we can walk on. Very convenient!
Now, no talking please - and be careful even of your whispers - every sound seems to be magnified inhere. Keep hold of Timmy, George, in the steepest places.'
Timmy gave a little whine of surprise when George took him inside the cliff. At once his whine wasmagnified all round them, and everyone jumped. Timmy didn't like it at all.
George took firm hold of Timmy's collar. 'You're to keep close by me,' she whispered, 'and you're notto make a sound. This is an adventure, Timmy - a big adventure - and you're in it as much as any ofus. Come along!'
And there they go, all of them, climbing up the dark passage into the cliff! What will they find -what will they see? No wonder their hearts beat fast and loudly, no wonder Timmy keeps close toGeorge. An adventure? He must be on guard then - anything might happen in an adventure!
15.不速之客
朱利安的疯狂计划
侦探团的孩子们一边吃饭，一边聊天。他们打开了更多的罐头，吃了一顿非常奇特的晚餐——火腿配水果沙拉和烘豆，最后每人还吃了一块麦芽糖。
乔治把自己的麦芽糖给了蒂米。蒂米“吧唧”一吞，就把麦芽糖处理了！
“我们都有手电筒吗？”朱利安问，“我知道今晚月光很亮，但是我们可能会下去或上到黑洞里，得用到手电筒。”
是的，他们都有一个手电筒。威尔弗里德，出于某些原因，有两个，虽然比较小，但是很亮。
“朱利安，我们的计划是什么？”乔治问。蒂米低低地叫了一声，仿佛在说：“是啊，告诉我们吧。”它坐在乔治身边，认真地听着，威尔弗里德在它的另一边。小刺猬宝宝仍然在威尔弗里德口袋里，蒂米不时地闻闻它，看上去很开心。威尔弗里德忙着给小刺猬宝宝捉虫子，蒂米很感兴趣。
“我建议黄昏时，我们尽快赶到悬崖——哀号崖，然后下去。”朱利安说，“我觉得，很可能有向下走的路。当然，哪怕是像只有兔子走过的小路，我也要带大家下去。安妮和威尔弗里德在我和迪克中间走，乔治和蒂米跟在后面。”
“好！”大家齐声回答。
“当然，我们，要尽力保持安静，”朱利安说，“千万不要把路上的石头碰滚下去，以免下面有人发现。我们下去，到达石头那里时，再让威尔弗里德在前面走，因为他之前看到过那些人进出的位置。”
威尔弗里德忽然觉得自己很重要。天哪，真像在计划一场探险！他忽然想起了什么，对，哀号声。
“希望女孩们不要害怕那哀号声，”他说，“那只是风吹进吹出悬崖上的洞和角落时，发出来的声音而已。”
乔治轻蔑地“哼”了一声。“谁会怕风声！”她说。
“蒂米可能会，”朱利安笑着说，“我们知道哀号声怎么回事，它不知道！乔治，到时你得紧紧牵着它，它可能会有点难以控制。”
“不会的！”乔治说，“世界上的任何东西，蒂米都不怕！”
“噢，是的！它不怕。”迪克马上说，“我知道什么能吓坏它，吓得它垂下尾巴，耷拉耳朵。”
“你不知道！”乔治生气地说。
“唉，当你吼它时，你看见了吗？”迪克笑着说，“它吓得腿都抖了！”
除了乔治，其他人都笑了。“它不会的，”她说，“蒂米什么都不怕，包括我。迪克，闭嘴！”
“或许，到时候只用我们中的一两个人进洞里会比较好，”朱利安说。“这样的话，其他人必须藏起来等着，时刻关注我的信号。希望我们今晚看不到妖魔鬼怪，但是说不准。如果真有通道，通往我们看到金雕像的洞穴的话，那就太幸运了！那我们就可以确定那些东西是怎么运进运出的了。”
“运进？但是，我以为那些东西在里面好多年了，”迪克说，“或许只是被运出去卖掉。走私。”
“嗯，我觉得情况可能更复杂，”朱利安说，“或许是一群高级盗贼的销赃中心，他们把东西藏在那里，等到安全时，再出售。不管怎样，猜测而已！”
“我觉得有人发现了那个地下室，里面装满了那个老人的宝物，然后他们一点一点地往外运。”迪克说，“不管怎样，想想我们知道了这么多，太刺激了！”
“都是因为我们下井打水！”安妮说。
“大家都穿上毛衣，”朱利安说，“悬崖上肆虐的风，可能会很冷！”
“真期待赶快行动！”乔治说，“这是探险，蒂米，你听到了吗？
探险！”
“朱利安，还有要安排的吗？”安妮问。朱利安给他们制订活动计划时，总是显得那么成熟稳重，她为他感到骄傲。
“就这些，”朱利安说，“还有，我们出发前要吃点饭。威尔弗里德将给我们带路，因为只有他知道。但是，到悬崖后，由我带领你们下去。任何人都不能失足，或者摔倒，以免惊动任何强盗或走私贩！”
“蒂米，听到了吗？”乔治说。蒂米低声应了一声，把脚放到乔治膝盖上，仿佛在说：“真遗憾，你没有我这样稳当的爪子，底下有肉垫，走起路来一直很稳！”
乔治拍了拍它的爪子，说：“是的，蒂米，你的爪子非常稳当。
真希望我能买一些这样的肉垫！”
接下来，时间感觉过得很慢很慢。每个人都期待着开始，一直盯着手表！落日在空中留下一抹余晖，因此，他们可能多少会伴着一点日光开始行动。然而，这点余晖将很快消失在黄昏中。
他们又吃了一顿饭，但是，非常奇怪，大家都不饿！“我们太兴奋了！”朱利安说完，给了蒂米一块饼干。蒂米是唯一一个看上去没那么兴奋的，而乔治坐立不安地转来转去，大家都厌烦了。
终于出发了！威尔弗里德先带路，因为他知道路。实际上，他发现自己并不太知道路，正像之前一样，是巨大的风声引导了他。“非常像遥远的声音，彼此呼唤着。”他说，大家都立即赞同。
他们靠近悬崖时，声音渐渐变成了悲哀的哀号声，这正是悬崖得名的原因。
“唉唉唉唉——唉唉——哦哦哦哦——哦哦——唉唉唉唉唉唉唉唉啊呵——哦哦哦！”
“真不太好听，”安妮有点颤抖着说，“听上去好像有人在哭，抽泣着，号啕大哭！”
“这名字真合适，哀号崖。”迪克说，“哎呀，上面的风好大啊！
真高兴我的头发是真的！如果是假发的话，一定会被吹跑的！乔治，牵住蒂米！它没这么重，更容易被刮走！”
乔治立刻牵住蒂米的项圈。如果蒂米被吹下悬崖的话，多可怕啊！蒂米感激地舔了乔治一下，它不喜欢这里的风，那声音真的太悲惨了！
他们来到了悬崖边，小心地向下看了看，以防石头下面有人。
但是，除了一些大海鸥在那里整理羽毛，任何其他生命迹象也没有。
“附近没有小船，没有轮船，什么也没有。”迪克说，“解除警报，朱利安！”
朱利安在找下去的路，看上去没有一条通畅的路。“我们得走一段，然后爬下去一点，再沿着暗礁尖走，看，爬下去到那块倾斜的石头上，那块大的，最后下去到那些更平坦点的石头上。大家可以吗？”
“我让蒂米先走，”乔治说，“它的爪子稳当，会找最好的路。
走，蒂米，带我们下去！”
蒂米立刻明白了，走到乔治前面。它小心地向下走了一段，又滑了一截，沿着朱利安指的暗礁走，然后站住，等着大家。它轻轻地叫了一声，好像在说：“跟上，很简单！跟我来！”
他们都跟着，一个比一个小心。乔治和威尔弗里德是最不小心的，可怜的威尔弗里德一失足，躺着滑了一大段。他一点也不喜欢这样，看上去非常害怕！
“威尔弗里德，注意脚下，”朱利安说，“天有点黑了，所以不要取巧。你刚才没有小心地走到那块石头上，而是跳过去的。我可不想让蒂米到悬崖下找你的残骸！”
最后他们都到了悬崖下的石头上。退潮了，所以海浪上不来，卷不走他们。安妮忽然滑到了一个水洼里，弄湿了鞋子。但是不碍事，只是胶鞋。
“现在，威尔弗里德，你看到的那些人具体在哪个位置？”朱利安在一块平坦的大石头上停下，问道。威尔弗里德跳到他身边，指了指。
“看见那边的悬崖了吗？看到那个有趣的像熊的石头了吗？嗯，我就是在那里看到他们的。他们走到石头边，消失了。”
“好，”朱利安说，“现在，都不要说话了，尽管这哀号声几乎能吞没一切。跟着我！”
他朝威尔弗里德所指的像熊一样的石头走去。其他人跟着，内心汹涌澎湃。安妮紧紧地抓住威尔弗里德的手，“很刺激，对吧？”她说。威尔弗里德热切地点点头，他知道如果自己一个人来的话，一定会被吓坏的。但是和大家一起来，就是一场探险了，真正的探险！
他们来到了像熊的石头边。挨着它的悬崖里有个漆黑的地方，是进去的路吗？“朱利安，那些人就是从那里出来的。”威尔弗里德低声说，“我们进去吗？”
“进去，”朱利安说，“我先进去。一听不见风声和海的声音，我就站住仔细听。如果还听不见声音，我就吹哨，明白吗？然后你们就都进来。”
“好！”大家激动地说。他们注视着朱利安进入那个黑缝一样的开口。他停下了，向里张望着。太黑了，朱利安知道大家得用手电筒了！他打开了自己那个很亮的手电筒，照向通道里面。他看见一条沟渠斜着向上，两边有石坡，不太粗糙。水从岩石沟渠上流下来，冒着泡，从他身边流过，汇入岩石那边的海里。
“我要往悬崖洞穴里再走走，看能不能听见什么东西或人的声音，”朱利安说，“在这里等着。”他消失在了黑暗的开口里，大家都不安地等待着。
一只海鸥忽然俯冲下来，挨近他们的脑袋了。“哎哎——哦哦哦，哎哎——哦哦哦，哎哎哎——哦哦哦！”它尖叫着，吓得大家都猛地跳了起来。威尔弗里德差点从石头上掉了下去，他抓住了乔治。蒂米叫了一声，仰起头，生气地看着海鸥，仿佛在说：“蠢鸟，竟敢吓唬大家！”
这时传来一声低低的哨声，朱利安又出现了，他开着手电筒。“解除警报，”他说，“我在开口里听不见声音。我已经走了一段了，不那么难走。有一条别致的水流从里面流下来。两边有石坡，我们可以从上面走，非常方便。现在，请不要讲话，悄悄的。这里每个声音好像都会被放大。乔治，走到陡峭的地方时，牵紧蒂米。”
乔治在悬崖里面牵起蒂米时，它惊讶地轻轻叫了一声。它的声音立即在大家周围放大了，大家都吓了一跳。蒂米非常不喜欢发出这样的声音。
乔治紧紧牵着它的项圈。“你要紧紧挨着我，”她小声说，“不要出声，蒂米，这是一场探险，一场大探险，你和我们一样参与其中。一起来！”
大家都出发了，爬上漆黑的通道，走进悬崖！他们将发现什么呢？他们会看见什么呢？难怪他们的心怦怦跳着，难怪蒂米紧挨着乔治，这是一场探险吗？那它一定要守卫他们，探险时，什么事都有可能发生！
Chapter 16 A QUEER JOURNEY UNDERGROUND
Chapter 16 A QUEER JOURNEY UNDERGROUND
It was very dark inside the cliff. The children's torches made bright streaks everywhere, and werevery useful indeed for seeing the safest places to tread. As Julian had told the others, there was a 68curious little stream flowing down the middle of the steep passage, with uneven ledges on each sideof it. It had worn this little channel for itself during the many many years it had flowed down insidethe cliff!
'It's probably water draining from the surface of the cliffs,' said Julian in a low voice, picking his waycarefully. 'Be careful here - the ledges are very slippery!'
'Oooh!' said Wilfrid, treading on a slippery bit, and finding one of his feet in ice-cold water.
The echo took up the noise at once. 'OOOOH-OOOOOOH-OOOOOH!' Poor Wilfrid's little'Oooh' echoed up and down and all round them! It was very weird indeed and nobody liked it.
Anne pressed close to Julian, and he squeezed her arm comfortingly.
'Sorry about my Oooh,' said Wilfrid, in a low voice. 'My oooh, oooh, oooh!' said the echo at once,and George simply couldn't help giving a giggle, which at once repeated itself a score of times!
'You really will have to be quiet now,' came Julian's serious voice, almost in a whisper. 'I have afeeling we're coming to some big opening. There's suddenly a great draught blowing down this steeppassage - I can feel it round my head.'
The others felt it too, as they climbed higher up the steep passage, trying to avoid the tiny stream thatsplashed down its worn channel. It made a nice little noise - very cheerful, Anne thought -and gleamed brightly in the light of their torches.
Julian wondered how in the world anyone could take crates or boxes down such a steep dark passage!
'It's wide enough, I suppose,' he thought. 'But only just - and the bends in it must be very awkward forboxes to get round! I do hope we don't meet anyone round a bend, carrying a crate or two! My word -the draught is quite a wind now. There must be an opening somewhere.'
'Ju - we've not only gone upwards, we've gone a good way forward too,' whispered Anne. 'Wasn't theold castle somewhere in this direction?'
'Yes - I suppose it would be,' answered Julian, stopping to think. 'Gosh - I wonder if this passagecomes up in one of its cellars! An old castle like that would have huge cellars - and probably adungeon or two for prisoners! Let me think - we must have left the cliff behind now - and yes - Ithink we may be heading for the castle. Why didn't I think of that before!'
'Well, then - the well-wall must run down beside the castle foundations!' said Dick, in much too louda voice. The echo made everyone jump violently, and Julian stopped climbing and hissed at Dick.
'Whisper, can't you, idiot! You nearly made me jump out of my skin!'
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'Skin, skin, skin!' said the echo, in a peculiar whisper that made George want to laugh.
'Sorry!' whispered back Dick.
'I think you may be right about the well-wall running down beside the foundations of the castle,'
Julian said, whispering again. 'I never thought of that. The castle wasn't very far from the well. Itwould probably have enormous cellars spreading underground.'
'The wall in the well that that queer little door was in, was terrifically thick,' said Dick. 'I bet I waslooking into one of the castle cellars, when I peeped through it!'
This was all very interesting. Julian thought about it as they went on and on through the endlesspassage. It ran more or less level now, and was easy to walk through, for it was much wider.
'I think this part of the passage was man-made,' said Julian, stopping and facing the others, his facebright in the light of their torches. He went on in a loud whisper, 'Up through the cliff the passagewas a natural one, awfully difficult to climb - but here it's quite different - look at these old brickshere - probably put there to strengthen the tunnel.'
'Yes - a secret way from the castle to the sea!' said Dick, almost forgetting to keep his voice down, inhis excitement. 'I say - isn't it thrilling!'
Everyone began to feel even more excited - all except Timmy, who didn't much like dark, secretpassages, and couldn't imagine why Julian was taking them for such a gloomy and peculiar walk.
He had splashed solemnly through the stream the whole time, finding the stone ledges much tooslippery for his paws.
The draught grew stronger and was very cold indeed. 'We're coming near to the opening where thedraught comes from,' whispered Julian. 'All quiet, now, please!'
They were as quiet as possible, and Anne began to feel almost sick with excitement. Where were theycoming to? Then suddenly Julian gave a low exclamation.
'Here we are! An iron gate!'
They all tried to crowd round Julian to see. The gate was a big strong one, with criss-cross bars ofiron. They could easily see between the bars, and they shivered in the draught that swept through thegreat gate.
Julian shone his torch through the bars, his hand shaking in excitement. The bright ray of light ran allround what looked like a stone room - quite small - with a stout, nail-studded door at the far end. Thisdoor was wide open, and it was through this that the steady draught blew.
'This is a cellar - or a dungeon, more likely!' said Julian. 'I wonder if the gate is locked.'
70
He shook it - and it swung open quite easily, as if it had been well-oiled! Julian stepped into thedungeon flashing his torch all round the dark and dismal little place.
He shivered. 'It's cold as ice, even on this warm day!' he said. 'My word, I wonder how many poor,miserable prisoners have been kept down here in the cold!'
'Look - here's a staple in the wall,' said Dick, standing beside him, examining the half-hoop of iron,deeply embedded in the stone wall. 'I suppose the unhappy prisoner was tied up to this, to make hispunishment even worse.'
Anne shivered. 'How could people be so cruel?' she said, her vivid imagination seeing wretched menhere, with perhaps only crusts of bread to eat, water to drink, no warmth, no bed, only the stone floor!
'Perhaps some of them escaped out of the gate, and went down the cliff-passage,' she said, hopefully.
'No - it's much more likely that the passage was used to get rid of the prisoners,' said Dick. 'Theycould be dragged down to the sea and drowned - and nobody would ever know.'
'Don't tell me things like that,' said Anne. 'It makes me feel I shall hear groans and cries. I don't likethis place. Let's go.'
'I hate it too,' said George. 'And Timmy's tail is right down. I feel as if this horrid dungeon is full ofmiserable memories. Julian, do let's go.'
Julian walked over to the nail-studded door, and went through the doorway. He looked out on to astone paved passage, with stone walls and ceiling. He could see other doors iron-barred, along adismal stone passage. He came back to the others.
'Yes - these are the castle dungeons,' he said. 'I expect the castle cellars are somewhere near too -where they stored wine and food and other things. Come on - let's explore. I can't hear a sound. Ithink this place is absolutely empty.'
They all followed Julian down the stone passage, looking in at each miserable dungeon as theypassed. Horrible! Dirty, damp, cold, bare - poor, poor prisoners of long ago!
At the end of the passage was another iron-barred door, but that too was wide open. They wentthrough it and came out into an enormous cellar. Old boxes were there, old worm-eaten chests,broken chairs, loose papers that rustled as their feet touched them - the kind of junk that can be foundin a thousand cellars! It all smelt rather musty, though, as Julian said, the draught that bleweverywhere took away some of the smell.
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They came to some stone steps and went up them. At the top was another great door, with anenormous bolt on it. 'Fortunately the bolt is our side,' said Julian, and slid it out of its socket. He wassurprised that it went so smoothly - he had expected it to be rusted and stiff. 'It's been oiled recently,'
he said, shining his torch on it. 'Well, well - other people have been here not long ago, and used thisdoor. We'd better go quietly in case they are still here!'
Anne's heart began to beat loudly again. She hoped there was no one waiting round a corner to jumpout at them! 'Be careful, Julian,' she said. 'Somebody may have heard us! They may be waiting toambush us. They...'
'All right, Anne - don't worry!' said Julian. 'Old Timmy would give us a warning growl if he heard asingle foot-step!'
And good gracious - at that VERY moment Timmy did give a growl - an angry, startled growl thatmade everyone jump, and then stand still, holding their breath.
Dick looked round at Timmy, who was growling again. His head was down and he was looking atsomething on the floor. What was it? Dick swung down his torch to see. Then he gave a small laugh.
'It's all right. We don't need to be scared yet. Look what Timmy's growling at!'
They all looked down - and saw a great fat toad, its brilliant eyes staring steadily up at them. As theyexclaimed at it, it turned aside, and crawled slowly and clumsily to a little damp spot in the corner ofthe wall.
'I've never seen such a big toad in my life!' said Anne. 'It must be a hundred years old! Goodness,Timmy, you made me jump when you suddenly growled like that!'
The toad squatted down in its corner, facing them. It seemed to glare at poor Timmy. 'Come away,Tim,' said Dick. 'Toads can ooze out a very nasty-smelling, nasty-tasting stuff. Never bite a toad!'
Julian had now gone through the door at the top of the steps. He gave a loud exclamation - so loudthat the others rushed to him in alarm, wondering what was exciting him.
'Look!' said Julian, shining his torch into the dark space beyond. 'See where we've come to! Did youever see such a store-house of wonders!'
16.艾丽说出了秘密
地下历险
悬崖里非常黑暗。孩子们的手电筒光芒四射，这真的非常有用，能帮他们找到最安全的地方落脚。正如朱利安告诉他们的，在陡峭的通道中间，有条别致的水流流下来。水流两边有高低不平的石坡。它经年累月地在悬崖底下流淌，终于冲出了这样一条路！
“可能是悬崖上面渗下来的水，”朱利安低声说，他小心地走着，“走这里要当心点，石坡很滑。”
“哦——！”威尔弗里德不由地说，因为他走到了很滑的石坡尖上，一只脚掉进冰凉的水里了。
回音立刻升高了。“哦哦哦哦，哦哦哦哦哦哦哦，哦哦哦哦哦！”可怜的威尔弗里德，他的“哦哦哦”，忽大忽小地回荡在他们耳畔，听上去非常怪异，不会有人喜欢。安妮紧紧挨着朱利安，朱利安安慰地搂紧她的手臂。
“对不起，我的哦哦哦。”威尔弗里德低声说。“我的哦哦哦，哦哦哦，哦哦哦！”回音立刻传来了。乔治忍不住笑出了声，笑声立刻反复回荡起来。
“你们真的需要安静了，”朱利安严肃地说，他的声音很小，几乎是耳语了，“我感觉我们快到一个大出口了。有股气流忽然吹下来，吹进这陡峭的通道，我可以感觉到它在我脑袋周围。”
其他人为躲避水流溅起来的水花，爬到陡峭的通道高处时，也感受到了那股气流。脚下的水流发出一种轻轻的悦耳的声音，安妮觉得这声音非常欢快。水流在灯光下，闪闪发光。
朱利安不明白，通道这么陡峭，人们到底怎样把大货箱或者盒子搬下去！“我想，这通道够宽敞了，”乔治思索着，“但是，只是，箱子在这里面太难拐弯了！希望我们在拐弯处不要遇到人抬着一两个箱子！天哪，气流现在感觉像风了！某个地方一定有出口！”
“朱利安，我们不只向上走了，而且向前走了很远。”安妮悄悄地说，“老城堡不是也在这个方向吗？”
“是的，我觉得是，”朱利安停止思索，回答道，“天哪，我猜这个通道是不是通往老城堡的一个地窖啊！那样的老城堡应该有个大地窖或者一两个关押犯人的地牢！让我想想，我们一定是离开悬崖了，是的，我觉得我们或许正朝城堡前进。我之前怎么就没想到呢！”
“嗯，那么，井壁一定是挨着城堡地基。”迪克说，他声音有点大，回声吓了大家一跳。朱利安连忙停下来制止他：“小点声，傻瓜！你差点吓得我灵魂出窍了！”
“窍了，窍了，窍了！”怪异的回声，惹得乔治总想笑。
“对不起！”迪克小声答道。
“我觉得你说的应该是对的，井壁挨着城堡地基。”朱利安小声回答道，“我从没想过，城堡离井很近，地下应该分布着很多地窖。”
“有个奇怪小门的那个井壁，超级厚，”迪克说，“我敢说，我偷偷向里看时，看到的应该是个城堡地窖！”
一切都很有趣。朱利安一边思索着，一边继续向前，穿过无尽的通道。或多或少的，平坦点了，而且宽一些了，所以人很容易通过。
“我觉得这段通道是人工建的，”朱利安说。他停了下来，面向大家，手电筒的光线，照得他的脸很明亮。他稍微提高了点分贝说，“向上穿过悬崖的那段是天然形成的，很难爬。现在这段不同，看看这些旧砖，可能是放在这里加固隧道的吧。”
“是的，这是一条从城堡通往大海的秘密通道！”迪克说，他激动得几乎忘记了需要小声，“嗨，激动人心吧！”
除了蒂米外，大家都感觉更激动了。蒂米不太喜欢漆黑的秘密通道，不明白为什么朱利安带大家走这么黑暗、这么奇怪的地方。
它一路谨慎地踩着水流过来的，因为感觉石坡对它来说太滑了。
气流变强了，而且非常冷。“我们靠近气流的出口了，”朱利安说，“现在，都安静点！”
他们尽力安静下来，安妮兴奋坏了。他们会来到哪里呢？朱利安突然低声感叹起来。
“我们在这儿！一道铁门！”
他们都努力挤到朱利安身边去看。那是一道很结实的大门，上面有纵横交错的铁条。他们很容易从铁条空隙看到里面，大门进来的气流，吹得他们瑟瑟发抖。
朱利安把手电筒从铁门照过去，手激动地颤抖着。在灯光的照射下，里面好像是一个石头房间，非常小，房间另一端是一个结实的有钉子的大门。这道门大开着，源源不断的气流正是从这扇门吹来的。
“是个地窖，或者更像个地牢！”朱利安说，“不知道这门有没有锁。”他晃了晃，门一下就开了，好像被润滑过了！朱利安走进地牢，用手电筒照着这个漆黑荒凉的小地方。
他打了个寒战。“连这么温暖的日子，这里都冰冷冰冷的！”他说，“唉，不知道这冰冷的地牢，关过多少犯人啊！”
“看，墙上有个桩子，”迪克说，他正站在朱利安身边，查看着一个深深地嵌进墙里的半圆形铁，“我猜，那些苦难的犯人就是被绑在这上面，加重惩罚的。”
安妮打了个冷战。“人怎么可以这么残忍呢？”她说。她想象着那些被关在这里的，凄惨的人们，或许只能以面包皮和水度日，没有温暖，没有床，只有冰冷的石地板！
“或许，有些人从这道门逃了出去，从悬崖通道下去了。”她满怀希望地说。
“不会的，那条通道更像是清理犯人的路。他们把犯人拖到海里淹死，神不知鬼不觉的。”
“不要告诉我那么恐怖的事，”安妮说，“我感觉要听到哀号和哭声了。我不喜欢这里，我们走吧！”
“我也讨厌这里。”乔治说，“蒂米耷拉着尾巴，我感觉这个恐怖的地牢里充满了悲惨的记忆。朱利安，我们快走吧。”
朱利安向有钉子的门走了过去，穿过了门口。他看见，外面有一条铺着石头的通道，墙壁和天花板也是用石头做的。沿着这条阴暗的石通道，他看见了其他的铁门。然后，他回到其他人身边。
“是的，这些是城堡地牢，”他说。“我觉得城堡地窖也在附近。
他们得在地窖里储存酒、食物和其他东西。来，我们一起探索。我听不见声音了，估计这个地方是空的。”
他们都跟着朱利安走下石头通道，经过每一个地牢时，都向里看看。太恐怖了！空荡荡的地牢里那么肮脏不堪，又阴冷又潮湿。
以前的犯人们多么凄惨、可怜啊！
通道的尽头是另一道铁门，但是也大开着。他们穿过铁门，来到了一个巨大的地窖。里面堆满了陈旧的箱子、虫子咬过的柜子、破椅子和散落的纸张。他们踩在那些纸上，发出“沙沙”的声音。与寻常地窖一样，垃圾遍地！如朱利安所说，尽管气流带走了一部分气味，这里仍然到处充满了霉味。他们走到一些石阶上，顺着走了上去。上面是另一扇大门，上着一个大螺栓。“幸好螺栓在我们这边。”朱利安说着，把螺栓扭开。令他惊讶的是，螺栓竟然那么容易扭开，他本来还以为它锈住了呢。“刚刚润滑过，”他照着螺丝说，“嗯，不久前有人来过，而且用过这门。我们最好保持安静，以防他们还在这里！”
安妮又心跳加快了。她不希望有人躲在角落里，忽然跳向他们！“小心点，朱利安，”她说，“或许有人听到我们说话了！正等着伏击我们呢。他们……”
“好了，安妮，不要担心！”朱利安说，“蒂米如果听到一点脚步声，就会警示我们的！”
天哪，正在那时，蒂米狂吼了一声，听上去那么生气，那么骇人，大家都吓了一跳，定定地站住了，屏住呼吸。
迪克望向蒂米，它又叫起来了。它低着头，望着地上的东西。
是什么呢？迪克用手电筒照了一下，小声笑了起来。“没事了，我们不用害怕了。看看蒂米在对着什么叫吧！”
他们都低头看去，原来是一只胖胖的大蟾蜍，它瞪着大大的眼睛看着他们。他们冲它喊叫时，它转过身，慢慢地、笨拙地爬到墙角一个潮湿的地方。
“我第一次见这么大的蟾蜍！”安妮说，“它肯定有一百岁了！天啊，蒂米，你那么吼叫吓了我一大跳！”
蟾蜍在角落里，面朝着他们蹲下了，好像在盯着可怜的蒂米。“走开，蒂米，”迪克说，“蟾蜍能排出非常难闻、非常恶心的东西。永远不要咬蟾蜍！”
朱利安已经穿过台阶上面的门了。他大喊了一声，声音那么大，其他人立刻警惕地跑向他，想知道他为什么那么兴奋。
“看！”朱利安，照着对面黑暗的空间说，“知道我们到哪里了吗？你们见过这样的珍宝储藏室吗？”
Chapter 17 IN THE TREASURE CHAMBER
Chapter 17 IN THE TREASURE CHAMBER
Julian's torch shone steadily into the vast room, which seemed to have no end! The others shone theirtorches too, and Timmy pressed between their legs to see what the excitement was.
What a sight! They were actually in the enormous chamber that the boys had seen through theopening, in the well-wall! What a place it was - absolutely vast, thought Anne, awed at the size, theheight and the great silence.
'There are the golden statues!' said Dick, going over to a group of them. 'Wonderful! Queer faces theyhave, though - not like ours. And look how their slanting eyes gleam when we shine our torches onthem. Makes them look as if they're almost alive, and looking at us.'
Anne suddenly gave a cry and rushed over to something. 'The golden bed!' she said. 'I wished I couldlie on one - and now I shall!' And with that she climbed on to a vast four-poster bed, with a greatcanopy, now rotting to pieces.
The bed gave a mournful creak, and the part that Anne was lying on, suddenly subsided. The canopycollapsed and Anne disappeared in a cloud of dust. The bed had, quite literally, fallen to pieces! PoorAnne.
The others helped her up and Timmy looked at the clouds of dust in surprise. What was Anne doing,making such a dust! He sneezed loudly, and then sneezed again. Anne sneezed too. She scrambledquickly out of the collapsed bed and dusted herself down.
'It has a gold, carved head-piece, and gold legs and end-piece,' said Dick, shining his torch on it.
'What a monster of a bed, though - I should think six people could sleep in it at once! What a pity ithas been lost here so long - all the hangings fell to pieces as soon as Anne climbed on the bed-part!
What a dust!'
There was no doubt about it, there were priceless treasures in this vast, underground cellar. Thechildren could not find the sword with the jewelled handle, nor the necklace of rubies, which Julianthought were probably locked away in one of the chests. But they found many other wonderfulthings.
'Look in this chest - this beautiful carved chest!' called Anne. 'Gold cups and plates and dishes.
Still bright and clean!'
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'And look what's in here!' shouted George. 'Wrapped up in stuff that falls to pieces when I touch it!'
They crowded round a great enamelled box. In it was a set of animals carved out of some lovelygreen stone. They were absolutely perfect, and, when Anne tried to stand them up, each of themstood as proudly as once they did many many years ago when little princes and princesses playedwith them.
'They're made of green jade,' said Julian. 'Beautiful! Goodness knows how much they're worth!
They should be in some museum, not mouldering away in this cellar.'
'Why didn't those collectors take these - and the golden statues - and all the other things?'
wondered Anne.
'Well, that's obvious,' said Julian. 'For one thing this is a secret cellar, I should think, and nobodywould be able to get into it unless they knew the secret way to it. There's probably a sliding panel, orhidden door that leads to it, somewhere in the castle above. It's very old, and ruined in many parts -and some of the walls have fallen in - so I suppose it was pretty impossible to get to the cellars, evenif the secret way was known!'
'Yes - but what about the way we came up,' said Dick. 'From the sea - up the cliff passage!'
'Well - I don't know exactly why that hasn't been used before,' said Julian, 'though I could make aguess! Did you notice that great heap of fallen rocks near the entrance to the cliff passage? I shouldthink that that part of the cliff fell at one time, and hid the passage completely - blocked it up. Thenmaybe a storm came, and the sea shifted some of the rocks - and lo and behold, there was the secretpassage - open again!'
'And somebody found it - somebody perhaps who had heard the old legends about the castle ofWhispering Island!' said Anne.
'A collector of old things, do you think?' asked George. 'What about those two men on the island- the ones we saw in the courtyard - do you suppose they know of this entrance?'
'Yes, probably,' said Julian. 'And it's likely they were put on guard, in case anyone else found it, andcame to rob the secret chamber. The things here are priceless! Those men are not there to guard theanimals on the island, as they were in the old lady's day. She had genuine keepers, like that nice oldman Lucas, who told us about this island the other day.'
'You think these men are in somebody's pay then - somebody who knows about this great chamberunder the castle, and wants to get the centuries-old treasures?' said Dick.
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'Yes,' said Julian. 'And what's more I don't believe that the real owner of the island - the great-nephewof the old lady who owned it, even knows they're here, or that anyone is taking things from his island.
For all we know he may live in America or Australia, and not care tuppence about his island!'
'How extraordinary!' said Anne. 'If I owned an island like this, I'd live here and never leave it.
And all the animals and birds would be protected as they once were, and...'
'Dear Anne - what a pity it isn't yours!' said Julian, ruffling her hair. 'But now, the thing is - what arewe going to do about all this? We'll talk about it when we're back at the cottage. My word, it's gettinglate! It will be pitch dark outside, unless the moon is up and the sky is clear of clouds!'
'Well, come on then, let's go,' said Dick, making for the great nail-studded door. Then, as Timmysuddenly gave a blood-curdling growl, he stopped in fright. They had shut the door - but now it wasopening. Somebody was coming into the great underground chamber! Who could it be?
'Quick - hide!' said Julian, and he pushed the two girls behind a great chest. The others were near thegolden bed and they crouched behind it at once, Dick's hand on Timmy's collar. He had managed tostop the dog from growling, but was afraid that Timmy would begin again at any moment!
A man came into the room - one of the two big fellows that the children had seen in the courtyard. Hedidn't seem to have heard Timmy growling, for he sauntered in, whistling lightly.
He shone his torch all round, and then called loudly.
'Emilio! Emilio!'
There was no answer at all. The man yelled again, and then an answer came from beyond the door,and hurrying footsteps could be heard. Then in came the other big rough fellow, and looked round,shining his torch. He lighted an oil lamp on a box, and switched off his torch.
'Always you sleep, Emilio!' growled the first man. 'Always you are late! You know the boat comestonight to take the next batch of goods - have you the list? We must wrap them up quickly and takethem to the shore. That little statue has to go, I know!'
He went over to the statue of a boy, whose eyes gleamed with emeralds. 'Well, boy?' said the man,'you're going out into the world! How'll you like that after being in the dark so long? Don't glare atme like that, or I'll box your ears!'
Apparently the golden boy went on glaring, for the man gave his head a sharp smack. The otherfellow came over and shifted a long, deep box over from the wall to the little golden statue. Then 75he began to wrap it up carefully, rolling material round and round it from head to foot while thegolden boy stood patiently.
'What time is Lanyon coming for it?' asked Emilio. 'Have I time to wrap another?'
'Yes - that one over there,' said the first fellow, pointing. Emilio went whistling over to it, passing thechest behind which the girls were hiding. They crouched right to the floor, afraid of being seen. ButEmilio was sharp-eyed, and thought he saw something move as he passed by the chest. He stopped.
What was that poking out by the side of the chest - a foot? A FOOT!
Emilio rushed round the chest, his torch switched on again. He gave a loud shout. 'Carlo! There'ssomeone here! Come quickly!'
Carlo, the second man, dropped what he was holding and raced round to Emilio, who had now pulledthe girls roughly to their feet.
'What are you doing here? How did you get in?' shouted Emilio.
Julian shot out from his hiding-place at once, followed by Dick and Wilfrid. George was doing allshe could to hold back Timmy, who was now deafening everyone with his angry barks. He did hisbest to get away from George, but she was afraid he might fly at Emilio's throat. The two men werefull of amazement to see the five children and Timmy!
'Keep that dog back or I'll shoot him,' said Carlo, producing a gun. 'Who are you? What do you meanby coming into this place?'
'We came by boat - but the boat got washed out to sea,' said Julian. 'We've been camping on theisland. We just - er - wandered into this place by mistake.'
'By mistake! Well, I can tell you that you've certainly made the biggest mistake in your life!' saidCarlo. 'You'll have to stay here for quite a long time - till our job's done, at any rate!'
'What's your job?' asked Julian, bluntly.
'Wouldn't you like to know?' said Carlo. 'Well - one part of it is to guard the island, and keep offstrangers! Now, we've jobs to do tonight and tomorrow, and I'm afraid you're going to have amiserable time! You'll stay down here in this old cellar till we come back again - and what willhappen to you after that, I don't know, because I'll have to tell my employer you've been spying downhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't hand you over to the police - or lock you up down here fora month, on bread and water!'
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Timmy growled very fiercely indeed, and tugged hard to get away from George and fly at this hatefulman. She hung on to him for all she was worth, though how she longed to let him leap at the man andget him on the ground!
'Better go, Carlo, or we'll miss that boat out there,' said Emilio, grumpily. 'We'll deal with these kidswhen we get back!' He shouldered the box into which he had put the wrapped statue, and started forthe door. Carlo followed him, backing all the time to make sure that George did not set Timmy on tohim. He shut the great door with a loud bang, and shot the bolt.
'Don't say anything for a minute in case they are listening outside the door,' said Julian. So they allstood in silence, Anne's knees trembling a little. Oh dear - how unlucky to be caught like this!
'Relax!' said Julian, at last. 'You all look so stiff and tense!'
'Well, I should think so!' said Dick. 'I don't particularly want to stay shut up here till those men deignto come back and do a bit more stealing. Suppose they never came back! We'd be here for keeps!'
'No, Dick!' said Anne, and to everyone's surprise, she began to laugh. 'We can easily escape!'
'What - through that locked and bolted door?' said Dick. 'Not a hope!'
'But we can easily escape!' said Anne, and George suddenly brightened up and nodded her head,smiling. 'Oh yes - of course! Don't look so solemn, Dick! Look up there!'
Dick looked up to where Anne was pointing. 'What am I supposed to look at?' he said. 'The old stonewall?'
'No - just there - over the top of that tall chest,' said Anne.
Dick looked - and then a large smile came over his face. 'WHAT an idiot I am! That's the old irondoor in the side of the old well-wall, isn't it - the opening I looked through! It looks just like anordinary ventilation hole from down here - and I don't really believe anyone would ever notice itexcept us, who know what it is. I see what you're getting at, Anne!'
'Good old Anne!' said George, realizing what Anne had in mind. 'Of course - we've only got to climbup to that hole in the wall, open the door there, and then go up the well - and we're safe!'
'Yes. But it's easier said than done,' said Julian, soberly. 'We've got to get hold of the rope, and climbright up it to the top - not very easy!'
'Suppose the rope's at the top, with the bucket hanging on the hook?' said Anne. 'We'd never reach itthen!'
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'We'll think of something!' said Julian. 'Anyway, it's our only hope of escape. Now - we'll push thathuge, high chest or wardrobe or whatever it is, right over against the wall, under that opening into thewell - and then we'll haul a table on top of that - there's a sturdy little one over there. Come on! We'llbe through that opening in no time, and up the well. What a shock for dear Emilio and Carlo whenthey come back, and find that the birds have flown!'
17.宝库探秘
宝库探秘
朱利安一点一点地照着那一望无际的房间！其他人也打开了手电筒。蒂米挤在他们的腿间，想看看到底是什么东西令人这么兴奋。
多么壮观啊！实际上，他们正置身于从井壁那个开口看到的巨大宝库内！多么壮阔的地方啊！安妮想，她惊叹着这宽阔、高大而寂静的房间。
“是那些金雕像！”迪克说着，走向一组雕像，“太奇妙了！然而他们的脸型奇特，不像我们的。看，当我们用手电筒照射时，仿佛他们正斜着眼睛，多么明亮啊！好像是活的一样望着我们。”
安妮忽然叫了一声，冲向一个东西。“金床！”她说，“我希望能躺在上面的，现在可以啦！”说着，她爬上了一个有着巨大的四帷柱子的床，上面的大天蓬，支离破碎的。
床发出了一声凄惨的嘎吱声，安妮躺着的那边立刻陷了下去。
天蓬也碎了，安妮消失在一片灰尘中。那床，毫不夸张地说，变成了一地碎片！可怜的安妮。
其他人把安妮拉了起来。蒂米惊讶地望着腾起的灰尘，安妮干什么了，弄起这么多灰尘！它大声地打了一个喷嚏，又打了一个。
安妮也打了个喷嚏，她迅速从床的碎片中爬出来，拍了拍身上的灰尘。
“床头是金子雕的，床腿和端盖也是金子的，”迪克用手电筒照着说，“多么巨大的床啊！感觉一次能躺下六个人！然而，竟然丢在这里这么久，安妮一爬上去，支架就都碎了，真遗憾！多大的灰尘啊！”
毋庸置疑，在这个广阔的地下室里，有无价之宝。孩子们没有找到那把带宝石剑柄的宝剑，也没有找到那条红宝石项链。朱利安觉得它们可能单独装在哪个柜子里了，但是他们找到了许多其他的好东西。
“看这个柜子，雕花精美的这个！”安妮喊道，“金杯子、碟子和餐具，仍然很光亮！”
“看这是什么！”乔治喊道，“外面包着的东西，我一碰就碎了！”
他们围着一个大搪瓷箱子，里面装着一套用美丽的绿石头雕出来的动物，它们都完好无损。安妮把它们扶起来时，它们立刻像很久很久以前陪小公主和小王子玩耍时，那样骄傲地站立着。
“它们是绿翡翠的，”朱利安说，“太美了！天知道它们有多值钱！它们应该在某个博物馆里，而不是在这个地窖里腐朽。”
“为什么那些收藏家没带走这些呢，还有这些金雕像，以及所有的东西？”安妮问道。
“唉，很明显，”朱利安说，“首先，这是个秘密地窖，我想，没人能进来，除非知道这个秘密通道。上面的城堡里可能有个滑道，或有暗门通往这里。这里太古老了，很多地方都坏掉了，一些墙也坍塌了，所以，我觉得即使知道秘密通道，也不太可能进到地窖里来了！”
“是的，但是，我们来时的路呢，”迪克说，“从海边到悬崖的通道！”
“呃，我不确定为什么之前没用那条路，”朱利安说，“但是我可以猜测一下！你注意到悬崖通道入口的那堆落石了吗？我想，悬崖那部分曾经坍塌了，完全隐藏了通道，把它堵死了。或许一场暴风雨袭来，海水冲走了一些石头，然后，你瞧，秘密通道，又开了！”
“然后有人发现了它，他或许听说过耳语岛城堡的古老传说！”安妮说。
“你是说某个古董收藏家？”乔治问，“岛上那两个男人是谁？就是我们在院子里看到的那两个，你觉得他们知道这个通道吗？”
“是的，有可能，”朱利安说，“好像他们在看守着，以免别人找到，来抢劫宝库。这里的东西是无价之宝！他们并没有像富有的老人生前那样，守卫这里的动物们。他们有忠诚的警卫，比如那天给我们讲故事的那位老人卢卡斯。”
“你觉得有人给这些人支付工资了？有人知道这个城堡下的宝库，想要转移走这悠久的宝物？”迪克问。
“是的，”朱利安说，“而且我不相信，这个岛的真正主人，也就是老富人的侄孙，知道他们在这里，或者知道有人在拿走他岛上的东西。我们只知道他可能住在美国或者澳大利亚，根本不在乎岛上微不足道的东西！”
“多离奇啊！”安妮说，“如果我有个这样的岛，我就住在这里，永远不离开。像之前一样，保护好所有的动物和鸟，而且……”
“亲爱的安妮，太遗憾了这不是你的！”朱利安揉揉她的头发说，“但是现在，问题是，我们怎么处理这些东西？我们回小屋后再讨论。哎呀，很晚了！除非月亮出来，天气晴朗，不然外面会一片漆黑的！”
“那快点，我们走吧！”迪克说着，走向那个带钉子的门。这时，蒂米令人毛骨悚然地叫了起来，它惊恐地停了下来。他们明明关上门了，可是现在门竟然开着。有人正要来地下宝库！会是谁呢？
“快！躲起来！”朱利安说。他把两个女孩拉到了一个大柜子后面。其他人在金床附近，他们立刻蹲在了床后面。迪克抓着蒂米的项圈，他成功制止了蒂米吼叫，可仍然担心它随时再叫起来！
一个男人走了进来，正是孩子们在院子里见过的其中一个。他好像没听见蒂米的叫声，因为他是吹着口哨，悠闲地进来的。他用手电筒四处照了照，然后大声喊起来。
“艾米里奥！艾米里奥！”
根本没有人回答。那个男人又喊了一遍，然后门对面传来了应答，伴随着急促的脚步声。然后另一个粗野的家伙进来了，他打着手电筒，环视着四周。他点亮了一个箱子上的油灯，关上了手电筒。
“艾米里奥，你总是睡睡睡！”第一个男人吼道，“总是迟到！你知道今晚船要来装下一批货的，你有明细单吗？我们必须尽快包好，运到岸边。那个小雕像必须运走！”
他朝一个男孩雕像走去，那个雕像的眼睛是绿宝石的，闪闪发光。“好了，孩子，”男人对着雕像说，“你可以重见天日了！在黑暗中待这么久，你一定很想出去吧？不要那样瞪着我，不然我就把你的眼睛捂起来！”
显然，那个金子男孩会一直瞪着，因为男人使劲拍了它脑袋一巴掌。另一个男人从墙边拖了一个又长又深的箱子，来到小雕像边上，然后开始小心翼翼地打包起来。金子男孩耐心地站在那里，男人用包装材料把它从头到脚缠了一圈又一圈。
“兰宁什么时候过来取？”艾米里奥问，“再包一个，时间够吗？”
“够。包那边那个。”第一个男人指了指说。艾米里奥吹着口哨，经过女孩们藏身的柜子，朝那个雕像走去。女孩紧紧贴着地面，生怕被发现。但是艾米里奥眼睛太尖了，感觉经过柜子时，有东西在动。他停了下来，柜子边上伸出来的是什么，是一只脚吗？
是一只脚！
艾米里奥冲到柜子那边，又打开了手电筒。他大喊了一声：“卡洛！这里有人！快过来！”
卡洛，也就是第一个男人，赶紧放下手里的东西，向艾米里奥跑过来了。艾米里奥粗鲁地把女孩们拖到了脚边。
“你们在这里做什么？你们怎么进来的？”艾米里奥大喊道。
朱利安立刻从藏身的地方冲了出来，迪克和威尔弗里德紧随其后。乔治正努力拉住蒂米。蒂米为保护大家，愤怒地吼叫着。它奋力摆脱乔治的控制，但是乔治担心它扑向艾米里奥的咽喉。两个男人惊愕地望着这五个孩子和蒂米！
“把狗牵回去，不然我就开枪打它！”卡洛掏出枪来说，“你们是谁？你们进来想做什么？”
“我们乘船来的，但是船被冲走了，”朱利安说，“我们是在岛上露营的。只是……由于失误，被海浪冲到这里了。”
“失误！好，那我告诉你，你们犯了这辈子最大的错误！”卡洛说，“你们得在这里待很久了，至少，得等我们工作结束！”
“你们做什么工作？”朱利安直率地问。
“你想知道？”卡洛说，“好吧，我们要保护这个岛，赶走陌生人！现在，我们今晚和明天都要工作，恐怕你们要过一段难熬的时间了！你们要待在这下面，这个老地窖里，等我们再回来。至于你们会发生什么事，我就不知道了。因为我要告诉我的雇主，你们在侦查这里。如果他不把你们交给警察，直接把你们关在这里，关上个一个月，只给点水和面包，我都不会感到奇怪的！”
蒂米疯狂地叫着，想用力挣脱乔治的控制，扑向这个可恶的男人。乔治尽自己一切力量牵住它，尽管她真的好希望蒂米能跳向眼前这个男人，把他扑倒在地！
“卡洛，我们得走了。不然会错过外面的船了。”艾米里奥暴躁地说，“我们回来再收拾这些孩子！”他扛起装了雕像的箱子，朝门口走去。卡洛跟在后面，一直回头看着，确保乔治没有放蒂米扑他。他“砰”的一声关上大门，闩上了螺栓。
“先不要说话，以免他们在门外偷听，”朱利安说。于是他们都静静地站在黑暗里，安妮的膝盖有些颤抖了。哦，天哪！被这样抓住，多倒霉啊！
“放松！”最后，朱利安说，“你们看上去都这么紧张严肃！”
“唉，我就知道是这样！”迪克说，“我真不想被关在这里，等那些人盗窃更多东西回来。试想他们如果永远不回来呢？我们就永远被关在这里了！”
“不会的，迪克！”安妮说，令大家惊讶的是，她忽然笑了起来，“我们很容易逃出去！”
“什么！从那扇锁住的门逃出去吗？”迪克说，“毫无希望！”
“但是我们很容易就能逃出去！”安妮说。乔治忽然高兴地点了点头，笑了：“对的！当然了！迪克，不要那么严肃！看上面那里！”
迪克仰头看着乔治所指的地方。“我应该看什么啊？”他说，“那个旧石墙？”
“不是，那里，那个大衣柜上面。”安妮说。
迪克看了看，脸上露出了明媚的笑容！“我真是个傻瓜啊！那就是古井井壁上那个旧铁门，对吧？我朝里看的那个开口！从这里看，就像一个普通的排气孔。我真觉得，除了我们，没人注意过这个。我明白你所说的了，安妮！”
“好安妮！”乔治说，她明白安妮所想的，“我们只要爬到墙上那个孔里，打开那个门，到井上面去，我们就安全了！”
“是的。但是说起来容易，做起来难啊。”朱利安难过地说，“我们得抓住绳子，爬到上面去，没那么容易！”
“如果绳子在上面，桶挂在钩子上呢？”安妮说，“那我们就永远够不到了！”
“我们得想想办法！”朱利安说，“不管怎样，那是我们逃出去的唯一希望了。现在，我们把那个高高的大柜子，或者衣柜，不管是什么，推到井里那个开口下方的墙边上。然后，弄个小桌子放在上面，那边正好有个结实的小桌子。快！我们得尽快通过那个开口，到井上面去！当亲爱的艾米里奥和卡洛回来，发现笼中之鸟飞走时，得多吃惊啊！”
Chapter 18 A MOST EXCITING TIME!
Chapter 18 A MOST EXCITING TIME!
It was quite a job pushing the heavy chest over towards the stone wall of the castle. It took all ofthem, shoving with all their might, to do it.
'We seem to be making an awful noise with the chest scraping over the floor,' panted Dick. 'I hopewe're not heard!'
Timmy wished he could help. He kept jumping up and pressing his paws on the side of the chest, butDick stopped him. 'You're getting in the way,' he said. 'You go and sit near the door and warn us ifyou hear those men coming.'
So Timmy ran to the door and sat there, his head cocked to one side, listening, while the others wenton shoving the heavy chest along. At last it was in position. Then came the job of hoisting a stoutlittle wooden table on top. Julian climbed up to the top of the chest to take the table from Dick, butjust couldn't manage it, it was so heavy and solid. So Wilfrid climbed up beside him, and between thetwo of them they pulled up the little oblong table, and set it firmly on top of the chest. Julian stood onit - and found he could easily reach the little iron door, that led into the old well.
'Good,' he said, and he gave the door a hard shove. It shook a little, but didn't budge. He gave itanother hard push. 'What's up?' said Dick, climbing up beside Julian. 'It must open - the bolt's notthere any more - it fell off into the well. I expect it's rusted a little again. We'll both shove it together.'
The girls watched the boys anxiously, dreading every moment to hear the two men returning.
Together the boys pushed at the iron door - and it groaned and then gave way, swinging open insidethe well-wall! To the boys' delight, there was the rope, hanging near them!
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'We've done it!' Dick called down softly to the girls. 'We'll come down and help you up to the tablehere - then we'll try our luck up the well.'
The girls were soon on the chest top. There wasn't room for everyone on the table, and the boys weredebating what to do next.
'You go up the rope, Julian,' said Dick. 'You can climb up to the top and get out and look around andmake sure there's no one about. Then Wilfrid can climb up - do you think you can, Wilfrid?'
'Of course,' said the boy. 'Then I can help Julian to wind up the girls!'
'Right!' said Dick. 'I'll stay here with the girls, and help each of them on to the rope, first Anne -and you two can wind the rope up, with her on it. Then George can go - and I'll follow last of all andshut the well-door.'
'And when the men come they won't know how in the world we got out of the treasure chamber!'
said Anne, grinning. 'What a shock for them!'
'When you've all gone up safely, I'll climb in myself and shut the door,' said Dick. 'Ready, Ju? I'llshine my torch for you!'
Julian nodded. He squeezed through the old iron door, reached out for the rope, and swung on it for amoment. Then up he went, hand-over-hand, till he reached the top, a little out of breath, but delightedto be out in the open air and the bright moonlight. It seemed almost as light as day!
He called down the well. 'I'm at the top, Dick, and all's well. Moon's out, and all is quiet.'
'You next, Wilfrid,' said Dick. 'Can you get hold of the rope all right, do you think? For pity's sakedon't fall into the water. My torch will give you plenty of light.'
'Don't worry about me! It's just like being on the ropes at gym in school,' said Wilfrid, scornfully.
He swung his legs into the opening, leapt at the rope, hung on, and began to climb up just like amonkey.
Julian's voice came down the well again, echoing hollowly, sounding rather queer. 'Wilfrid's safelyup. Now send Anne - we'll wind up the rope for her, so that she doesn't need to climb, only to hangon.'
Through the opening went Anne, and sat on its ledge. 'Can you swing the rope a bit, Julian?' shecalled. 'It's rather far for me to jump.'
'Good gracious! For goodness sake be careful!' called Julian, in alarm. 'Tell Dick to help you.'
But the well-wall opening was so small that Dick couldn't even look through it while Anne wassitting there. 'Don't jump till you've got firm hold of the rope, Anne,' he told his sister, anxiously.
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'Is Ju swinging it to and fro? Can you see it clearly? It's so dark in the well, and my torch isn't toogood now!'
'Yes. I can see it,' said Anne. 'It bumped against my legs then, and I just missed getting it. Here itcomes again - I've got it! I'm going to hold on to it tightly and drop off the ledge. Here I go!'
She sounded very much braver than she felt. She let herself drop off the ledge, and there she swungon the thick rope, with the black water far below! 'Wind me up, Ju!' she called, and held on as the twoboys at the top exerted all their strength. Dick saw her disappear up the well, and heaved a sigh ofrelief. Now for George.
He climbed down from the table and chest and looked for George and Timmy, shining his torcheverywhere. To his utmost surprise he couldn't see them! He called softly. 'Timmy!'
A small, stifled whine came from somewhere. Dick frowned. 'George - where are you? For goodnesssake buck up and come out from where you're hiding. Those men might come back at any time!
Don't play the fool.'
A dark curly head poked out from behind a large box near the door, and George spoke in a very fiercevoice. 'You know Timmy can't hang on to a rope! He'd fall and be drowned. I think you are all horridto forget that he can't climb. I'm staying here with him. You go on up the well.'
'Certainly not!' said Dick at once. 'I shall stay here with you. I suppose it's no use asking you to let mestay with Tim, while you climb up?'
'Not the slightest use. He's my dog, and I'm jolly well sticking by him,' said George. 'He'd neverdesert me, I'm sure of that.'
Dick knew George only too well when she was in one of her determined moods. Nothing, absolutelynothing, would make her change her mind!
'All right, George - I expect I'd feel the same if Timmy was mine,' said Dick. 'I'm staying here withyou, though!'
'No,' said George. 'We'll be all right, Tim and I.'
Dick ran to the chest and table that he had used to get up to the opening in the well-wall, and climbedquickly to the top. He swung himself through, sat on the edge of the opening and called up the well.
'Julian? Are you there? Listen - George won't leave Timmy because he can't climb up the rope.
So I'm staying with her!'
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No sooner had he said these words, than he heard someone unlocking the door of the room they werein! Timmy growled so fiercely that Dick's heart jumped in fear. Suppose Tim leapt at those men - andone of them had a gun!
George heard the noise of the key turning in the door, and quick as lightning she went behind a pileof boxes with Timmy. 'Go for them, Timmy, just as soon as you can!' she said. 'Get them downbefore they can hurt you.'
'Woof,' said Timmy, understanding every word. He stood beside George, ears cocked, showing histeeth in a snarl. The door opened, and a man came in, carrying a lantern. 'I've brought you a light,' hebegan - and then Timmy leapt at him!
Crash! Down went the lantern and the light went out. Down went the man too, shouting in fear as thebig dog leapt on his chest, his hairy face so close that the man could feel the dog's hot breath.
The man's head struck against the edge of a chest, and he was suddenly still and silent.
'Knocked out, I do believe!' said Dick to himself, and very cautiously shone his torch round. Yes- there was the man on the floor, eyes closed, unmoving!
George was at the open door, looking out, Timmy by her side. 'Dick! I'm taking Timmy down thesecret way through the cliffs. I'll be perfectly safe with him.'
'I must tell Julian,' said Dick. 'He's still at the top of the well, expecting you and Timmy. You go asquickly as you can - and be careful. Timmy will look after you.'
George disappeared at top speed, her shoes making no sound. She looked anxious but not afraid.
'Good as a boy!' thought Dick, for the hundredth time. 'Every bit as good as a boy. Doesn't turn ahair! Now I'd better get back to that opening in the well, and tell Julian that George and Timmy havegone down the secret way. That man is still knocked out, thank goodness!'
He was soon on top of the chest and table, and peering through the hole. He could see the light fromJulian's torch far away at the top, the light flashing on and off as if signalling. Dick called up 'Julian!'
'Oh, so you're still there,' said Julian, sounding very relieved. 'Anything happened?'
'Yes,' said Dick. 'I'll tell you in a minute. Swing the rope a bit, Ju.'
The rope swung near Dick, and he caught it, and was just about to swing himself into the well whenhe heard a noise. He looked back into the vast room, which was now in darkness, for he had switchedoff his torch.
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Someone came in hurriedly. 'What's happened? Why didn't you...' Then he stopped as the light fromthe lantern he carried picked out the figure of the man on the floor. He gave an exclamation and kneltdown by him. Dick grinned to himself - what about a nice little shock for this fellow?
He reached down to the sturdy little table, gave it a shove that sent it hurtling down to the floor, andthen swung himself into the well on the rope. He was just in time to see the table fall with a crash bythe man with the lantern, and to hear him shout in fear - and then Julian and Wilfrid hauled him upthe well, still grinning to himself. 'Bit of a shock for those men!' he thought.
'George and Timmy disappeared - and the rest of us gone most mysteriously! Pull, Julian, pull!
I've a nice little story to tell you!'
And soon he was up on the well-wall, telling the others what had happened. They laughed in delight.
'Good old George! Good old Timmy!'
'George knows the way down the cliff passage all right - and if she didn't, Timmy would take hersafely,' said Julian. 'We'll go down on the rocks and meet her, I think. She should be all right becausethe moon's out now, and everything is as light as day!'
And off they all went through the wood, laughing when they thought how puzzled and mystifiedthose men must be!
18.劫后逃生
劫后逃生
把大柜子推到城堡的石墙边，真不容易！大家用尽浑身力气，一起推着。
“我们推柜子，刮着地板，声音好像太大了，”迪克气喘吁吁地说，“希望他们听不见！”
蒂米希望自己能帮忙，它不断地跳起来，把爪子搭到柜子边上，但是迪克阻止了它。“你碍事了，”他说，“到门口去，听到有人来，就提醒我们。”
于是，蒂米跑到门口，坐下，朝一边昂着头，仔细地听着，而其他人都在继续推着柜子。终于推到了开口下面，现在要把一个结实的小木桌子举到柜子上面去。朱利安爬到大柜子上面，从迪克手里接过小桌子，可是提不动。桌子实在太重、太结实了。只见威尔弗里德爬到了他身边，两个人一起把那个椭圆形的桌子抬了上来，稳稳地放在了柜子顶上。朱利安站到桌子上，发现很容易够到通往古井的铁门了。
“好。”他说着，使劲推了推门。门晃了晃，但是没有动。他又用力推了一下。“怎么了？”迪克说着，爬到了他身边，“肯定可以开，那个螺栓又不在了，已经掉到井里了。我想应该是又生锈了，我们一起推。”
女孩们焦虑地望着男孩们，时刻担心听见那两个男人回来。男孩们一起推了下铁门，铁门吱嘎一声，动了，打开了！令男孩们高兴的是，绳子离他们很近！
“完成了！”迪克轻声朝下面的女孩们说，“我们下去，帮你们爬上柜子，然后试着爬到井上面。”
女孩们很快就到柜子上了。桌子上面容不下所有的人。男孩们商量着下一步怎么办。
“朱利安，你到绳子上去，”迪克说，“你可以先爬上去，出去，确保附近没人。然后，威尔弗里德上去，你能上去吗，威尔弗里德？”
“当然能。”男孩说，“然后我可以帮助朱利安把女孩们转上去！”
“对的！”迪克说，“我陪女孩们待在这里，帮助她们到绳子上。
安妮先上，你们俩等她在绳子上时，再转动。然后乔治上去，我跟在最后，关上井门。”
“等那两个人回来，他们不会知道我们到底怎么逃出宝库的！”安妮笑着说，“多么震惊啊！”
“你们都安全上去后，我自己上去，关上门，”迪克说，“准备好了吗，朱利安？我用手电筒帮你照着！”
朱利安点了点头。他从旧铁门挤进去，伸手抓住绳子，在上面晃了一会儿。然后他一点一点地往上爬，一直到达了顶端，有点喘不过气来了，但是很高兴到了外面，在皎洁的月光下，像白天一样明亮！
他朝井下喊：“我上来了，迪克，一切正常。月亮出来了，静悄悄的。”
“威尔弗里德，到你了，”迪克说，“你觉得你能抓住绳子吗？千万不要掉进水里。我会用手电筒帮你照好的。”
“不要担心我！这就像在学校健身绳上一样。”威尔弗里德轻蔑地说。他伸腿到开口处，向绳子跳去，抓住了，然后像猴子一样爬上去了。
朱利安的声音又传下来了，空洞的回音，听上去很怪异。“威尔弗里德安全上来了，送安妮上来，我们帮她把绳子转上来，那样她不用爬，只要抓住就可以了。”
安妮通过了开口，坐在边上。“朱利安，你能晃一下绳子吗？”她喊道，“有点远，我跳不过去。”
“天哪！一定要小心啊！”朱利安警觉地喊道，“让迪克帮你。”
但是井壁开口太小了，安妮坐在那里，迪克几乎看不到开口外的情况。“安妮，抓到绳子前，不要跳，”他担心地告诉妹妹，“朱利安，前后摇动绳子了吗？你能看清楚吗？井里太黑了，我的手电筒不够亮。”
“是的，我能看见，”安妮说，“刚碰到我腿了，我错过了。又来了，我抓住了！我准备抓紧它，然后跳下去，我来啦！”
她听上去比自己感觉的还勇敢。安妮离开开口边缘，在粗粗的绳子上晃着，下面是漆黑的水！“朱利安，把我转上去！”她喊道。
当两个男孩子竭尽全力转她上去时，她使劲抓住绳子。迪克看着她消失在井上，松了一口气。现在轮到乔治了。
他从桌子和柜子上下来了，用手电筒到处照着，寻找乔治和蒂米。令他大吃一惊的是，没有找到！他轻轻地喊道：“蒂米！”
一个小小的声音传了过来，迪克皱起了眉头，喊：“乔治，你在哪里？振作起来，从你藏身的地方出来。那些男人可能随时会回来！别犯傻。”
一个鬈发的小脑袋从门口边上的箱子后面伸了出来，乔治激动地说：“你知道蒂米抓不住绳子的！它会掉下去淹死的。我觉得你们都吓得忘记了它不会爬，我要跟它一起在这里，你到井上面去吧。”
“当然不能了！”迪克立即说，“我也会留在这里。如果我说让你爬上去，我和蒂米留在这里，你也不会答应吧？”
“我当然不答应。它是我的狗，我很高兴跟它黏在一起。”乔治说，“它永远不会抛弃我，我也不会抛弃它。”
迪克太了解乔治了，当她下定决心时，没有什么能让她改变主意！
“好吧，乔治，我觉得，如果蒂米是我的狗的话，我也会这样做的。”迪克说，“但是，我会和你们一起在这里！”
“不用，”乔治说，“我们会很好的，蒂米和我。”
迪克跑向柜子，迅速地爬了上去。坐在开口边缘，向上喊。
“朱利安？在吗？听着，乔治不想离开蒂米，因为蒂米不会爬绳子。所以我在这儿陪着她！”
他刚说完，就听见有人开门的声音！蒂米疯狂地叫起来，吓得迪克心脏狂跳。如果蒂米扑向这些男人怎么办？他们有枪！
乔治听见了钥匙开锁的声音，她像闪电一样带着蒂米躲到了一堆箱子后面。“蒂米，以最快的速度，扑过去！”她说，“在他们伤到你之前，扑倒他们！”
“汪！”蒂米听懂了。它站在乔治身边，竖着耳朵，咆哮着，露着牙齿。门开了，一个男人提着灯笼进来了。“我给你们带了个灯。”他刚开始说话，蒂米就扑向了他！
“咔嚓！”灯笼掉到了地上，蜡烛掉了出来熄灭了。男人倒在地上，蒂米跳到他胸前，他惊恐地大叫着。狗的脸，毛茸茸的，离着男人那么近，他都感受到蒂米呼出的热气了。男人的脑袋碰到了一个柜子边上，突然不动了，安静了。
“应该是晕了！”迪克心里想，他小心地用手电筒照着周围。是的，那个男人在地板上，闭着眼，一动不动。
乔治站在开着的门口，朝外看着，蒂米站在她身边。“迪克！我带着蒂米从穿过悬崖的秘密通道出去。有它陪着，我会很安全的。”
“我得告诉朱利安，”迪克说，“他还在井上面，等着你和蒂米呢。小心点，蒂米会照顾你的。”
乔治飞快地消失了，她的鞋子没有发出一点声音。她看上去很焦虑，但是一点都不害怕。“像男孩子一样！”迪克想，他已经不止一百次这么觉得了：“哪一点都跟男孩子似的，头也不回！我最好回到井门处，告诉朱利安，乔治和蒂米沿着秘密通道下去了。谢天谢地，那个男人还昏迷着！”
他很快站在了柜子和桌子上，从那个开口向上看。他看见遥远的上方朱利安的手电筒发着光，忽明忽暗的，像信号一样。迪克向上喊道：“朱利安！”
“哦，原来你们还在那里，”朱利安松了一口气说，“出什么事了吗？”
“对，”迪克说，“我一会儿告诉你，稍微晃一下绳子。”
绳子晃到迪克身边，他抓住了。突然传来一阵声音，吓得他差点掉进井里。他回头看了看那个大房间里面，黑漆漆的，因为他关掉了手电筒。
有人急匆匆地进来了。“出什么事了？你怎么没有……”然后他停下了，因为手里灯笼的光线，他认出了躺在地上的人。他喊了一声，跪在了他身边。迪克偷偷地笑了，给这个人来点惊喜怎么样？
他回到那个结实的小桌子上，使劲推了一下，桌子滚到了地上，然后他回到井里的绳子上，正好看到桌子“咔嚓”滚到拿灯笼的男人身边，听见他一声惨叫。朱利安和威尔弗里德往上拉迪克时，迪克还在笑着。“给那些男人的一点点小惊悚，”他想，“乔治和蒂米消失了，我们其他人也神秘不见了，拉，朱利安，拉！我有个小故事讲给你们听！”
很快他就到井沿上了，他给其他人讲发生的事情。大家都开心地笑了。
“勇敢的乔治，勇敢的蒂米！”
“乔治知道如何穿过悬崖的通道，即使她不知道，蒂米也会带她安全出来的！”朱利安说，“我想，我们应该到下面的石头上等她和蒂米。她会一切顺利的，月亮出来了，跟白天一样亮。”
他们穿过树林，想到那些男人大惑不解的样子，都大笑起来。
Chapter 19 ANNE IS A TIGER!
Chapter 19 ANNE IS A TIGER!
In the meantime, George was hurrying down the secret way through the cliffs. Timmy ran first infront and then behind, his ears pricked for any possible pursuer or danger. He could hear no one.
Good! Both he and George were glad to hear the babbling of the funny little underground stream as itran swiftly down towards the sea. 'It's a nice friendly sound, Tim,' said George. 'I like it.'
Once or twice they slipped from the wet ledges into the water, and George felt a bit afraid of fallingand breaking her torch. 'It wouldn't be much fun if we had to go down this passage in the pitch dark!'
she told Timmy, and he gave a little woof of agreement.
'What's that bright light?' said George, suddenly, stopping in the passage. 'Look, Tim - awfully bright.
Is it someone coming with a lantern?'
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Timmy gave a loud bark and rush in front. He knew that lantern all right! It was the one thatsomebody sometimes hung in the sky, and that George called the Moon. Didn't she know?
George soon did know, of course, and cried out in delight. 'Oh, it's the moon, of course, dear oldmoon. I'd forgotten it was a moonlight night tonight. I wonder where the others are, Timmy.
You'll have to smell them out!'
Timmy already knew where they were! He had caught their scent on the wind. They weren't very faraway! He barked joyously. Soon they would all be together again!
He and George came out of the tunnel in the cliff and found themselves on the rocks. The sea wassplashing over them, and the waves gleamed brightly in the bright moonlight.
George saw something moving in the distance. She put her hand on Timmy's collar. 'Careful, Tim,'
she said. 'Is that someone coming over there? Stay by me.'
But Timmy disobeyed for once! He leapt away and splashed through pools, over seaweed, overslippery rocks, barking madly. 'Timmy!' called George, not recognising who was coming.
'TIMMY! COME BACK!'
And then she saw who were coming over the rock in the bright moonlight, picking their way throughthe slippery seaweed. She waved and shouted joyfully.
'Here I am! I've escaped all right!'
What a joyful meeting that was! They all sat down on a convenient rock and talked nineteen to thedozen, telling each other what had happened. And then a big wave suddenly came up and splashed allover them!
'Blow!' said Julian. 'Tide's coming in, I suppose. Come on - let's get back to Whispering Wood.'
Anne gave a most enormous yawn. 'I don't know what the time is,' she said. 'And it's so brighteverywhere that I'm not sure if it's day or night. All I know is that I'm suddenly most awfullySLEEPY.'
Julian glanced at his watch. 'It's very late,' he said. 'Long past our bedtime. What shall we do -risk sleeping here on the island - or find Wilfrid's boat and row across to the mainland - and have anice long, peaceful snooze in that dear little cottage?'
'Oh, don't let's stay on the island!' said Anne. 'I'd never go to sleep! I'd be afraid those men would findus.'
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'Don't be silly, Anne,' said George, trying not to yawn. 'They wouldn't have the remotest idea whereto look for us! I honestly don't fancy looking for Wilfrid's boat, rowing all the way to the mainland,and then climbing up that steep hill to the cottage!'
'Well - all right,' said Anne. 'But oughtn't somebody to be on guard - oughtn't we each to take turn?'
'Why so fussy, Anne?' asked George. 'Timmy would hear anyone!'
'I suppose he would,' said Anne, giving way. 'We'll stay here then.'
They were all very tired. The boys pulled up armfuls of old dry bracken and spread it in a shelteredpatch of grass, where bushes surrounded them, and sheltered them from the wind. It was not far fromthe cove where Wilfrid's boat lay. They snuggled into the bracken.
'Nice and cosy!' said George, yawning. 'Ohhh! I've never felt so sleepy in my life!' And in threeseconds she was sound asleep! Wilfrid dropped off at once too, and Dick and Julian were soon givinglittle gentle snores.
Anne was still awake. She felt nervous. 'I'd dearly like to know if those men are safely underground!'
she thought. 'I can't imagine that they are very pleased at us getting away - they'll know we'll go tothe mainland as soon as we can, and tell everyone what we have found! I should have thought theywould try to stop us leaving. They must know we have a boat!'
She lay and worried, keeping her ears open for any strange sound. Timmy heard her tossing andturning and crept over to her very quietly, so as not to wake George. He lay down beside Anne,giving her a loving lick as if to say, 'Now, you go to sleep, and I'll keep watch!'
But still Anne didn't fall asleep. Still she kept her ears wide open for any unusual sound - and then,quite suddenly, she heard something. So did Timmy. He sat up, and gave a very small growl.
Anne strained her ears. Yes - it was certainly voices she could hear - low voices, that didn't want tobe heard. It was the men coming to find Wilfrid's boat! Once they had that, the children couldn't getaway from Whispering Island!
Timmy ran a little way from the bushes, and looked round at Anne as if to say, 'Coming with me?'
Anne got up quietly and went to Timmy. He ran on in front, and she followed. She really must seewhat was happening, then if it was anything important, she could run back and rouse 84everyone. Timmy was taking her to the cove where Wilfrid had left his boat, hauled high up on thesand, for fear of big waves.
They were both as quiet as they could be. Timmy growled a little when he heard the voices again,much nearer this time.
The men had come quietly round the island in their own boat, to set Wilfrid's boat adrift. Anne sawthem pushing Wilfrid's boat down the sand towards the sea. Once it was adrift, she and the otherswould be prisoners on the island! She yelled at the top of her voice.
'You stop that! It's OUR boat!' And Timmy began to bark his head off, prancing round the men, andshowing his big white teeth. The barking awoke all the others and they leapt up at once.
'That's Timmy!' shouted Julian. 'That's Timmy barking! Come on, quickly - but be careful!'
They ran at top speed to the cove. Timmy was still barking madly - and someone was yelling. Itsounded like Anne. ANNE - no, no, it couldn't be quiet little Anne!' thought Julian.
But it was! For when the four arrived at the cove, there was Anne yelling to Timmy to bite the men,and dancing about in a rare old temper!
'How DARE you come and take our boat! I'll tell Timmy to bite you! And he will too! Get them,Tim, get them! How DARE you take our boat! Bite them, Timmy!'
Timmy had already bitten both the men, who were now rowing away in their own boat at top speed.
Anne picked up a stone and sent it whizzing after them. It struck their boat and made them jump.
Anne jumped too when she turned and saw Julian, George, Wilfrid and Dick. 'I'm so glad you'vecome!' she said. 'I think Timmy and I have frightened them off. The beasts!'
'Frightened them off! You've scared them stiff!' said Julian, hugging his sister. 'You even scared me!
Good gracious - the mouse has certainly turned into a fearsome tiger! I can almost see smoke comingout of your nostrils.'
'A tiger? Did I really sound like a tiger?' said Anne. 'I'm glad! I hated you all thinking I was a mouse.
You'd better be careful now, I might turn into a tiger again!'
The men were now out of sight, and Timmy sent a volley of barks after their vanished boat.
What chance had any men against a dog and a tiger? WOOF!
'Julian - why can't we row back to the mainland now?' demanded Anne. 'I'm so hungry and there'snothing to eat here now. And I wasn't really very comfortable in that brackeny bed. I'm 85longing to sleep in a proper bed. I've a good mind to take that boat of Wilfrid's and row myself back,if you don't want to come.'
Julian couldn't help laughing at this new fierce Anne. He put his arm round her.
'I believe it's dangerous to say no to a tiger,' he said. 'So you shall have your way, Anne. I'm awfullyhungry too - and I bet the others are.'
And, in five minutes time, the six of them were out on the sea, Julian taking one oar, and Dick theother, 'Swish-swash - swish-swash' went the oars, and the boat rocked as it sped along.
'I bet if those men spot us out on the sea in a boat, going across to the mainland, they will feel prettyuncomfortable!' said Julian. 'They'll know we'll be going to the police first thing tomorrow. My word- this has been quite an adventure, hasn't it! I shall be glad of a little peace now!'
Well - you'll soon have it, Julian! That little cottage is waiting for you all, with its glorious view overthe Harbour and Whispering Island. You'll have quite a bit of excitement tomorrow, of course, whenthe police take you back to the island in their boat, and you show them the old well, the vast treasure-chamber, the secret passage, and all the rest. You'll be there when all the men are rounded up, you'llwatch them chugging off, prisoners, in the police boat, amazed that the Famous Five should havedefeated them. What an adventure! And what a relief when all the excitement is over, and you liepeacefully on the hillside, with the little cottage just behind you.
'Now for a real lazy time!' said Anne, when the Five had seen the last of the police. 'Let's all go outon the hill in the sunshine, and have orangeade and biscuits and fruit salad - and Wilfrid shall play hismagic pipe and bring his furred and feathered friends to see us.'
'Has he found his pipe then?' said Dick, pleased.
'Yes. He took the well-bucket to get some water to drink - and lo and behold the pipe was in thebottom of the bucket!' said Anne. 'He thinks it must have fallen there the last time he went to fetchwater from the well - and nobody noticed it!'
'Oh good!' said George, thankfully. 'Wilfrid, what about playing a tune on your little pipe? I'm so gladit's found. I'd like to hear it again.'
Wilfrid was pleased. 'All right,' he said. 'I'll see if my friends here still remember me!'
He sat down on the hillside a little away from the others and began to blow down the pipe - and outcame the strange little tune! At once the birds in the trees around turned their heads. In the bushes thelizards raised themselves, put their quaint heads on one side and listened. Rabbits 86stopped their play. The big hare bounded up the hill, its great ears taking in every note. A magpieflew down to the boy's foot and sat there.
Wilfrid didn't stir. He just went on playing as the creatures came to listen. Timmy listened too, andwent to the boy, pressing against him, licking his ear. Then he went back to George.
We'll leave them all there in the sunshine, quiet and peaceful, watching the little creatures thatWilfrid can always bring around him.
Julian is lying back, looking at the April sky, glad that their adventure ended so well. Dick is lookingdown at Whispering Island, set in the brilliant blue harbour. Anne is half asleep - quiet little Annewho can turn into a tiger if she has to!
And George, of course, is close to Timmy, her arm round his neck, very happy indeed. Goodbye,Five - it was fun sharing in your grand adventure!
THE END
19.老虎安妮
老虎安妮
与此同时，乔治正在沿着穿过悬崖的秘密通道下来。蒂米开始跑在前面，后来跑在后面。它竖着耳朵，时刻注意着任何跟踪者或危险者，但是都没听见。太好了！它和乔治开心地听着这条地下水流“叮咚叮咚”地、轻快地流向大海的声音。“蒂米，这声音真动听，”乔治说，“我喜欢。”
有那么一两次他们从湿漉漉的石坡上滑到了水里，乔治担心会摔倒或弄坏手电筒。“如果得摸黑穿过这个陡峭通道的话，就不好玩了！”她告诉蒂米。蒂米轻轻地叫了一声。
“那亮光是什么？”乔治忽然停在了通道里，“看，蒂米，越来越亮了，有人提着灯笼过来了吗？”
蒂米大声叫起来，冲到了前面。它认识那个灯笼！那是挂在天上的灯笼，乔治管它叫月亮。她不认识了吗？
乔治当然马上认了出来，高兴得快哭了。“是月亮！当然，是亲爱的月亮啊。我忘了今晚有月亮了。不知道其他人去哪里了，蒂米，你快把他们嗅出来！”
蒂米早知道他们在哪里了！它从风里闻到了他们的气味，他们就在不远处！它开心地叫起来，很快他们就要团聚了！
它和乔治走出悬崖通道，发现自己站在石头上。海水向他们拍过来，浪花在明亮的月光下闪闪发光。
乔治看见远处有东西在移动，她牵住蒂米的项圈，“小心，蒂米，”她说，“那边是有人过来了吗？你待在我边上。”
但是蒂米立刻反抗着跳了出去，穿过水池，越过海草和滑滑的石头，疯狂地叫着。“蒂米！”乔治喊道，她没有认出过来的人，“蒂米！回来！”
不过很快，她还是认出了走向石头的小伙伴们。皎洁的月光下，他们小心翼翼地穿过湿滑的海草，向她走来。她高兴地挥舞着双手，大喊着。
“我在这里！我逃出来了！”
多么愉快的见面啊！他们坐在一块舒服的石头上，喋喋不休地谈着，相互讲述着发生的一切。一个巨浪突然打过来，拍在他们身上！
“糟了！”朱利安说，“估计要涨潮了！快！我们回耳语树林！”
安妮打了个大大的哈欠。“不知道几点了，”她说，“这么亮，我都分不清白天黑夜了。只知道，我忽然好困啊！”
朱利安扫了一眼手表。“很晚了，”他说，“已经过了睡觉时间了，我们怎么办？冒险在这岛上睡一觉，还是找找威尔弗里德的船，回岸边，在小屋里美美地、安静地睡一觉？”
“噢，不要待在岛上了！”安妮说，“我可睡不着！我会担心那些人找到我们。”
“别傻了，安妮，”乔治忍住哈欠说，“他们想不到去哪里找我们的！我真没兴趣找威尔弗里德的船，一路划回岸边，然后爬上陡峭的山回小屋！”
“好，那好吧，”安妮说，“但是总需要有人值班吧？我们轮流？”
“安妮，为什么这么麻烦啊？”乔治问，“蒂米可以听见任何东西的！”
“我知道它可以的，”安妮让步了，“那我们待在这里吧。”
他们都累坏了。男孩们拔了一堆欧洲蕨铺在一片草地下，周围有灌木丛围着他们，挡着风。他们蜷进欧洲蕨里。这里离威尔弗里德的船不远。
“真舒服！”乔治打着哈欠说，“哦！我从没这么困过！”她一转眼就睡着了！威尔弗里德也一下就睡着了，迪克和朱利安很快轻轻地打起了呼噜。
安妮还没睡，她很紧张。“我非常想知道那些男人是不是还安全地在地下！”她想，“我觉得我们离开后，他们一定高兴不起来。他们知道我们会尽快回到陆地上，告诉大家我们的发现！我应该想到他们会阻止我们离开，他们一定知道我们有条船！”
她担心地躺着，竖着耳朵听着任何可疑的声音。蒂米听见她辗转反侧的声音，悄悄地爬了过来。它趴在安妮身边，友爱地舔了舔她，仿佛在说：“现在，睡吧。我会警戒的！”
但是安妮还是睡不着。她仍然竖着耳朵听着，忽然，她听到了一些动静。蒂米也听见了，它坐了起来，轻轻地叫了一声。
安妮竖起了耳朵。是的，她的确听见说话声了，怕被别人听见，压得非常低的声音。那些男人要去找威尔弗里德的船！一旦被找到，孩子们就逃不出耳语岛了！
蒂米从灌木丛跑出了一段，回头看着安妮，好像在说：“一起来？”
安妮悄悄地爬起来，追上了蒂米。它继续在前面跑，安妮跟着。她真要看看是什么情况，如果紧急，她可以跑回来喊醒大家。
蒂米带着她跑向威尔弗里德放船的沙湾，他们怕船被海浪冲走，把船拖到了高高的沙滩堆上了。
她们两个尽量小声。接着又传来了说话声，这回更近了。蒂米轻轻地叫了一声。
那些男人乘着自己的船，悄悄地靠近岸边，准备去放走威尔弗里德的船。安妮看到他们拖着威尔弗里德的船，朝大海走去。船一旦漂走了，她和大家就被囚禁在岛上了！安妮用最大声音吼了起来。
“你们住手！那是我们的船！”蒂米也开始狂吼起来，围着他们跳跃着，露着大白牙。蒂米的声音吵醒了所有的孩子，他们立刻坐了起来。“是蒂米！”朱利安喊道，“是蒂米的叫声！快，快！小心点！”
他们以最快的速度冲向沙湾。蒂米仍然在疯狂地叫着，还有个人在大喊。“好像是安妮。安妮！不，不，不会是安静的小安妮的。”朱利安想。
但就是安妮！四个人到达沙湾时，安妮在喊蒂米咬那些男人，她生气地蹦跳着。“你们竟敢来偷我们的船！你们竟敢偷我们的船！
蒂米，咬他们！”
蒂米已经咬了那两个男人，他们划着自己的船逃跑了。安妮捡起一块石头“嗖”的一下扔向他们。打到了他们的船，吓了他们一跳。
安妮转身看见朱利安、乔治、威尔弗里德和迪克时，也吓了一跳。“太高兴了，你们来了！”她说，“我想我和蒂米把他们吓跑了，那些畜生！”
“把他们吓跑了！你把他们吓死了！”朱利安拥抱着他的妹妹说，“你也吓到我了！老天爷啊！老鼠真的变成可怕的老虎了！我都看见你鼻孔冒烟了。”
“老虎？我真的看上去像老虎一样？”安妮说，“太高兴了！我讨厌你们觉得我是老鼠！现在你们最好小心点，我可能还会变成老虎！”
那些男人不见了。看着他们的船消失了，蒂米发出了一阵吼声：“对战一只狗和一只老虎，毫无胜算啊！汪！”
“朱利安，我们为什么不现在划船回到陆地岸边？”安妮问道，“我太饿了，这里也没吃的了。在那欧洲蕨床上，我真的睡不舒服。我想在舒适的床上睡觉。我想好了，如果你们不走的话，我就自己划威尔弗里德的船回去。”
朱利安忍不住笑了笑这个疯狂的安妮，搂住了她。
“我相信，对老虎说不，会很危险的，”他说，“所以，安妮你说了算。我也饿坏了，我敢说其他人也是。”
不到五分钟，他们六个小伙伴已经起航了。朱利安拿着一支桨，迪克拿着另一支。伴着“哗啦哗啦”的桨声，船摇摇晃晃地加速前进着。
“我敢说，如果那些人看见我们乘船在海上，驶回陆地岸边，一定会不舒服的！”朱利安说，“他们知道我们明天早上第一件事就是去报警。天哪！这回真是一场探险啊！很高兴我们现在能安静点了。”
嗯，朱利安，你很快就可以享受安宁了！小屋在等待着你们大家！那里能俯瞰港口和耳语岛的壮观景色！当然了，明天警察驾船带着你们回耳语岛，指认古井、广阔的宝库、秘密通道和所有的一切时，你们一定会感到非常刺激的！你们会在现场，看着那些男人被警察围捕，目睹他们，这些阶下囚，乘着警船离去。他们惊奇地发现自己被疯狂侦探团挫败了。多么棒的探险啊！刺激过后，你们安静地躺在山坡上，伴着背后的小屋，多么惬意啊！
“开启真正的慵懒时间！”孩子们目送最后一位警察离开后，安妮说道，“我们都出去，晒晒太阳，喝喝橘子汁，吃点饼干和水果沙拉。威尔弗里德可以演奏他的神奇笛子，喊他的动物朋友们来陪我们。”
“他找到笛子了吗？”迪克高兴地问。
“是的。他拿水桶打水喝时找到的，瞧，笛子在桶底！”安妮说，“他觉得是上次提水时，掉进桶里的，大家都没发现！”
“哦，太好了！”乔治感激地说，“威尔弗里德，用小笛子奏一曲吧？真高兴你找到了，我又想听了。”
威尔弗里德很高兴。“好的，”他说，“看看我这里的朋友们是否还记得我！”
他在离大家稍微远一点的山坡上坐下，开始吹起笛子。奇妙的曲调传来了！周围树上的鸟儿们立刻转过头来；灌木丛里的蜥蜴挺直了身子，侧着好奇的小脑袋聆听着；兔子们停止了嬉戏，跳跃着跑上了山坡，巨大的耳朵捕捉着每一个音符；一只喜鹊落到了男孩脚边，坐了下来。
威尔弗里德没有动。动物们来听时，他继续演奏着。蒂米也听着，它走到男孩身边，依偎着他，舔着他的耳朵，然后又回到乔治身边。
我们让这一切都留在阳光里吧，那么安静祥和，望着威尔弗里德随时召唤到身边的小动物们。
朱利安躺回去了，望着四月的天空，很高兴他们的探险完美结束！迪克望着下面的耳语岛，耸立在蔚蓝的港湾里。安妮半睡半醒着，安静的小安妮，必要时会变成老虎哦！
乔治当然紧紧挨着蒂米，她搂着蒂米的脖颈，非常开心。再见了，疯狂侦探团，非常开心能分享你们的大探险！