21 A daring plan

　　21
　　A daring plan
　　‘Where shall we go?’ said Jack¹. ‘In your van? Nobody can overhear us there, can they?’
　　They went inside the little van and shut the door. Pedro looked puzzled – what was all thisabout?
　　Jack began to tell him. He told him about Gussy staying with them at Quarry² Cottage and howhe turned out to be the Prince. Pedro’s eyes almost fell out of his head at that! He told him of thekidnapping, and how he, Jack, had stowed away first at the back of the car, and then in theaeroplane, in order to follow the others.
　　‘You’re a wonder, you are!’ said Pedro, staring at Jack in the greatest admiration³. ‘You’re . . .’
　　Jack wouldn’t let him say any more. He went on rapidly with his story, and brought it right upto date, telling Pedro of his adventure of the night before.
　　‘I never heard anything like this in my life!’ said Pedro, amazed. ‘Why didn’t you ask me tocome with you? You knew I would. It was a dangerous thing you did, all by yourself.’
　　‘Well – I’m used to adventures,’ said Jack. ‘I just had to find out about my sister, anyway – andthe others too, of course. Now, Pedro – this is where I want your help. I MUST rescue the four ofthem before the King is kidnapped or killed, and Gussy is put on the throne. You see, if Gussy ismissing, there wouldn’t be much point in doing away with his uncle. They must have Gussy to putin his place, because they want a kid there, so that they can make him rule as they like. CountParitolen and his sister, Madame Tatiosa, and the Prime Minister will be in power then. Do youunderstand?’
　　‘Yes, I understand,’ said Pedro. ‘But I’m not used to seeing history happening before my eyeslike this. I can’t think it’s real, somehow’
　　‘It is real,’ said Jack, urgently. ‘Very very real. And, Pedro, if we can get Philip here, in thecircus, he could manage those bears as easily as Fank. I tell you, he’s a wizard with animals – itdoesn’t matter what they are. Why, once, in an adventure we had, a crowd of Alsatian dogs chasedus – we thought they were wolves, actually – and Philip turned them all into his friends as soon asthey came up to him!’
　　Pedro listened to all this with a solemn face. He was much impressed. He had guessed, ofcourse, that there was something unusual about Jack – but the story he had to tell was soextraordinary that he could hardly believe it all. He did believe it, though. He was sure that Jackwould never lie about anything.
　　‘Well – what do you want me to do?’ he asked at last. ‘I’ll do anything, of course. But honestly,Jack, I don’t see how we can rescue your four friends from the tower room of Borken Castle –locked in, with a sentry⁴ at the foot of the stairs! It’s impossible!’
　　Jack sat and frowned. He was beginning to think it was impossible too. Plans had gone roundand round in his head for hours – but none of them was any good.
　　He couldn’t get in through that window over the wash house again, he was sure. The ladderwould have been discovered by now, and taken away. Also – even if he did get in that way, howcould he let Philip and the others out of that locked room? He didn’t even know where the keywas!
　　‘And to go in the other way wouldn’t be any good either,’ he thought. ‘Down that trap door andall through those passages – I’d only come up against the back of that big picture, and I’ve no ideahow to make it move away from its place! And then again I’m no better off if I do – I still don’tknow where the key to that tower room is!’
　　Pedro sat and frowned too. To think that he and Jack could perhaps save the starting-up of ahorrible civil war – and they couldn’t think of even one sensible thing to do!
　　‘Jack,’ he said at last, ‘do you mind if we tell someone else about this? My two best friends hereare Toni and Bingo, the acrobats⁵ – they might be able to think of some plan. It’s their job to thinkof good ideas!’
　　Jack looked doubtful. ‘Would they give my secrets away, though?’ he said. ‘It’s important thatnobody else should know what we know – once the Count suspected that anyone was trying torescue the four prisoners he holds, he would spirit them away somewhere else, and probably hurryhis plans on so that we couldn’t possibly stop them.’
　　‘You needn’t worry about Toni and Bingo,’ said Pedro. ‘They’re the best pals⁶ I ever had, andready for anything. This is the kind of job they’d jump at – it’s right up their street. I’ll go andfetch them now.’
　　He went off across the field, and Jack sat and worried. He wasn’t happy about telling anyoneelse. Soon the van door opened and in came Pedro with Toni and Bingo. They didn’t look in theleast like acrobats, in their ordinary clothes. They were slim, lithe⁷ young men, with shocks of hairand cheerful faces.
　　‘What for you want us?’ said Toni, the rope-walker, in broken English. ‘It is trouble with theBoss?’
　　‘No,’ said Pedro. ‘Look here, Jack – shall I tell them? – I can speak to them in Italian, whichthey know best, and it’ll be quicker.’
　　‘Right,’ said Jack, wishing that he could use half a dozen languages as easily as this much-travelled circus boy.
　　He didn’t understand a word of what followed. Pedro spoke⁸ rapidly, using his hands excitedlyjust as all the Spaniards, French and Italian people did in the circus. Bingo and Toni listened, theireyes almost falling out of their heads. What a story!
　　Then they too began to chatter⁹ in excitement, and Jack could hardly contain himself in hisimpatience to find out what they were saying. Pedro turned to him at last, grinning broadly.
　　‘I have told them everything,’ he said. ‘And it pleases them! They have an idea for rescue – asurprising idea, Jack – but a very very good one!’
　　‘What?’ asked Jack, thrilled. ‘Not too impossible a one, I hope!’
　　‘Shall I tell him?’ said Pedro, turning to Toni, ‘I can tell him more quickly than you.’
　　‘Tell him,’ said Toni, nodding his head.
　　‘Well,’ said Pedro, ‘they got the idea when I told them how you escaped out of that trap door inthe tall bell tower. I told them it was exactly opposite the window of the tower room – and theysaid it would be easy to throw a rope across from the top of the tower, to the window!’
　　‘Yes – but I don’t see what good that would be,’ said Jack, puzzled. ‘I mean – the otherscouldn’t get across it – they’d fall.’
　　‘Listen!’ said Pedro. ‘You have seen the trapeze swings that Toni and Bingo use in theiracrobatic tricks, haven’t you? Well, those swings can be attached to the wire rope by pulleywheels, and run to and fro. Would your friends agree to sit on a swing in turn, and be pulledacross, hanging from the wire rope? It would be easy!’
　　‘Good gracious!’ said Jack, startled. ‘My word! What an idea! It’s not workable!’
　　‘Si, si! It is wukkable!’ said Toni, excitedly. ‘We go up the bell tower. We get rope across toyour friends – I walk across – easy! I pull swing behind me, hanging on rope. I place each boy orgirl safe on swing – and I run back on rope dragging swing by wire – one, two, three, four times,and everyone is safe! Good idea, no?’
　　‘Is it really possible?’ said Jack. ‘It sounds very dangerous.’
　　‘Ah, no, no – it is simple, this way,’ said Toni. ‘I do it all, I, Toni!’
　　Bingo nodded his head. He apparently¹⁰ agreed with Toni that it was a good and perfectlypossible idea. It would certainly only have been thought of by wire walkers or acrobats, Jack wassure.
　　‘And then, zis boy – how you call him – Feelip – he will take Fank’s bears and make themgood?’ said Toni. ‘Everybody plizzed!’
　　‘Everybody pleased,’ agreed Jack, getting excited too. After all – these acrobats were used tothings of this kind. It seemed nothing to them – though to ordinary people it appeared to be a verydangerous and quite impossible feat¹¹.
　　‘Tonight we go,’ said Toni. ‘We have all things ready. We tell the Boss – no?’
　　‘No – not yet,’ said Pedro, considering. ‘And not very much, when we do tell him. Nothingabout the Prince or anything like that – only just that we’ve got a friend of Jack’s to help with thebears. I’ll have to think up some way of explaining the other three – but I’m not worrying aboutthat yet.’
　　Toni and Bingo went off to their van, talking nineteen to the dozen. This was evidentlysomething they were going to enjoy very much!
　　Jack could hardly keep still now. He kept on and on thinking about Toni’s plan. Would it be allright? Would Lucy-Ann be too afraid to swing across on a trapeze-perch, and be caught at theother end of the rope by Bingo? What about Gussy? His hair would stand on end! And yet whatbetter way was there? There wasn’t any other way at all!
　　The circus opened as usual, and again there were grumbles¹² about the non-appearance of thebears. Fank tried to get up, but it was no use. He couldn’t even stand. The bears, hearing the circusbeginning, and the shouts of the side-shows, became restless and excited. They had allowed noone in their cage that day, not even to clean it, and their food had been hurriedly poked¹³ betweenthe bars.
　　They wouldn’t even eat that! It lay in their cage untouched. They padded up and down the floor,heads down, grunting¹⁴ and growling¹⁵ all the time.
　　The show was over at last, and the townsfolk wentback to Borken, chattering¹⁶ and laughing. Jack helped Pedro to clear up the litter, pick up thefallen benches, and sweep the big circus ring.
　　‘Thinking about tonight?’ whispered Pedro as he passed him. ‘I bet Toni and Bingo are! I sawToni taking one of the trapeze swings out to shorten the rope, so that he could use it tonight.’
　　They had a late supper, and then Ma yawned. ‘Bed!’ she said, and creaked up into her caravan¹⁷.
　　The two boys went into theirs, and sat waiting for the acrobats to come and say they were ready.
　　There came a tap at the door. Pedro opened it. ‘Come!’ said Toni’s voice, and Pedro and Jackslipped like shadows out of their van. The four of them made their way in the darkness up theslope of the hill. Above them towered the great castle, its shadowy bulk looking sinister¹⁸ andmysterious.
　　They came to the bell tower. Toni and Bingo had already had a good look at it in the daylight.
　　‘In we go,’ said Pedro, in a low voice. He flashed on his torch as soon as they were safely inside.
　　The torch lighted up the strong wire rope that Bingo carried, and the trapeze swing that Toniheld. They all looked up into the roof of the bell tower. How were they to get up by the great bell?
　　‘There are iron rungs up the wall,’ said Toni. ‘I go first! Follow me!’

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 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。

3 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

4 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。

5 acrobats   

n.杂技演员( acrobat的名词复数 )；立场观点善变的人，主张、政见等变化无常的人

参考例句：

• I was always fascinated by the acrobats at the circus. 我总是着迷于马戏团里的杂技演员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The acrobats' performance drew forth applause from the audience. 杂技演员的表演博得了观众的掌声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

7 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

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：

• 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。

9 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

10 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。

11 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

12 grumbles   

抱怨( grumble的第三人称单数 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。
• I'm sick of your unending grumbles. 我对你的不断埋怨感到厌烦。

13 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 grunting   

咕哝的，呼噜的

参考例句：

• He pulled harder on the rope, grunting with the effort. 他边用力边哼声，使出更大的力气拉绳子。
• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。

15 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

16 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

17 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

18 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。