27 The adventure boils up

　　27 The adventure boils up
　　But it was not anyone – it was a peal¹ of thunder so loud that the noise had penetrated² even down tothe underground room.
　　‘I hope the girls won’t be frightened,’ said Bill, thinking of them scurrying³ down the hillside inthe darkness. ‘I wonder if it’s raining.’
　　‘They’ll be all right with Tassie, I think,’ said Jack⁴. ‘She will know places to shelter in. Shewon’t be silly enough to stand under trees or anything like that. There are a few little caves hereand there in the hillside. Maybe they’ll use those till the storm is past.’
　　Silence again. It was astonishing how so many people, all standing⁵ rather uncomfortably in suitsof armour⁶, could manage to do so without a single creak or clank!
　　One man cleared his throat, and the sound was strange in the hidden room.
　　‘Don’t do that again, Jim,’ said Bill. There was dead silence once more. Jack sighed softly. Itwas unbearably⁷ exciting to stand hidden in armour, wet with perspiration⁸, almost panting withheat, waiting for the other men to come.
　　Then suddenly, sounding quite loud, there came the noise of a door being unlocked. Then thetapestry on one wall shook – and someone lifted it up from behind!
　　Everyone stiffened¹⁰ inside the suits of armour. Eyes peered through the visors. Who wascoming?
　　A man came out from behind the tapestry⁹, and folded it back, hanging one end on a nail, so thatothers following could come into the room easily. Jack saw an opening behind, leading into thewall. From it came soft-footed men, one after the other – and with them they brought Philip!
　　The shaggy-browed man came first. Then came the bearded man, the one Bill called Scar-Neck,dragging Philip. Scar-Neck had the neck of his shirt closed, and Jack could see no sign of the tell-tale scar.
　　Philip was putting on a bold face, but Jack knew he was feeling scared. After him came threemore men, all ugly fellows, with sharp eyes and stern mouths. They came into the room, talking.
　　They left the secret way open, and Jack wondered where it led to.
　　Philip’s hands were bound behind his back, so tightly that the rope bit into his skin. Scar-Neckflung him into a chair.
　　It was soon clear that Philip had only just been captured. Scar-Neck rounded on him almost atonce.
　　‘How long have you been in the castle? What do you know?’
　　‘I was here with the girls,’ said Philip. ‘I hid under the bed. You never looked there. I wasn’tdoing any harm. We only came to play about in this old castle. We didn’t know it belonged toanyone.’
　　‘Get the girls,’ growled¹¹ Scar-Neck to the shaggy man. ‘Bring them over here. We’ll cross-question the whole three of them. To think that a parcel of kids should waste our time like this!’
　　The shaggy-browed man went over to the bed, where, he imagined, the two girls would, asusual, be sleeping. But when he pulled back the curtain, they were not there! He stared, and thenroughly pulled off the blankets and rugs.
　　‘They’re not here!’ he said, in an astonished voice. The bearded man turned at once.
　　‘Don’t be a fool! They must be here somewhere! We know they can’t get out of this room onceit’s shut.’
　　‘The boy may have let them out from above,’ said the shaggy man. Scar-Neck swung round onPhilip. The boy was amazed that the girls had gone, but he was not going to show it.
　　The shaggy man hunted under the bed – but it was plain to everyone that the girls had gone.
　　Scar-Neck spoke¹² roughly to Philip.
　　‘Did you let them out?’
　　‘No,’ said Philip. ‘I didn’t. I was hiding here, I tell you, under the bed. I wasn’t at the top.’
　　‘Well – who let them out, then?’ said the shaggy man, and his brows knitted together so thatthey almost hid his sharp eyes.
　　‘Now – you tell us everything!’ said Scar- Neck, and his voice was suddenly ugly andthreatening.
　　Philip said nothing, but stared defiantly¹³ at the man. Scar-Neck lost his temper, raised his fist,and gave Philip such a blow on the side of the head that the boy fell off his chair. He pickedhimself up.
　　Jack, beside himself with anger, saw Philip’s left ear glow bright scarlet¹⁴, and begin to swell¹⁵.
　　‘Now will you talk?’ said Scar-Neck, his voice growing with rage. The others looked on, sayingnothing.
　　Still Philip said nothing. Jack felt proud. How brave he was! Then, to his horror, the man tookout a revolver and laid it on the table beside him.
　　‘We have ways of making sulky boys talk,’ he said, and his eyes gleamed with rage.
　　Philip didn’t like the look of the shining weapon. He blinked a little, and then stared at Scar-Neck again. But still he said nothing.
　　What would have happened next if there hadn’t been a sudden and surprising interruption,nobody knew! But all at once, like a stone from a catapult, Button, who had slunk under a chair onthe far side of the room when the men arrived, shot out and threw himself on Philip.
　　Everyone leapt to his feet, and Scar-Neck caught up his revolver. When they saw that thenewcomer was only a fox cub¹⁶, they sat down again, feeling angry at their sudden fright.
　　Scar-Neck was furious. He lashed¹⁷ out at the cub, and sent him rolling to the ground. Buttonbared his small white teeth.
　　‘Don’t hurt him,’ said Philip, in alarm. ‘He’s only a cub. He’s mine.’
　　‘How did he get down here? When the girls got out, I suppose?’ growled the shaggy man.
　　‘I don’t know,’ said Philip, puzzled. ‘I tell you, I really don’t know how the girls got out, norhow the cub got in. It’s as much a mystery to me as to you.’
　　‘If this kid is telling the truth, we’d better finish up and get going,’ said the shaggy man,sounding rather anxious. ‘There must be others about, though goodness knows we’ve kept a goodenough watch. Let’s settle up our business and go.’
　　A rumble¹⁸ of thunder came down into the secret room again. The men looked at one anotheruneasily.
　　‘What’s that?’ said the shaggy man.
　　‘Thunder, of course,’ growled Scar-Neck. ‘What’s the matter with you? Getting nervy justbecause a bunch of silly kids are playing around? What they want is a good beating, and I’ll seethis boy gets it before we go, anyway, even if those girls have gone!’
　　Button curled up quietly at Philip’s feet. He was afraid of these men. Scar-Neck nodded to oneof the others, and he got up. He went to the drawer where the documents were kept, unlocked it,and drew out the sheaf of papers there. He put them in front of Scar-Neck.
　　Then began a long discussion in a language that Philip did not understand. But Bill understoodit! Bill could speak eight or more different languages, and he listened eagerly to all that was said.
　　Philip sat listlessly on his chair, his wrists hurting him, and his left ear now twice its size. Hecould not even rub it because his hands were so tightly tied behind his back.
　　Button licked his bare leg. It was comforting. Philip wondered where the girls had gone. Howhad they got out? He was glad to know they had probably escaped. Had help come? Had Jackmanaged to find someone? Would they rescue him too?
　　He wished he was standing safely inside the suit of armour he had hidden in before. He glancedround at it, and then stared in the utmost amazement¹⁹.
　　Surely eyes were gleaming behind that visor? Philip had extremely good eyesight, and it sohappened that the rays of the lamp shone directly into the visor of the armour he was looking at. Itseemed to Philip as if there were real eyes behind it, not the usual hollow space.
　　He glanced at the next suit of armour, and saw what he imagined were eyes there too – and thenext one! He felt terribly scared. Had all these suits of armour come alive all of a sudden? Whowas inside? He could see that most of them were filled. He began to tremble.
　　Scar-Neck noticed him and laughed. ‘Ah, so you are beginning to be afraid of what may happento boys who interfere²⁰ in somebody else’s business! Maybe you will talk soon!’
　　Philip said nothing. He began to think clearly, and it was soon plain to him that it must befriends inside the armour, and not enemies. How silly of him to be scared! But it really had beenan eerie²¹ feeling to see gleaming eyes looking at him from behind those visors.
　　‘So that’s how it is the girls have gone,’ he thought. ‘Now I understand. Jack did get help – andthey’ve had the idea of doing what I did – hiding in the armour to see what is happening! Well, Imustn’t give them away, whatever happens! I wonder if one of them is old Freckles²².’
　　Feeling very much better now, the boy gave another look round at the armour. He did not dareto stare too hard, in case one of the men followed the direction of his look and saw what he saw.
　　Another rumble of thunder came down into the room, louder this time. The air was almostunbearably hot down there, and the men in the armour had hard work not to gasp²³. Perspiration randown their bodies, and they longed to shift their positions a little. But they dared not move.
　　Bill was listening intently to all that was being said, though Philip could not make out a singleword. Papers were spread out on the table, but Bill could not see what they were. They looked likeblueprints of some sort, details of machinery²⁴ perhaps. It was impossible for him to see.
　　Scar-Neck rolled them up at last. Then he turned to Philip.
　　‘Well, our job is done. We shall not have the pleasure of seeing you or your friends any more.
　　But before we go we shall teach you what it means to spy on us! Where’s that rope?’
　　‘Don’t you dare touch me!’ cried Philip, jumping to his feet. Scar-Neck took the rope.
　　Then, to his unutterable horror, one of the suits of armour walked off its pedestal, held up a stiffand clanking arm, at the end of which shone a wicked-looking revolver, and said:
　　‘The game’s up, Scar-Neck. We’ve got you all!’
　　The voice sounded hollow. Scar-Neck and the others stared in the utmost dismay, and thenlooked round at the other suits of armour, which were also coming alive! It seemed like a baddream – but a dream that had too many revolvers in it!
　　‘Hands up!’ said Bill’s sharp voice.
　　Scar-Neck began to put his hands up – but suddenly he turned, took hold of the oil lamp, andsmashed it on the ground. In a moment the room was pitch dark!

1 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

2 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

3 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

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 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。

7 unbearably   

adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌

参考例句：

• It was unbearably hot in the car. 汽车里热得难以忍受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She found it unbearably painful to speak. 她发现开口说话痛苦得令人难以承受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

9 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。

10 stiffened   

加强的

参考例句：

• He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
• She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

11 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

15 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

16 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。

17 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

19 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。

20 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

21 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

22 freckles   

n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时，脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

24 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。