21 Another day goes by

　　21 Another day goes by
　　Jack¹ felt lonely when the girls had gone down the steps to the hidden room for the night. He wasleft up in the courtyard with Kiki, and he felt bored.
　　‘I hope the girls will be all right,’ he thought. ‘Oh, hallo, Button, are you still here? Why don’tyou go back to Tassie? You won’t be able to get to Philip, you know.’
　　The fox cub² whined³ and rubbed his head against Jack, asking him as plainly as a fox cub couldto take him to his beloved Philip.
　　‘Listen. You go back to Tassie with that note,’ said Jack, still forgetting that Tassie couldn’tread a word. ‘Go on, Button. Once you get to Tassie, things will be easier for us, because whenshe reads that note, she will get help.’
　　Button stayed in the courtyard with Jack almost all night long. He didn’t give up hope of findingPhilip, and kept going off to hunt for him. Kiki was very scornful of him but Button took no noticeof her.
　　The moon came up and lighted the courtyard strangely. An owl⁴ hooted⁵, and Kiki at oncemimicked it perfectly⁶. The owl came into the yard on silent wings, to look for the one who hadanswered. Kiki was delighted. She kept hooting⁷ softly from one place and another, and the owlwas astonished to find what seemed to him to be a perfect host of owls⁸ all over the place, callingfirst from one spot and then another.
　　Jack enjoyed the fun. Then suddenly he saw the three men standing⁹ in the moonlight, and feltglad that he had not been wandering about, for he would certainly have been seen.
　　He slipped away into the shadows of the great wall, and came near to the enormous door thatstood facing what had once been the road to the castle. He sat down by a big bush, knowing itwould hide him completely.
　　Suddenly he jumped violently, and stared as if he could not believe his eyes. The big door wasopening! It swung slowly back without a sound, and where it had been was now a moonlit space,gateway to the outer world!
　　Jack half rose – but sank back again. Two men entered the castle yard, and then the great soliddoor closed silently behind them. There was a loud click, and then the two men passed quite closeto Jack. They did not see him, for he was in black shadow. He crouched¹⁰ down like a toad¹¹ againstthe earth.
　　The men passed and soon joined the other two. Then they all disappeared into the castle. Jackimagined they were going down to the hidden room – as indeed they were.
　　He waited till they had gone, and then made his way as quickly as he could to the big door inthe high wall. If only he could open it! If only he could get out, and go down the hillside, even ifhe had to walk over the treacherous¹² landslide¹³! After all, those men must have come up that way.
　　He felt about for the handle of the door. It was a large iron ring. Jack twisted it this way andthat, but the door did not open.
　　‘That click I heard must have been the men locking it!’ he thought angrily. ‘It’s impossible toget out. Blow it! Maybe if I’d been near enough I could have slipped out as they slipped in! Itwouldn’t have mattered if they had seen me because I could have run down the hillside beforethey could stop me!’
　　He sat and brooded near the door. ‘I’ll wait here in the shadows till they come back. Then I’lldash out with them. They’ll be so taken by surprise that maybe they won’t even put out a hand tome!’
　　So Jack sat there hour after hour, almost falling asleep. But the men did not return. Dinah couldhave told him why! They had gone through the secret door under the tapestry¹⁴ in the hidden room.
　　The other three were somewhere in the castle.
　　When the eastern sky began to turn silver Jack knew it was time to return to his gorse bush. Kikiwas fast asleep on his shoulder, having tired of the owl hours since. Button too had vanished.
　　Jack had not seen him go. He had forgotten about the little fox cub in the excitement of seeingthe castle door open. He wondered where he had gone.
　　‘I hope he’s gone back to Tassie,’ he thought. ‘We can expect help sometime today if he has.
　　About time too! I’m fed up with being here. Not an eagle left now, and the two girls in danger, tosay nothing of poor old Philip. I wonder how he has got on. Perhaps the girls will tell me today.’
　　The girls came out of the hidden room about eight o’clock. The three men had gone down thereand turned them out. Dinah had begged Philip to get back into the suit of armour¹⁵ before the menreturned, but he wouldn’t.
　　‘No, I’d rather be under the bed,’ he said firmly. ‘One day in that horrible stiff suit is enough forme. I’d rather be caught than stand there all day again. You put me some food and drink under thebed, and I’ll stay here. I can always wander about and stretch my legs when the men are not here.’
　　‘Well – fortune favours the bold!’ said Dinah, who thought that she would have felt the same ifshe had been Philip. ‘It’s a bold thing to do, to lie in hiding under the very bed the men may sleepon today – but maybe you’ll be all right there. Don’t sneeze, though!’
　　Apparently it was the men’s intention to sleep the day away on the big four-poster. They camedown into the room and ordered the girls out. The bearded man flung himself on the bed. All themen looked tired, and the unshaven faces of the other two were not nice to see.
　　‘We’ll call you down tonight,’ said the bearded man, from the bed, and he yawned. ‘Take whatfood you want from that pile of tins. There’s a tin opener on the table. Now clear out and leave us.
　　Couple of little nuisances!’
　　The girls grabbed a tin of sardines¹⁶, a tin of salmon¹⁷, one of peaches and one of apricots, and fledup the stairs. No sooner had they reached the top than the hole was closed by the stone.
　　‘Sleep well!’ said Dinah mockingly, and then the two girls went in search of Jack. He was underhis gorse bush, wishing they would come.
　　‘Jack! Are you all right? You can come out for a bit because the men are safe down in theunderground room!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Do you want some sardines – or peaches? We’ve got both.’
　　‘Hallo!’ said Jack, delighted to see them. ‘Is it really safe for a bit? All right, I’ll come out andwe’ll squat¹⁸ behind this rock here. I’m longing¹⁹ for something to eat. Didn’t you bring biscuits withyou when you came yesterday?’
　　Dinah found the tin of biscuits, and they had a comic breakfast of sardines, biscuits andpeaches, washed down by ginger²⁰ beer. Still they all enjoyed it thoroughly²¹, and exchanged theirnews eagerly.
　　Jack was intensely interested to hear all that Philip had told them. ‘A secret way behind thattapestry!’ he exclaimed, his eyes gleaming. ‘But where does it lead to?’
　　‘Goodness knows – into the hillside somewhere, I suppose,’ said Dinah, dipping a biscuit intopeach-juice and sucking it.
　　‘Wait now – what side of the hidden room is the secret door in the wall?’ asked Jack. ‘Oh –opposite where Philip stood at the back – well, let me see – that means that the door would leadinto the hill at the back of the castle. At the back of the castle! How funny! I wonder if there aredungeons there or something?’
　　‘Oh dear – do you think the men are keeping people prisoners and perhaps starving them todeath?’ said Lucy-Ann, at once. ‘Like that wicked old man did. Oh, Jack, you don’t suppose thatold man is still alive, do you, living like an old spider in his castle, still doing wicked things?’
　　‘Of course not,’ said Jack. ‘Haven’t I told you he’s dead and gone years and years ago? Don’tget such wild ideas into your head, Lucy-Ann. Now let me think a bit. Don’t interrupt.’
　　He nibbled²² his biscuit and pondered again. ‘Yes, I think I’m right,’ he said. ‘That door under thetapestry must lead underground through the hill at the back of the castle. I’d like to go down thatpassage and see what is there! I bet Philip will sooner or later!’
　　‘I hope he’ll be sensible and keep under the bed,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘With men wandering in andout of secret doors and things, he might easily bump into one of them and be caught.’
　　‘Did Button leave you last night?’ said Dinah suddenly. ‘Where is he?’
　　‘Yes, he went at last,’ said Jack. ‘But where I don’t know. I only hope he’s found Tassie bynow, and she has seen the note.’
　　‘Philip says it won’t be any good, that note,’ said Lucy-Ann mournfully. ‘We forgot that Tassiecan’t read.’
　　‘Blow!’ said Jack. ‘Of course she can’t. What silly-billies we are!’
　　‘Silly-billy, silly-billy, silly-billy,’ at once chanted Kiki, pleased. ‘Pop goes the silly-billy!’
　　‘You’ll go pop in a minute if you eat any more peaches,’ said Jack. ‘Is the tin empty, Dinah?
　　Put it away from Kiki, for goodness’ sake. She’s been tucking in like anything while we’ve beentalking.’
　　‘Poor old silly-billy,’ said Kiki gloomily, as Dinah removed the tin and tapped her smartly onthe beak²³.
　　‘What are we going to do today?’ said Lucy-Ann.
　　‘Well, what can we do except wait?’ said Jack.
　　‘And hope that Tassie has the sense to show our note to someone,’ said Dinah. ‘Surely shewould do that? She knows she can’t get to us herself – or she would know, if she came, and sawthe plank²⁴ was gone!’
　　The day passed slowly. There was nothing to do, not even an eagle to watch. ‘Wish I could do aspot of developing,’ sighed Jack, feeling in his shorts pocket for his precious rolls of film. ‘But Ican’t. I’m just longing to see how the eagles have come out.’
　　There was nothing to read. The girls wandered round a bit and wondered whether they dared togo up into the tower, and try to signal from there. But who would see? No one but Tassie, and shewould not know what to make of the signals.
　　‘Anyway, if you did go up into the tower, you might be badly punished by any of those men,’
　　said Jack. ‘It’s not worth risking it. We must just wait in patience for Tassie to send help.’
　　The day passed at last and night came. The men yelled for the two girls to go down into thesecret room again. They said a hurried goodnight to Jack and went. There was no question ofdisobeying the men. All the children were afraid of them.
　　Jack did not hide in his gorse bush. When it was dark enough he went down to the spring nearthe bottom of the wall, to get a drink. He dared not go into the kitchen for one, in case he bumpedinto one of the men, or they heard the pump clanking.
　　He bent²⁵ down to the spring – and then listened in amazement²⁶. A most curious noise was comingfrom the little tunnel into which it disappeared.
　　‘Oooph! Ow! Ooooph!’ A scraping, dragging noise could be heard too. Something was comingup the tunnel. Jack stepped back in great alarm. Whatever could it be?

1 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。

2 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

3 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

4 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

5 hooted   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• An owl hooted nearby. 一只猫头鹰在附近啼叫。
• The crowd hooted and jeered at the speaker. 群众向那演讲人发出轻蔑的叫嚣和嘲笑。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 hooting   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩

参考例句：

• He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。
• The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。

8 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

11 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

12 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

13 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

14 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

15 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。

16 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

17 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

18 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

19 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

20 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

21 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

22 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

24 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。

25 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

26 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。