19 An adventure in the night

　　19
　　An adventure in the night
　　Whirrrrrr! Whirrrrrrrr!
　　‘Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong!
　　DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG !
　　Jack¹ sat down suddenly on a nearby chair, his heart thumping². It was only a clock chiming andstriking! But what a start it gave him! Midnight – exactly midnight. Well – the people in the castleought to be asleep, that was one thing to be glad of.
　　He got up and went back to the door. He went down the corridor again, and then, facing himround the next turning, he saw a great flight of stairs – a marble stairway, almost covered by a finesweep of thick, beautifully patterned carpet.
　　‘I suppose that leads down to the hall,’ thought Jack. ‘Down to the entrance. Well, that gives mea guide – let me see – if the front entrance is down there – then the tower I want should be a bitfurther on. Come on, Kiki – down the corridor again!’
　　And down the endless corridor went the two of them. It was lighted by lamps, and was toobright for Jack’s liking³. The doors he passed now were shut. Perhaps they were bedrooms. Hecertainly wasn’t going to look in and see!
　　He came to a sturdy oak door set in the inside wall. He paused. The tower ought to be abouthere. Would that door lead up to it? It looked different from the other doors he had passed. Hetried the handle gently. It was a thick ring of iron and as he turned it sideways the door opened.
　　Jack pushed it wide. Stone steps led upwards⁴, lighted by a dim lamp. He stood and debated withhimself. Should he risk it and go up? Yes – he felt sure this was the way to the tower.
　　He tiptoed up and came to the top. He looked round in surprise. He was on another floor now,and the layout here was different from the one below. He was in what looked like a great hall,draped with magnificent curtains. A gallery overhung one end. There was a small platform at theother end, and on it stood music stands. The floor was highly polished, and Jack suddenly realizedwhat the hall was.
　　‘It’s a ballroom⁵!’ he thought. ‘My word – what grand dances they must hold here! But now Iseem to have lost my way to the tower again. Perhaps there’s another stair somewhere!’
　　He went round the ballroom. On the other side, behind some curtains, he came to a door. Heopened it and found that it led to a kind of ante-chamber. Opening off this was a stone staircase – aspiral stair that wound upwards.
　　‘This is the tower staircase!’ thought Jack, excited. ‘It must be. Hallo – what’s that?’
　　He could hear the sound of nailed boots on stone! Quick as lightning he slid behind a nearbycurtain. The footsteps came nearer, stamped, turned and went back again. How extraordinary!
　　Jack put his head carefully round the curtain. Going down a stone passage opposite was asoldier, gun on shoulder. He must be on guard – guarding the tower! He disappeared down thepassage, his footsteps sounding farther and farther away till Jack could hear them no longer. Thenback he came again to the foot of the tower stairway.
　　Stamp-stamp! The sentry⁶ turned round once more and marched into the passage. Jack watchedhim again. He was dressed in Hessian uniform, very smart and decorative⁷. Jack had seen many ofthese soldiers while he had been with the circus. Perhaps this soldier was Hela’s father?
　　He waited till the sound of footsteps had completely died away again, then made a dart⁸ for theentrance to the spiral staircase. He ran up it swiftly, knowing that he had about half a minutebefore the return of the sentry.
　　Round and round wound the stairway, and at the top it grew so steep that Jack could no longerrun up the steps, but had almost to climb!
　　He came to a little stone landing with a round window. A chest stood beneath the window, andan old chair stood beside it. Opposite Jack was a big, sturdy door, made of dark oak, and studdedwith great nails. He looked at it. Was Lucy-Ann behind that door? Dare he call her name?
　　He tiptoed to the door. He pushed. It was fast shut. He turned the great handle, but still it wouldnot open. There was a keyhole there, but no key. He bent⁹ down to look through the keyhole, butcould see nothing.
　　He could hear nothing either. Jack wished he knew what to do for the best. If he knocked on thedoor and called, he might find that the children were not there after all but that somebody else was.
　　And the somebody might not be at all pleased to see him! Also, the sentry downstairs might hearhim and come rushing up – and there was no way of escape up on this little landing!
　　And then he saw something in the light of his torch – something very surprising – somethingthat told him for certain that the children were inside that room on the other side of the oak door!
　　A tiny creature had slipped under the wide space at the bottom of the door, and sat there,looking up at Jack with large black eyes.
　　‘Philip’s dormouse!’ whispered Jack, and knelt down slowly. ‘Snoozy! You are Snoozy, aren’tyou! You’re Philip’s dormouse! Then Philip is in there!’
　　The dormouse was very tame. It had lived for some time with four children who adored it,petted it and had never once frightened it. Even Dinah had fallen under its spell, and loved it,though she would not let it run all about her as the others did.
　　And now here it was, on Jack’s hand, its whiskers twitching¹¹, its big eyes watching him andKiki. Kiki looked at it in surprise, but made no attempt to hurt it.
　　‘Did you hear me, outside the door?’ whispered Jack. ‘Did you leave Philip and come to seewho the midnight visitor was? How can I wake Philip? Tell me!’
　　An owl¹⁰ hooted¹² somewhere outside the castle. The dormouse leapt from Jack’s hand in frightand scuttled¹⁴ under the door. The hoot¹³ of the owl gave Jack an idea. The sentry would take nonotice of an owl’s hoot – but if he, Jack, gave a hoot just under the crack of the door, it wouldcertainly wake up Philip. It would sound far away to the sentry, but very near to Philip! Far farbetter than banging on the door, which was a noise that might echo down the stairs and make thesentry come bounding up!
　　Jack lay down on his tummy. He put his face to the door, and placed his hands together to blowthrough his thumbs and hoot like an owl. This was the way to make a quavering hoot, so like anowl’s that no one, not even an owl, could tell the difference!
　　‘Hoooo! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!’ hooted Jack, and the noise went under the door and into the roombeyond.
　　Jack listened. Something creaked – was it a bed? Then a voice spoke¹⁵ – and it was Philip’s!
　　‘Gussy! Did you hear that owl? It might have been in the room!’
　　But Gussy, apparently¹⁶, was asleep, for he made no answer. Jack got up and put his mouth to thedoor, trembling in his excitement.
　　‘Philip! Philip!’
　　There was an astonished exclamation¹⁷. Then Philip’s voice came, amazed. ‘Who’s that? Who’scalling me?’
　　‘It’s me – Jack! Come to the door!’
　　There was a pattering of feet the other side and then an excited breathing at the keyhole.
　　‘Jack! Good gracious! How did you get here? Jack, how wonderful!’
　　‘No time to tell you my story,’ whispered Jack. ‘Are you all all right? How’s Lucy-Ann?’
　　‘We’re all well and cheerful,’ said Philip. ‘We flew here . . .’
　　‘I know,’ said Jack. ‘Go on – what happened?’
　　‘And we were taken here by car,’ said Philip, his mouth close to the keyhole. ‘And Gussy wassick, of course. Madame Tatiosa, who met us in the car, was furious with him. She’s here, in thecastle – and her brother too, Count Paritolen. We don’t know what’s happening, at all – have youheard? Gussy keeps worrying about his uncle.’
　　‘His uncle is still safely on his throne as far as I know,’ said Jack. ‘But I expect they’ll have abust-up soon – everyone’s expecting it. Then Gussy will find himself in the limelight!’
　　‘Jack – can you rescue us, do you think?’ asked Philip, hopefully. ‘How did you get here? Gosh,I’ve been thinking you were miles away, at Quarry¹⁸ Cottage! And here you are, outside the door ofour room. Pity it’s locked!’
　　‘Yes. If I only knew where the key was, it would be easy,’ whispered Jack. ‘Where does yourwindow face? East or north?’
　　‘North,’ said Philip. ‘It’s just opposite a peculiar¹⁹ tower built all by itself – a bell-tower, with abell in it. Gussy says it’s an alarm-tower – the bell used to be rung when enemies were sighted inthe old days. Our window is just opposite that. Now that we know you’re here we’ll keep lookingout.’
　　‘Give my love to Lucy-Ann,’ said Jack. ‘Is she in the same room as you?’
　　‘No – the girls have another room,’ said Philip. ‘Look – let me go and wake them. They’d be sothrilled to speak to you.’
　　‘All right,’ said Jack, and then he stiffened²⁰. Footsteps! Footsteps at the bottom of the spiralstairway. ‘Someone coming!’ he whispered, hurriedly. ‘Goodbye! I’ll try and come again andwe’ll make plans.’
　　He stood up, and listened. Yes – that sentry was coming up the stairway. Had he heardanything? Jack looked round desperately²¹. How could he possibly hide on this small landing? Itwas impossible.
　　The chest! He ran to it and flashed his torch on it. He lifted the lid. There was nothing insideexcept an old rug. He stepped inside the chest, Kiki fluttered in too, and Jack shut down the lid.
　　Only just in time! A lantern flashed at the last turn of the stairs and the sentry came on to thelanding. He held up the lantern and looked round. All was in order. He clumped²² downstairs again,his nailed boots making a great noise. Jack’s heart slowed down and he heaved an enormous sigh.
　　He got out of the chest and listened.
　　Philip’s voice at the keyhole again made him jump. ‘He’s gone! He always comes up everyhour. Jack – I never asked you. Have you got old Kiki?’
　　‘Rather! She’s been with me all the time,’ said Jack, longing²³ to tell Philip what a success Kikiwas at the circus. But Philip didn’t know about that either, of course. He didn’t even know howJack had got to Tauri-Hessia. What a lot there would be to tell him and the others!
　　Kiki began to whisper too. ‘Blow your nose, shut the door, ding-dong-bell, Polly’s got a cold.
　　God save the King!’
　　Philip chuckled²⁴. ‘It’s good to hear her again. Shall I get the girls now?’
　　‘No,’ said Jack. ‘I’d better go while it’s safe. Goodbye, Philip.’
　　He went very quietly down the spiral stairway. He stood and listened. Where was the sentry? Hemust have gone down the passage again, on his regular beat. Jack slipped across the ante-room,and into the great ballroom.
　　He stood there for a moment, looking round the dimly lighted room. And then something caughthis eye and he jumped.
　　On the far side was a great picture – and as Jack looked at it, it moved! It moved sidewaysacross the wall, and behind it appeared a black hole.
　　Good gracious! Whatever was happening now?

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 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

4 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

5 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

6 sentry   

n.哨兵，警卫

参考例句：

• They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
• The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。

7 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

8 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

9 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。

10 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。

11 twitching   

n.颤搐

参考例句：

• The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 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。

13 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

14 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 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。

17 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

18 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

19 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

20 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。

21 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

22 clumped   

adj.[医]成群的v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的过去式和过去分词 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• The bacteria clumped together. 细菌凝集一团。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He clumped after her, up the stairs, into his barren office. 他拖着沉重的步伐跟在她的后面上楼了，走进了他那个空荡荡的诊所。 来自辞典例句

23 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。

24 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。