26 The pedlar’s van

　　26
　　The pedlar’s van
　　Gussy looked shyly up at them, and then hid his face in Ma’s lap, as if very overcome. That hadbeen Mas idea, of course!
　　‘Now, now!’ said Ma, in Tauri-Hessian, tapping Gussy. ‘Sit up and answer the gentlemen, mylittle Anna-Maria!’ She turned to the soldiers.
　　‘You must pardon her,’ she said. ‘She is a silly little girl, and cannot say boo to a goose! Sit up,my pet, and show these kind gentlemen what you are making.
　　Gussy sat up, and held out a piece of embroidery¹ to the two soldiers, keeping his head down asif very shy indeed. Jack², looking in through the window, was amazed at Gussy’s acting³. And thatembroidery! How very very clever of Ma to give Gussy that to show to the soldiers! He had seenMa working on it herself, night after night!
　　‘She is my favourite grandchild,’ Ma prattled⁴ on. ‘The prettiest little thing and so good. Talk tothe kind gentlemen, Anna-Maria! Say how do you do.’
　　‘I cannot,’ said Gussy, and hid his face in Mas lap again.
　　‘Don’t bother her,’ said one soldier. ‘I have a little girl at home as shy as she is. It’s better tohave them that way than bold and cheeky. How pretty her hair is! You must be proud of her, oldwoman.’
　　‘She is such a good little needlewoman,’ said Ma, proudly, and patted Gussy’s head. ‘Sit up, mypet – the gentlemen won’t eat you!’
　　‘We’re going,’ said the first soldier. ‘Here, give her this to spend. She really does remind me ofmy little girl at home.’
　　He threw a coin to Ma and she caught it deftly⁵ and pocketed it at once. Jack heaved anenormous sigh of relief when he saw the two men walking away. He poked⁶ his head in at thewindow.
　　‘It’s all right. They’ve gone. Gussy, you were absolutely marvellous! Talk about an actor! Why,you’re a born actor! A shy little girl to the life.’
　　Gussy lifted his head from Ma’s lap. His eyes were bright and his face was red. He waslaughing.
　　‘It was Ma’s idea, to behave like that,’ he said. ‘She said I must not show my face at all, I mustbe shy and put it into her lap.’
　　‘A really good idea,’ said Jack, and grinned at Ma’s smiling face. ‘Honestly, Gussy, Icongratulate you – I never imagined you could act like that.’
　　‘I like acting,’ said Gussy. ‘But not in girls’ clothes. I feel silly. Still – it was a very good idea.
　　Now – I am safe, is it not so?’
　　‘I think so,’ said Jack, looking up the road. ‘The men are going back to their cars. They aregetting into them. Yes – the first car is going off. Whew! I was in a stew⁷ when those two fellowswalked into your van.’
　　As soon as three military cars had shot off down the road, Philip left the bears’ van, and camerunning over to the others, grinning. They all collected round Ma’s van, and heard Jack’s recital⁸ ofGussy’s marvellous performance.
　　Gussy was pleased. He was not often praised by the others, and it was very pleasant to havethem admiring him for once in a way. Then he caught sight of himself in Ma’s mirror, ribbons andall, and his face clouded.
　　‘I do not like myself,’ he said, staring in the mirror. ‘I will now dress in my own things again.’
　　‘Oh no – not yet!’ said Jack, quickly. ‘You don’t know who might recognize you suddenly ifyou did. You’ll have to be a girl until we get you to safety somewhere. Go on, now, Gussy – youlike acting. You’ll give a marvellous performance!’
　　The vans went on again. The excitement quickly died down, and everyone grew silent. Theywere tired with their short night and the disturbances⁹ they had had. They stopped for a snack aboutsix o’clock and then went on again.
　　They were now on a lonely country road. The surface was bad, and the vans had to go slowly.
　　Nobody minded that. Circus folk were never in a hurry except when their show was about tobegin. Then everyone fell into a tremendous rush, and raced about in excitement.
　　They camped that night in the hills. They all slept very soundly to make up for the lack of sleepthe night before. Then they set out again, jogging on slowly, not really very certain where theywere going.
　　The Boss suddenly decided¹⁰ that they had taken a wrong turning a few miles back. The vanswere turned round and back they all went, grumbling¹¹ hard. They passed few people on the road,for they were now in a very lonely part.
　　‘I want shops,’ grumbled¹² Ma. ‘I need to buy things. We all need to buy things. We must go tosome place where there are shops. I will go to tell the Boss.’
　　But she didn’t, because she was afraid of him. She just went on grumbling. She wanted newcotton reels. She wanted some tinned fruit. She wanted hairpins¹³.
　　‘Cheer up, Ma – we may meet a travelling pedlar van,’ said Pedro, getting tired of Ma’sgrumbling.
　　‘What’s that?’ asked Jack.
　　‘Oh – a van that takes all kinds of things to lonely villages,’ said Pedro. ‘I don’t expect we shallmeet one – but I’ve got to say something to keep Ma quiet!’
　　The Boss gave the order to camp early that night, and everyone was thankful. Soon fires wereburning by the roadside and good smells came on the air.
　　Just as it was getting dusk, a small van came labouring up the hill on the slope of which thecamp had been pitched. Madame Fifi saw it first and gave a shout.
　　Everyone looked up. ‘Ma! You’re in luck!’ called Pedro. ‘Here’s a pedlar’s van!’
　　The little black van drew up at the sight of the circus camp. Two men sat in the front of it, in theusual Tauri-Hessian clothes, sunburnt fellows, one small, one big and burly.
　　‘Better keep out of sight, Gussy,’ said Jack, suddenly. ‘You never know – this might be mensent to check over the camp again.’
　　‘Oh dear!’ sighed Lucy-Ann. ‘Don’t say they’re going to search all over again.’
　　The small man jumped out, went to the side of the van, and swung down half the wooden side,making a kind of counter. Inside the van, on shelves, were goods of every conceivable kind! Tinsof meat, sardines¹⁴ and fruit. Tins of salmon¹⁵ and milk. Skeins of wool, reels of cotton, rolls of lace,bales of cheap cotton cloth. Safety-pins and hairpins. Combs of all kinds. Soap. Sweets. Really, itwas just like a little general shop seen in so many villages.
　　‘It sells everything!’ said Pedro. ‘Ma, do you want me to buy half the things for you?’
　　‘No. I’ll come myself,’ said Ma, who enjoyed a bit of shopping. ‘Stay here, Anna-Maria!’
　　‘Can we go and have a look at the shop, do you think?’ asked Dinah. ‘You’ve got some Hessianmoney, haven’t you, Jack? I do really want to buy some soap, and a few other things. Surely thatvan is genuine – those men can’t be spies, sent to search the camp again!’
　　‘No. I don’t think they can be,’ said Jack. ‘The van does seem quite genuine, as you say. Allright – we’ll go and buy a few things. Not Gussy, though.’
　　So, while the others strolled off in the dusk to the little travelling shop, poor Gussy was leftbehind in Ma’s van. He was very cross.
　　The small man sold all the goods. The big man merely helped, handing down this and that, andwrapping up anything that needed it. He said nothing at all. The other man was a real talker. Hechattered all the time, chaffed the women, and passed on little bits of news.
　　‘And what news have you got?’ he asked Ma and old Lucia, as he sold them hairpins andcombs. ‘You’ve come from the direction of Borken, haven’t you? Any news of the King there?
　　He’s not been found yet, you know!’
　　Ma gave him her news, and described the clamour of the bells in the night. Old Lucia chimed inwith a few remarks too.
　　‘Where’s little Prince Aloysius?’ she wanted to know. ‘They say he was sent to school inEngland. If the King is dead, the little Prince will have to be brought back, won’t he?’
　　‘We had soldiers searching our camp today,’ said Madame Fifi. ‘Though what they expected tofind, I don’t know. The King perhaps!’
　　Everyone laughed. The chattering¹⁶ and buying went on for some time, and the pedlars did verywell. Jack went up to buy some sweets for the girls, Kiki on his shoulder.
　　‘Good morning, good night, good gracious!’ said Kiki, conversationally¹⁷, to the pedlar who wasserving. He laughed. But the other man didn’t. He turned round and looked very sharply at Kikiindeed. Jack felt uncomfortable. Why did the second man look round like that? He tried to seewhat he was like, but it was now dark, and difficult to see inside the little van.
　　Lucy-Ann pointed¹⁸ to some toffee. ‘I’d like some of that,’ she said, in English. Jack saw the manat the back of the van stiffen¹⁹. He seemed to be listening for what Lucy-Ann might say next. Hereached up to a shelf, took down a tin, and then stood still again, as Lucy-Ann spoke²⁰ once more.
　　‘Let’s have a tin of pineapple. Kiki likes that.’
　　The man swung round. Jack hurriedly pushed Lucy-Ann back into the darkness. This fellowwas a spy! He was sure of it! He took another look at him, but could not make out very much. Ahead of black, curly hair, such as all the Tauri-Hessians had – a small black moustache – that wasabout all Jack could see.
　　‘What’s up, Jack?’ said Lucy-Ann, in astonishment²¹ as he hurried her away from the van, pullingDinah and Philip with him too.
　　He told them hurriedly what he thought and they were very worried. They rushed back to Ma’svan to see if Gussy was all right. To their great relief, he was there, looking very cross. ‘Thoughwhy we should think he wouldn’t be there, I don’t know,’ said Jack. ‘Gussy, get out yourembroidery. We’ve seen somebody suspicious. He heard Lucy-Ann talking in English, and Kikitoo, and he was much too interested!’
　　‘Well – we’ll hope he clears off soon,’ said Philip. ‘I’ll go and watch, and tell you when they’regone.’
　　But the pedlar’s van didn’t go! The two men shut up the side of the van, safely locking up alltheir goods, and then sat outside with a little camp fire, cooking some kind of meal.
　　‘They’re staying the night,’ reported Philip. ‘Not too good, is it? And Madame Fifi told me thatthe small man has been asking questions about Kiki – if the boy who owns her belongs to thecamp – and where his caravan²² is!’
　　‘Blow!’ said Jack. ‘What can we do? We can’t possibly run away. I’ve no idea at all where weare – miles away from anywhere, that’s certain! Well – we can only hope for the best. We’ll sleepas usual under the girls’ van, and Gussy can be with Ma. After all, he’s the important one – we’renot really important, except that Gussy escaped with us, and presumably the Count will think thatwherever we are, Gussy will be too!’
　　The girls went to their van and undressed to go to sleep. Gussy was safely with Ma. The threeboys lay on the rugs below the girls’ van as usual. Pedro soon fell asleep, but Jack and Philip wereworried, and lay awake, whispering.
　　Suddenly Jack clutched Philip. ‘I can hear someone,’ he whispered, in his ear. ‘Someonecrawling near this van.’
　　Jack sat up cautiously and felt for his torch. Yes – someone was near the van, crawling quietlyon all fours. Jack flicked²³ on his torch at once.
　　A surprised face was caught in the light. A man was on hands and knees nearby. It was the bigpedlar from the little van! His black hair showed up plainly in the beam of the torch.
　　‘What do you want?’ said Jack, fiercely. ‘What do you mean by crawling around like this? I’llraise the camp, and have them all after you!’

1 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

2 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。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 prattled   

v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯

参考例句：

• She prattled on about her children all evening. 她整个晚上没完没了地唠叨她的孩子们的事。
• The water prattled over the rocks. 水在石上淙淙地流过。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 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》

7 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

8 recital   

n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会

参考例句：

• She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
• I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内，他们完全被我吸引了。

9 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

12 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

13 hairpins   

n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The price of these hairpins are about the same. 这些发夹的价格大致相同。 来自互联网
• So the king gives a hundred hairpins to each of them. 所以国王送给她们每人一百个漂亮的发夹。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 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？

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 conversationally   

adv.会话地

参考例句：

• I am at an unfavourable position in being conversationally unacquainted with English. 我由于不熟悉英语会话而处于不利地位。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The findings suggest that happy lives are social and conversationally deep, rather than solitary and superficial. 结论显示，快乐的生活具有社会层面的意义并与日常交谈有关，而并不仅仅是个体差异和表面现象。 来自互联网

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

20 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。

21 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

22 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。

23 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。