The four of them, with Timmy nosing round their legs, stood staring down at the big stone thathid the entrance to the dungeons2. Julian was perfectly3 right. The stone could not have been liftedfor months, because weeds had grown closely round the edges, sending their small roots intoevery crack.
'No one is down there,' said Julian. 'We need not even bother to pull up the stone and go down tosee. If it had been lifted lately, those weeds would have been torn up as it was raised.'
'And anyway, we know that no one can get out of the dungeon1 once the entrance stone is closingit,' said Dick. 'It's too heavy. Uncle Quentin wouldn't be silly enough to shut himself in! He'dleave it open.'
'Of course he would,' said Anne. 'Well - he's not there, then. He must be somewhere else.'
'But where?' said George. 'This is only a small island, and we know every corner of it. Oh -would he be in that cave we hid in once? The only cave on the island.'
16
'Oh yes he might be,' said Julian. 'But I doubt it. I can't see Uncle Quentin dropping downthrough the hole in the cave's roof - and that's the only way of getting into it unless you're goingto clamber and slide about the rocks on the shore for ages. I can't see him doing that, either.'
They made their way beyond the castle to the other side of the island. Here there was a cave theyhad once lived in. It could be entered with difficulty on the seaward side, as Julian had said, byclambering over slippery rocks, or it could be entered by dropping down a rope through a hole inthe roof to the floor some way below.
They found the hole, half hidden in old heather. Julian felt about. The rope was still there.
'I'll slide down and have a look,' he said.
He went down the rope. It was knotted at intervals4, so that his feet found holding-places and hedid not slide down too quickly and scorch5 his hands.
He was soon in the cave. A dim light came in from the seaward side. Julian took a quick lookround. There was absolutely nothing there at all, except for an old box that they must have leftbehind when they were last here themselves.
He climbed up the rope again, his head appearing suddenly out of the hole. Dick gave him ahelping hand.
'Well?' he said. 'Any sign of Uncle Quentin?'
'No,' said Julian. 'He's not there, and hasn't been there either, I should think. It's a mystery!
Where is he, and if he's really doing important work where is all his stuff? I mean, we know thatplenty of stuff was brought here, because Aunt Fanny told us so.'
'Do you think he's in the tower?' said Anne, suddenly. 'He might be in that glass room at the top.'
'Well, he'd see us at once, if he were!' said Julian, scornfully. 'And hear our yells too! Still, wemight as well have a look.'
So back to the castle they went and walked to the queer tower. Their aunt saw them and called tothem. 'Your lunch is ready. Come and have it. Your uncle will turn up, I expect.'
'But Aunt Fanny, where is he?' said Anne, with a puzzled face. 'We've looked simplyeverywhere!'
Her aunt did not know the island as well as the children did. She imagined that there were plentyof places to shelter in, or to work in. 'Never mind,' she said, looking quite undisturbed. 'He'll turnup later. You come along and have your meal.'
'We think we'll go up the tower,' said Julian. 'Just in case he's up there working.'
17
The four children and Timmy went to where the tower rose up from the castle yard. They rantheir hands over the smooth, shining sections, which were fitted together in curving rows.
'What's this stuff it's built of?' said Dick.
'Some kind of new plastic material, I should think,' said Julian. 'Very light and strong, and easilyput together.'
'I should be afraid it would blow down in a gale,' said George.
'Yes, so should I,' said Dick. 'Look -- here is the door.'
The door was small, and rounded at the top. A key was in the keyhole. Julian turned it andunlocked the door. It opened outwards6 not inwards. Julian put his head inside and looked round.
There was not much room in the tower. A spiral staircase, made of the same shiny stuff as thetower itself, wound up and up and up. There was a space at one side of it, into which projectedcurious hook-like objects made of what looked like steel. Wire ran from one to the other.
'Yes. It's lovely,' said Anne. 'But - where is Uncle Quentin? We still haven't found him. I supposehe is on the island.'
'Well, his boat was pulled up in the cove,' said George. 'We saw it.'
'Then he must be here somewhere.' said Dick. 'But he's not in the castle, he's not in the dungeons,he's not in the cave and he's not up here. It's a first-class mystery.'
'The Missing Uncle. Where is he?' said Julian. 'Look, there's poor Aunt Fanny still down there,waiting with the lunch. We'd better go down. She's signaling to us.'
'I should like to,' said Anne. 'It's an awful squash in this tiny glass room. I say - did you feel thetower sway then, when that gust7 of wind shook it? I'm going down quickly, before the wholething blows over!'
She began to go down the spiral stairs, holding on to a little hand-rail that ran down beside them.
The stairs were so steep that she was afraid of falling. She nearly did fall when Timmy pushedhis way past her, and disappeared below her at a remarkably8 fast pace.
Soon they were all down at the bottom. Julian locked the door again. 'Not much good locking adoor if you leave the key in,' he said. 'Still - I'd better.'
They walked over to Aunt Fanny. 'Well, I thought you were never coming!' she said. 'Did yousee anything interesting up there?'
18
'Only a lovely view,' said Anne. 'Simply magnificent. But we didn't find Uncle Quentin. It's verymysterious, Aunt Fanny - we really have looked everywhere on the island - but he's just nothere.'
'And yet his boat is in the cove,' said Dick. 'So he can't have gone.'
'Yes, it does sound queer,' said Aunt Fanny, handing round the sandwiches. 'But you don't knowyour uncle as well as I do. He always turns up all right. He's forgotten I was bringing you, or hewould be here. As it is, we may not see him, if he's quite forgotten about your coming. If heremembers, he'll suddenly turn up.'
'But where from?' asked Dick, munching9 a potted meat sandwich. 'He's done a jolly gooddisappearing trick, Aunt Fanny.'
'Well, you'll see where he comes from, I've no doubt, when he arrives,' said Aunt Fanny.
'Another sandwich, George? No, not you, Timmy. You've had three already. Oh George, do keepTimmy's head out of that plate.'
'He's hungry too, Mother,' said George.
'Well, I've brought dog-biscuits for him,' said her mother.
'Oh, Mother! As if Timmy would eat dog biscuits when he can have sandwiches,' said George.
'He only eats dog biscuits when there's absolutely nothing else and he's so ravenous10 he can't helpeating them.'
They sat in the warm April sunshine, eating hungrily. There was orangeade to drink, cool anddelicious. Timmy wandered over to a rock-pool he knew, where rain-water collected, and couldbe heard lapping there.
'Hasn't he got a good memory?' said George proudly. 'It's ages since he was here - and yet heremembered that pool at once, when he felt thirsty.'
'It's funny Timmy hasn't found Uncle Quentin, isn't it?' said Dick, suddenly. 'I mean -- when wewere hunting for him, and got "Warm" you'd think Timmy would bark or scrape about orsomething. But he didn't.'
'I think it's jolly funny that Father can't be found anywhere,' said George. 'I do really. I can't thinkhow you can take it so calmly, Mother.'
'Well, dear, as I said before, I know your father better than you do,' said her mother. 'He'll turn upin his own good time. Why, I remember once when he was doing some sort of work in the19
stalactite caves at Cheddar, he disappeared in them for over a week - but he wandered out allright when he had finished his experiments.'
'It's very queer,' began Anne, and then stopped suddenly. A curious noise came to their ears - arumbling, grumbling11, angry noise, like a giant hidden dog, growling12 in fury. Then there was ahissing noise from the tower, and all the wires that waved at the top were suddenly lit up as if bylightning.
'There now I knew your father was somewhere about,' said George's mother. 'I heard that noisewhen I was here before -- but I couldn't make out where it came from.'
'Where did it come from?' said Dick. 'It sounded almost as if it was underneath13 us, but it couldn'thave been. Gracious, this is most mysterious.'
No more noises came. They each helped themselves to buns with jam in the middle. And thenAnne gave a squeal14 that made them all jump violently.
'Look! There's Uncle Quentin! Standing15 over there, near the tower. He's watching the jackdaws!
Wherever did he come from?'
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1
dungeon
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n.地牢,土牢 | |
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2
dungeons
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n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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3
perfectly
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adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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4
intervals
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n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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5
scorch
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v.烧焦,烤焦;高速疾驶;n.烧焦处,焦痕 | |
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6
outwards
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adj.外面的,公开的,向外的;adv.向外;n.外形 | |
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7
gust
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n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发 | |
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remarkably
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ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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9
munching
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v.用力咀嚼(某物),大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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10
ravenous
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adj.极饿的,贪婪的 | |
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11
grumbling
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adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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12
growling
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n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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13
underneath
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adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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14
squeal
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v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音 | |
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15
standing
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n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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