The enemy
The three children, accompanied by Huffin and Puffin, made various journeys to and from SleepyHollow with food, rugs and clothes. Philip brought back a pile of rugs from the boat and thrustthem down the hole entrance. They descended1 on poor Horace and enveloped2 him. He was verymuch startled, but glad to find in a moment or two that his captors were actually offering himsomething warm and soft to lie on.
He arranged them underneath3 himself. Ah, that was more comfortable. He began to thinklongingly of all the things he would do to those children, once he got free.
At last everything was in the motor-boat, ready for the early start. It was now getting dusk.
Philip, Lucy-Ann and Dinah came and sat beside Jack4.
‘I suppose one or other of must keep watch over the hole all night, in case Horace escapes?’
whispered Philip. Jack nodded.
‘Yes. We can’t risk his getting out, just as we’ve got everything set. You take first watch, Philip.
We won’t ask the girls to watch, because I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t enjoy hitting Horace goodand hard if he popped his head out.’
‘I would!’ said Dinah indignantly. ‘Lucy-Ann is kind, but I’m not.’
Lucy-Ann said nothing. She felt sure she wouldn’t like to hit Horace hard. Anyway the boysdecided that only they should keep watch, so that was all right.
The sun had gone down into the sea. The sky was pricked5 with the first few stars. The childrenlay about comfortably on the heather, talking in low voices. There was no sound from Horace.
Perhaps he was alseep.
Philip’s three rats, which had suddenly begun to look very grown-up, came out to sniff6 theevening air. Dinah removed herself at once. Huffin and Puffin regarded the rats with fixed7 eyes.
Kiki yawned and then sneezed. Then she coughed in a very hollow manner.
‘Shut up, Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘If you want to practise your awful noises, go up on the cliff andmake the seagulls and guillemots listen.’
‘Arrrr!’ said Huffin solemnly.
‘Huffin agrees with me,’ said Jack.
‘Pah!’ said Kiki.
‘And pah to you,’ said Jack. ‘Now shut up, Kiki, do. It’s a lovely evening. Don’t spoil it withyour pahing and poohing.’
Just as he finished speaking, there came a noise from far out to sea – a very small noise at first,hardly heard above the sound of the sea and the wind – but becoming quite unmistakable after awhile.
‘A motor-boat!’ said Jack, sitting upright. ‘Now what in the world . . .’
‘Have they come to look for Horace already?’ said Philip, in a low voice. ‘Blow! This upsetsour plans like anything!’
Nothing could be seen on the darkening sea, but the noise came nearer and nearer. Jack clutchedPhilip and spoke8 in his ear.
‘There’s only one thing to do. We must all go and get into our boat now, this very minute – andget out to sea. We mustn’t let the enemy see the boat in the channel there, or they’ll take it, andour only chance will be gone. Come on, quickly!’
Silently the four children rose to their feet. Kiki flew to Jack’s shoulder, not uttering a sound.
Huffin and Puffin, who had retired9 to their burrow10, came out again. They flew beside the hurryingchildren, not even remarking arrrr to one another.
Across the puffin colony they went, stumbling and staggering between the hundreds of burrows11.
Up the little slope of the cliff and over to the cleft12 in the rock. Down the rocky ledges13, be careful,be careful! And into the rocking boat, their breath coming fast and their hearts beating likehammers.
‘Start her up,’ ordered Philip, and Jack started the engine. Philip threw off the mooring-rope andit skittered into the boat by the girls’ feet. In a moment more they were backing gently out of thelittle channel.
Soon they were right out of it. Philip went to the east a little. It was almost dark now.
‘We’ll stop the engine,’ said Philip. ‘And wait here till the other boat goes into the channel,because I expect she’ll make for it. I don’t want to bump into her. And the men on board her mighthear our engine.’
So the engine was stopped, and the motor-boat swung up and down gently as waves ran beneathher to the rocky cliffs some way off.
The sound of the other boat’s engine was now very loud. Philip wished he had gone a bit furtheroff after all. But the bigger boat swung by without stopping and then nosed its way into the hiddenharbour. The children, crouching14 in their boat, straining their eyes, had just been able to make outa dark shape and that was all.
The other boat’s engine stopped and peace came back into the night. Some of the sea-birds,disturbed, uttered a few wild cries and then flew back to their roosting-places on the ledges.
‘Horace will be glad to be rescued,’ said Dinah at last.
‘Yes, he’ll probably be out of the hole already,’ said Jack. ‘He’d soon know when we weregone. I’ve no doubt there’ll be a lot of bad language going on when they find out how weimprisoned poor Horace – and gosh, when they find out we’ve taken his boat . . .’
‘Arrrrrr!’ said a deep voice from the rail round the deck.
The children jumped in the darkness. ‘Oh – it must be Huffin or Puffin,’ said Philip, pleased.
‘Fancy them coming with us. I do think that’s friendly of them.’
‘They’re sweet,’ said Lucy-Ann, and put out her hand to Huffin. Both the puffins were there,sitting side by side in the darkness. Kiki flew to join them.
‘What are we going to do now?’ said Dinah. ‘Dare we go off in the dark? We might bump intorocks and wreck15 the boat.’
‘We’ll have to stay here till the first light of day,’ said Philip. ‘Then we’ll set off, and hope themen on the island won’t hear our engine, and come after us!’
‘We shall have got a good start,’ said Jack. ‘Well, what about having a snooze, if we’re going tostay here? Where’s the anchor? Shall we let it down? I don’t fancy drifting about at the mercy ofthe waves all night long.’
Whilst the boys were busy, the girls laid out rugs, mackintoshes and jerseys16 to lie on. It was alovely warm night, and nobody minded.
‘It’s so nice to have the stars above us instead of a ceiling or a tent roof,’ said Lucy-Ann,snuggling down. ‘I don’t feel a bit sleepy, somehow. I suppose it’s all the excitement. I’ve gotused to this adventure now. Oh dear, how glad I am that I didn’t have to hit Horace on the head! Ishould have dreamt about that for ages.’
They lay for some time, talking. They all felt very wide awake indeed. Huffin and Puffinappeared to be awake too, because they occasionally remarked arrr to one another. Kiki was onJack’s feet.
She was also wide awake, and began to recite the nursery rhymes she knew: ‘Humpty Dumpty,puddingy pie, ding dong bell, ring his neck!’
‘Shut up!’ said Jack. ‘We’re trying to go to sleep, you tiresome17 bird!’
‘I hope Huffin and Puffin stay with us,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could takethem home with us?’
‘Shut up!’ said Kiki, and cackled.
‘Parrots are not allowed to say that,’ said Jack severely18, and sat up to tap her on her beak19. Butshe had promptly20 put her head under her wing, so he couldn’t.
‘Artful creature,’ said Jack, and heard a faint ‘Pah!’ from under Kiki’s wing.
Just as Lucy-Ann was falling off to sleep, the others sat up so suddenly that she was jerkedawake. ‘What’s the matter?’ she began. And then she knew.
The engine of the other motor-boat was going again. Lucy-Ann sat up with the others, her eyesstraining through the darkness.
‘They must have found Horace, heard his report, and all have gone back on board,’ said Jack.
‘They are evidently not going to spend the night here. Look – here they come – gosh, they’ve gottheir lights on this time.’
‘Jack – Jack! They’ll be going back to their headquarters,’ said Philip urgently. ‘Let’s followthem. Get the anchor up, quick. They won’t hear our engine because theirs makes such a row.
Come on, let’s follow them! They’ll take us to where Bill is!’
The men’s motor-boat had swung round when it had come from the channel, and was nowheaded out to sea. It was not long before the children’s boat set off in its wake. They could nothear the other boat’s engine because of their own, and they knew that theirs would not be heard bythe men for the same reason.
Huffin and Puffin were still on the deck-rail. Clearly they meant to go wherever the childrenwent. Lucy-Ann thought it was nice to have such staunch, loyal friends, even if they were onlypuffins. Kiki was on Jack’s shoulder again, her beak to the breeze.
‘All aboard,’ she kept saying. ‘All aboard. Pah!’
The first boat sped along quickly. It was easy to follow because of its light. The children stoodwith their noses to the wind in silence. Lucy-Ann spoke first.
‘This adventure is getting more adventurous,’ she said. ‘Oh dear – it really is!’
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
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： |
|
|
|
|
5
pricked
|
|
| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
sniff
|
|
| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
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： |
|
|
|
|
9
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
burrow
|
|
| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
burrows
|
|
| n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
cleft
|
|
| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
ledges
|
|
| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
wreck
|
|
| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
jerseys
|
|
| n.运动衫( jersey的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
tiresome
|
|
| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |