Chapter Six UP ON THE CLIFF

　　Chapter Six UP ON THE CLIFF
　　THE next day was rainy. The four children put on their macintoshes and sou'-westers and wentout for a walk with Timmy. They never minded the weather. In fact Julian said that he reallyliked the feel of the wind and rain buffeting¹ against his face.
　　'We forgot that Uncle Quentin couldn't flash to us if the weather wasn't sunny!' said Dick. 'Doyou suppose he'll find some way to signal instead?'
　　'No,' said George. 'He just won't bother. He thinks we're awful fussers anyway, I'm sure. We'llhave to watch at half past ten tonight to see if he signals.'
　　'I say! Shall I be able to stay up till then?' said Anne, pleased.
　　'I shouldn't think so,' said Dick. 'I expect Julian and I will stay up - but you kids will have to buzzoff to bed!'
　　George gave him a punch. 'Don't call us "kids"! I'm almost as tall as you are now.'
　　'It's not much use waiting about till half past ten now to see if Uncle signals to us in any way, isit?' said Anne. 'Let's go up on the cliff - it'll be lovely and blowy. Timmy will like that. I love tosee him racing² along in the wind, with his ears blown back straight!'
　　'Woof,' said Timmy.
　　'He says he likes to see you with yours blown back too,' said Julian, gravely.
　　Anne gave a squeal³ of laughter. 'You really are an idiot, Ju! Come on - let's take the cliff-path!'
　　They went up the cliff. At the top it was very windy indeed. Anne's sou'-wester was blown to theback of her head. The rain stung their cheeks and made them gasp⁴.
　　'I should think we must be about the only people out this morning!' gasped⁵ George.
　　'Well, you're wrong,' said Julian. 'There are two people coming towards us!'
　　So there were. They were a man and a boy, both well wrapped up in macintoshes and sou'-westers. Like the children, they too wore high rubber boots.
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　　The children took a look at them as they passed. The man was tall and well built, with shaggyeyebrows and a determined⁷ mouth. The boy was about sixteen, also tall and well built. He wasnot a bad-looking boy, but he had rather a sullen⁸ expression.
　　'Good morning,' said the man, and nodded. 'Good morning,' chorused the children, politely. Theman looked them over keenly, and then he and the boy went on.
　　'Wonder who they are?' said George. 'Mother didn't say there were any new people here.'
　　'Just walked over from the next village, I expect,' said Dick.
　　They went on for some way. 'We'll walk to the coastguard's cottage and then go back,' saidJulian. 'Hie, Tim, don't go so near the cliff!'
　　The coastguard lived in a little whitewashed⁹ cottage on the cliff, facing the sea. Two othercottages stood beside it, also whitewashed. The children knew the coastguard well. He was a red-faced, barrel-shaped man, fond of joking.
　　He was nowhere to be seen when they came to his cottage. Then they heard his enormous voicesinging a sea-shanty in the little shed behind. They went to find him.
　　'Hallo, coastguard,' said Anne.
　　He looked up and grinned at the children. He was busy making something.
　　'Halo to you!' he said. 'So you're back again, are you? Bad pennies, the lot of you -- alwaysturning up when you're not wanted!'
　　'What are you making?' asked Anne.
　　'A windmill for my young grandson,' said the coastguard, showing it to Anne. He was veryclever at making toys.
　　'Oh, it's lovely,' said Anne, taking it in her hands. 'Does the windmill part go round -- oh yes --it's super, coastguard!'
　　'I've been making quite a bit of money out of my toys,' said the old fellow, proudly. 'I've gotsome new neighbours in the next cottage - man and a boy - and the man's been buying all thetoys I make. Seems to have a lot of nephews and nieces! He gives me good prices too.'
　　'Oh - would that be the man and the boy we met, I wonder?' said Dick. 'Both tall, and well built -and the man had shaggy eyebrows⁶.'
　　'That's right,' said the coastguard, trimming a bit of his windmill. 'Mr. Curton and his son. Theycame here some weeks ago. You ought to get to know the son, Master Julian. He's about yourage, I should think. Must be pretty lonely for him up here?'
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　　'Doesn't he go to any school?' asked Julian.
　　'No. He's been ill, so his father said. Got to have plenty of sea-air and that sort of thing. Not a badsort of boy. Comes and helps me with my toys sometimes. And he likes to mess about with mytelescope.'
　　'I do too,' said George. 'I love looking through your telescope. Can I look through now? I'd liketo see if I can spot Kirrin Island.'
　　'Well, you won't see much this weather,' said the coast guard. 'You wait a few minutes. See thatbreak in the clouds? Well, it'll clear in a few minutes, and you'll be able to see your island easily.
　　That's a funny thing your father's built there, Miss. Part of his work, I suppose.'
　　'Yes,' said George. 'Oh Timmy - look what he's done, coastguard - he's upset that tin of paint.
　　Bad boy, Timmy!'
　　'It's not my tin,' said the coastguard. 'It's a tin belonging to that young fellow next door. I told youhe comes in to help me sometimes. He brought in that tin to help paint a little dolls' house I madefor his father.'
　　'Oh dear,' said George, in dismay. 'Do you think he'll be cross when he knows Timmy spilt it?'
　　'Shouldn't think so,' said the coastguard. 'He's a queer boy though - quiet and a bit sulky. Not abad boy, but doesn't seem very friendly like.'
　　George tried to clear up the mess of paint. Timmy had some on his paws, and made a littlepattern of green paw-marks as he pattered about the shed.
　　'I'll tell the boy I'm sorry, if I meet him on the way back,' she said. 'Timmy, if you dare to go nearany more tins of paint you shan't sleep on my bed tonight.'
　　'The weather's a bit clearer now,' said Dick. 'Can we have a squint¹⁰ through the telescope,coastguard?'
　　'Let me see my island first,' said George at once. She tilted¹¹ the telescope in the direction of KirrinIsland. Slit¹² looked through it earnestly, and a smile came over her face. 'Yes, I can see it clearly.
　　There's the tower Father has had built. I can even see the glass room quite clearly, and there'snobody in it. No sign of Father anywhere.'
　　Everyone had a turn at looking through the telescope. It was fascinating to see the islandappearing so close. On a clear day it would be even easier to see all the details.
　　'I can see a rabbit scampering,' said Anne, when her turn came.
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　　'Don't you let that dog of yours squint through the telescope then,' said the coastguard at once.
　　'He'll try to get down it after that rabbit!' Timmy cocked his ears up at the mention of the wordrabbit. He looked all round and sniffed¹⁴. No, there was no rabbit. Then why did people mentionthem?
　　'We'd better go now,' said Julian. 'We'll be up here again sometime, and we'll come and see whattoys you've done. Thanks for letting us look through the telescope.'
　　'You're welcome!' said the old fellow. 'You're not likely to wear it out through looking! Comealong any time you want to use it.'
　　They said good-bye and went off, Timmy capering¹⁵ round them.
　　'Couldn't we see Kirrin Island well!' said Anne. 'I wished I could see where your father was,George. Wouldn't it be fun if we spotted¹⁶ him just coming out of his hiding-place?'
　　The four children had discussed this problem a good deal since they had left the island. Itpuzzled them very much indeed. How did it happen that George's father knew a hiding-place thatthey didn't know? Why, they had been over every inch of the island! It must be quite a bighiding-place too, if he had got all his stuff for his experiments with him. According to George'smother, there had been quite a lot of this, to say nothing of stores of food.
　　'If Father knew a place I didn't know, and never told me about it, I think he's jolly mean,' Georgesaid half a dozen times. 'I do really. It's my island!'
　　'Well, he'll probably tell you when he's finished the work he's on,' said Julian. 'Then you'll know.
　　We can all go and explore it then, wherever it is.'
　　After they left the coastguard's cottage, they turned their steps home. They made their way alongthe cliff, and then saw the boy they had met before. He was standing¹⁷ on the path looking out tosea. The man was not with him.
　　He turned as they came up and gave them a pale kind of smile. 'Hallo! Been up to see thecoastguard?'
　　'Yes,' said Julian. 'Nice old fellow, isn't he?'
　　'I say,' said George, 'I'm so sorry, but my dog upset a tin of green paint, and the coastguard said itwas yours. Can I pay you for it, please?'
　　'Goodness, no!' said the boy. 'I don't mind. There wasn't much of it left anyway. That's a nice dogof yours.'
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　　'Yes, he is,' said George, warmly. 'Best dog in the world. I've had him for years, but he's still asyoung as ever. Do you like dogs?'
　　'Oh yes,' said the boy, but he made no move to pat Timmy or fuss him, as most people did. AndTimmy did not run round the boy and sniff¹³ at him as he usually did when he met anyone new. Hejust stood by George, his tail neither up nor down.
　　'That's an interesting little island,' said the boy, pointing to Kirrin. 'I wish I could go there.'
　　'It's my island,' said George, proudly. 'My very own.'
　　'Really?' said the boy, politely. 'Could you let me go over one day then?'
　　'Well - not just at present,' said George. 'You see, my father's there working - he's a scientist.'
　　'Really?' said the boy again. 'Er - has he got some new experiment on hand, then?'
　　'Yes,' said George.
　　'Ah - and that queer tower is something to do with it, I suppose,' said the boy, looking interestedfor the first time. 'When will his experiment be finished?'
　　'What's that to do with you?' said Dick, suddenly.
　　The others stared at him in surprise. Dick sounded rather rude, and it was not like him.
　　'Oh nothing!' said the boy, hastily. 'I only thought that if his work will, soon be finished, perhapsyour brother would take me over to his island!'
　　George couldn't help feeling pleased. This boy thought she was a boy! George was alwaysgracious to people who made the mistake of thinking she was a boy.
　　'Of course I'll take you!' she said. 'It shouldn't be long before I do - the experiment is nearlydone.'

1 buffeting   

振动

参考例句：

• The flowers took quite a buffeting in the storm. 花朵在暴风雨中备受摧残。
• He's been buffeting with misfortunes for 15 years. 15年来，他与各种不幸相博斗。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 squeal   

v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音

参考例句：

• The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
• There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

4 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

5 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

9 whitewashed   

粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
• The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形，状近葫芦，外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

10 squint   

v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的

参考例句：

• A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
• The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。

11 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

12 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

13 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

14 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 capering   

v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的现在分词 )；蹦蹦跳跳

参考例句：

• The lambs were capering in the fields. 羊羔在地里欢快地跳跃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boy was Capering dersively, with obscene unambiguous gestures, before a party of English tourists. 这个顽童在一群英国旅游客人面前用明显下流的动作可笑地蹦蹦跳跳着。 来自辞典例句

16 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

17 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。