18 Prisoners in the castle

　　18 Prisoners in the castle
　　‘We only came to have a look at the castle,’ said Dinah, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
　　‘Does it belong to you? We didn’t know.’
　　‘How did you find this room?’ demanded the bearded man, scowling¹.
　　‘By accident,’ said Dinah. ‘We were so surprised. Please let us go. We’re only two girls, and wedidn’t mean any harm.’
　　‘Does anyone outside this castle know we are here, or anything about this room?’ asked theshaggy man.
　　‘No, nobody,’ said Dinah truthfully. ‘We have never seen you before this moment, and we onlyfound the room today. Please, do let us go!’
　　‘I suppose you’ve been messing about here for some days,’ said the man. ‘We found yourthings. Interfering² little trespassers!’
　　‘We didn’t know the castle belonged to anyone,’ said Dinah, again. ‘How could we know? Noone ever comes here. The villagers keep away from the place.’
　　‘Is anyone with you?’ asked the bearded man, suspiciously.
　　‘Well, you can see that for yourselves,’ said Dinah, hoping fervently³ that none of the menwould think of looking into the suits of armour⁴ standing⁵ round the room.
　　‘We’ve looked all over the place,’ said the third man to the shaggy one. ‘There’s no one elsehere, that we do know!’
　　‘Please let us go,’ begged Dinah. ‘We won’t come here again, we promise.’
　　‘Ah – but you will go home and you will tell about things you have found here and seen here,isn’t that so?’ said the bearded man, in a horrid⁶, smooth kind of voice. ‘No, little missies – youmust stay here till our work is done. Then, when it no longer matters, maybe we shall let you go. Isaid maybe! It depends on how you behave.’
　　Philip trembled with anger inside the suit of armour. How dared these men speak like that to thetwo girls? But the boy did not dare to show himself. That might only make things worse.
　　‘Well,’ said the bearded man, ‘We have business to discuss. You may leave this room, but donot go beyond our call.’
　　To the girls’ intense relief the men allowed them to go up the stone steps into the hall. Then thehole closed once more, and they were left alone.
　　‘We must escape,’ whispered Dinah, taking Lucy-Ann’s hand. ‘We must get away immediatelyand bring help to Philip. I daren’t think what would happen to him if those men found him.’
　　‘Where’s Jack⁷?’ sobbed⁸ Lucy-Ann. ‘I want him.’
　　Jack was not far away. As soon as he heard the stone close the hole up, and recognised the girls’
　　voices, he darted⁹ out of the old drawing-room. Lucy-Ann saw him and ran to him gladly.
　　He put his arms round her, and patted her. ‘It’s all right, Lucy-Ann, it’s all right. We’ll soon beout of here, and we’ll get help to rescue Philip. Don’t worry. Don’t cry any more.’
　　But Lucy-Ann couldn’t stop crying, though now she cried more from relief at having Jack againthan from fright. The boy guided her to the wide stone stairs that led to the upper rooms of thecastle.
　　‘We’ll get across the plank¹⁰ in no time,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll be safe. We’ll soon rescue Philiptoo. Don’t be afraid.’
　　Up they went and up, then along the long corridor, lit dimly by its slit¹¹ windows. They came tothe room they used for the plank.
　　Dinah ran gladly to the window, eager to slip across to safety. But she paused in dismay. Therewas no plank.
　　‘We’re in the wrong room!’ she said. ‘Oh, quick, Jack, find the right one!’
　　They ran out and into the next room – but there was no plank on the sill there either. Then intothe next room further on they went – but again there was no plank.
　　‘This is like a bad dream,’ said Dinah, trembling. ‘We shall go into room after room, and theplank will never be there! Oh, Jack – is this a nightmare?’
　　‘It seems like one,’ said the boy. ‘Come now – we’re upset and excited – we’ll begin at thebottom of the corridor and work our way along each room – then we shall find the right one.’
　　But they didn’t. Room after room had no welcome plank on its sill. At the last room the childrenpaused.
　　‘I’m afraid,’ said Jack, ‘I’m very much afraid that the men discovered how we got in – andremoved the plank!’
　　‘Oh dear!’ said Dinah, and sat down suddenly on the dusty floor. ‘My legs won’t hold me upany more. I suppose the men would never have let Lucy-Ann and me out of the hidden roomunless they had discovered our way in, and made it impossible for us to escape that way.’
　　‘Yes – if we’d stopped to think for a moment we’d have guessed that ourselves,’ said Jack,gloomily. He also sat down on the floor to consider things. ‘I wonder where they put the plank. Itmight be a good idea to look for it.’
　　‘They’ve probably just tipped it off the sill and left it lying on the ground,’ said Dinah, just asgloomily.
　　‘No, they wouldn’t do that, in case anyone else did happen to know that way in,’ said Jack.
　　‘We’d better look for it.’
　　So they hunted all over the place, but there was no sign of the plank at all. Wherever it was, itwas too well hidden for the children to find. They gave it up after a bit.
　　‘Well, what are we going to do, now that we can’t escape?’ said Dinah. ‘Do stop sniffing¹², Lucy-Ann. It doesn’t do any good.’
　　‘Don’t bother her,’ said Jack, who felt sorry for his small sister. ‘This is pretty serious. Here weare, stuck in this old castle with no way of escape – and Philip down below in the hidden room ingreat danger of being discovered. He’s only got to sneeze or cough, you know!’
　　Lucy-Ann pondered this statement of alarm. She at once imagined poor Philip trying to stiflesneeze after sneeze.
　　‘We’ve apparently¹³ fallen headlong into some strange mystery,’ said Jack. ‘I can’t make head ortail of it. Why these men want to hide up here, I don’t know. But they are ugly customers – nastyfellows, each one of them. They must belong to a gang of some sort, up to some mischief¹⁴. I’d liketo put a stop to it, but it’s impossible as things are. The only good things about the whole affair arethat the men don’t know I’m here, and they don’t know that Philip is hidden in their secret meetingplace!’
　　‘If only we could get out!’ sighed Lucy-Ann. ‘I know Aunt Allie is away, but we could get holdof the farmer or someone.’
　　‘I don’t see how we can possibly get out, now that our one and only way of getting in is gone,’
　　said Jack. ‘I don’t think even Tassie will come up, now that her mother has threatened her with ahiding if she does.’
　　‘We mustn’t let the men know you’re here too, Jack,’ said Dinah. ‘Where will you hide forsafety?’
　　‘In the middle of my gorse bush,’ said Jack. ‘That’s as safe as anywhere. You girls go down tothe hall and see if that room is still shut – if it is I’ll slip down and go up the crag to my gorsebush. You can sit about on the rocks there and whisper to me what goes on.’
　　‘I wish we knew where Button got in and out,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘If we did we might try his way.
　　Only I suppose if it’s a rabbit-hole it would be far too narrow for us.’
　　They made their way to the hall. The stone was still in place over the hidden room. Theybeckoned Jack down, and he sped across the hall, out of the great doorway¹⁶, across the courtyardand up the craggy, gorse-grown rock in the corner to the safety of his hiding-place. He crawled in,and the bush closed round him.
　　The girls climbed up the rocks to be near him. From there they had a good view of everything todo with the castle. They undid¹⁷ a packet of food and began to have a meal, though Lucy-Annchoked over almost every mouthful. They handed Jack some food through the prickly branches ofthe bush.
　　‘Good thing we brought up such stacks of food,’ said Dinah. ‘If we are going to be prisoners forages¹⁸ it’s just as well!’
　　‘Of course, if your mother hadn’t gone away she would have got worried when we didn’t gohome, and have sent a search party up to the castle,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘It’s bad luck she should havegone away just now! No one will miss us at all.’
　　‘Sh! Here are two of the men!’ said Dinah. ‘Don’t say a word more, Jack.’
　　The men gave a loud shout for the two girls. Dinah answered sulkily. They beckoned¹⁵ to them tocome down from the crag.
　　‘And did you find your little plank?’ enquired¹⁹ the bearded man politely, and the other mansniggered.
　　‘No. You took it away,’ said Dinah sullenly²⁰.
　　‘Of course. It was such a good idea of yours – but we didn’t like it,’ said the man. ‘Now, youcannot get away, you know that. So you may stay here unharmed in the courtyard, and at nightyou may sleep peacefully in the big bed downstairs, for we have work to do that will take uselsewhere. But we forbid you to go up to the towers, or upstairs at all. We are not going to haveyou signalling for help. You understand that if you disobey us, you will be very sorry – and youwill probably be put down into a dungeon²¹ we know of, where rats and mice and beetles²² live.’
　　Dinah shuddered²³. The very idea filled her with horror.
　　‘So you be good girls and obedient, and no harm will come to you,’ said the bearded man.
　　‘Always be where we can see you, somewhere in this courtyard, and come when we call. Youhave plenty of food, we know. And there is water in the kitchen, if you pump it.’
　　The girls did not answer. The men walked off and disappeared once more into the castle.
　　‘What’s happening to Philip?’ said Lucy-Ann, after a pause. ‘Will he starve down there? I wishwe could rescue him.’
　　‘He won’t starve. There’s plenty of food on the table, if only he can step off his pedestal and getit,’ said Dinah. ‘If only we could send word to Tassie! She might get help. But there is no way ofsending word.’
　　‘I suppose Kiki wouldn’t go, with a note tied to her leg, like pigeons have in wartime?’ saidLucy-Ann. ‘No, I’m sure she wouldn’t leave Jack. She’s an awfully²⁴ clever and sensible bird, but itwould be too much to expect her to become a messenger for us.’
　　However, a messenger did turn up – a most unexpected one, but a very welcome one indeed!

1 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

2 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

3 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

9 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

11 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

12 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

15 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

17 Undid   

v. 解开, 复原

参考例句：

• The officer undid the flap of his holster and drew his gun. 军官打开枪套盖拔出了手枪。
• He did wrong, and in the end his wrongs undid him. 行恶者终以其恶毁其身。

18 forages   

n.牛马饲料( forage的名词复数 )；寻找粮草

参考例句：

• A long-term trial had been carried out on tropical forages. 选用热带主要牧草草种进行长期定位试验。 来自互联网
• A young fur seal forages amid bull kelp near Gansbaai, South Africa. 一只年轻的海豹在南非干斯拜附近的巨藻丛中觅食。 来自互联网

19 enquired   

打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问

参考例句：

• He enquired for the book in a bookstore. 他在书店查询那本书。
• Fauchery jestingly enquired whether the Minister was coming too. 浮式瑞嘲笑着问部长是否也会来。

20 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

21 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

22 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。