Chapter Fourteen A SHOCK FOR GEORGE

　　Chapter Fourteen A SHOCK FOR GEORGE
　　DICK looked at George. He didn't think it would matter telling Martin where Timmy was, solong as George didn't give the reason why he had been left on the island.
　　But George was going to hold her tongue now. She looked at Martin and spoke¹ quite airily. 'Oh,Timmy? We left him behind today. He's all right.'
　　'Gone out shopping with your mother, I suppose, hoping for a visit to the butcher's!' said Martin.
　　This was the first joke he had ever made to the children, and though it was rather a feeble onethey laughed heartily². Martin looked pleased. He began to try and think of another little joke,while his deft³ hands put reds and blues⁴ and greens on the little wooden figures.
　　They all had a huge tea. Then, when the clock said a quarter to six the girls carried the paintedfigures carefully back to the coastguard, who was delighted with them. Dick took back the littletins of paint, and the brush, stuck in a jar of turpentine.
　　'Well now, he's clever that boy, isn't he?' said the coastguard, eyeing the figures in delight.
　　'Looks sort of miserable⁵ and sulky -- but he's not a bad sort of boy!'
　　'I'll just have one more squint⁶ through your telescope,' said George, 'before it gets too dark.' Shetilted it towards her island. But once more there was no sign of Timmy, or of her father either.
　　She looked for some time, and then went to join the others. She shook her head as they raisedtheir eyebrows⁷ inquiringly.
　　The girls washed up the tea-things, and cleared away neatly⁸. Nobody felt as if they wanted towait and see Mr. Curton. They didn't feel as if they liked him very much, now they knew howhard he was on Martin.
　　'Thanks for a lovely afternoon,' said Martin, limping to the door with them. 'I enjoyed my spot ofpainting, to say nothing of your company.'
　　'You stick out for your painting,' said Julian. 'If it's the thing you've got to do, and you know it,you must go all out for it. See?'
　　'Yes,' said Martin, and his face went sullen⁹ again. 'But there are things that make it difficult --things I can't very well tell you. Oh well - never mind! I dare say it will all come right one day,and I'll be a famous artist with pictures in the academy!'
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　　'Come on, quickly,' said Dick, in a low voice to Julian. 'There's his father coming back!' Theyhurried off down the cliff-path, seeing Mr. Curton out of the corner of their eyes, coming up theother path.
　　'Horrid man!' said Anne. 'Forbidding Martin to do what he really longs to do. And he seemed sonice and jolly and all-over-us, didn't he?'
　　'Very all-over-us,' said Dick, smiling at Anne's new word. 'But there are a lot of people like that -- one thing at home and quite another outside!'
　　'I hope Mr. Curton hasn't been trying to explore that passage in the side of the quarry¹⁰,' saidGeorge, looking back, and watching the man walk up to his back door. 'It would be too bad if hebutted in and spoilt our fun. I mean -- there may be nothing to discover at all -- but it will be funeven finding there is nothing.'
　　'Very involved!' said Dick, with a grin. 'But I gather what you mean. I say, that was a good tea,wasn't it?'
　　'Yes,' said George, looking all round her in an absent-minded manner.
　　'What's up?' said Dick. 'What are you looking like that for?'
　　'Oh - how silly of me - I was just looking for Timmy,' said George. 'You know, I'm so used tohim always being at my heels or somewhere near that I just can't get used to him not being here.'
　　'Yes, I feel a bit like that too,' said Julian. 'As if there was something missing all the time. Goodold Tim! We shall miss him awfully¹¹, all of us -- but you most of all, George.'
　　'Yes. Especially on my bed at night,' said George. 'I shan't be able to go to sleep for ages andages.'
　　'I'll wrap a cushion up in a rug and plonk it down on your feet when you're in bed,' said Dick.
　　'Then it will feel like Timmy!'
　　'It won't! Don't be silly,' said George, rather crossly. And anyway it wouldn't smell like him. He'sgot a lovely smell.'
　　'Yes, a Timmy-smell,' agreed Anne. 'I like it too.'
　　The evening went very quickly, playing the endless game of monopoly again. Julian lay in bedlater, watching for, his uncle's signal. Needless to say, George was at the window too! Theywaited for half past ten.
　　'Now!' said Julian. And just as he spoke there came 'the first flash from the lantern in the tower.
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　　'One,' counted George, 'two, three, four, five, six!' She waited anxiously to see if there were anymore, but there weren't.
　　'Now you can go to bed in peace,' said Julian to George. 'Your father is all right, and that means'that Timmy is all right too. Probably he has remembered to give Timmy a good supper, and hashad some himself as well!'
　　'Well, Timmy would soon remind him, if he forgot to feed him, that's one thing,' said George,slipping out of the room. 'Good night, Dick; good night, Ju! See you in the morning.'
　　And back she went to her own bed and snuggled down under the sheets. It was queer not to haveTimmy on her feet. She tossed about for a while, missing him, and then fell asleep quitesuddenly. She dreamed of her island. She was there with Timmy -- and they were discoveringingots of gold down in the dungeon¹². What a lovely dream!
　　Next morning dawned bright and sunny again. The April sky was as blue as the forget-me-notscoming out in the garden. George gazed out of the dining-room window at breakfast-time,wondering if Timmy was run-fling about her island.
　　'Dreaming about Tim?' said Julian, with a laugh. 'Never mind -- you'll soon see him, George.
　　Another hour or so and you'll feast your eyes on him through the coastguard's telescope!'
　　'Do you really think you'll be able to make out Tim, if he's in the tower with your father at halfpast ten?' asked her mother. 'I shouldn't have thought you would be able to.'
　　'Yes, I shall, Mother,' said George. 'It's a very powerful telescope, you know. I'll just go up andmake my bed, then I'll go up the cliff-path. Anyone else coming?'
　　'I want Anne to help me with some turning out,' said her mother. 'I'm looking out some oldclothes to give to the vicar's wife for her jumble¹³ sale. You don't mind helping¹⁴ me, Anne, do you?'
　　'No, I'd like to,' said Anne at once. 'What are the boys going to do?'
　　'I think I must do a bit of my holiday work this morning,' said Julian, with a sigh. 'I don't want to- but I've kept on putting it off. You'd better do some too, Dick. You know what you are -- you'llleave it all to the last day if you're not careful!'
　　'All right. I'll do some too,' said Dick. 'You won't mind scooting up to the coastguard's cottagealone, will you, George?'
　　'Not a bit,' said George. 'I'll come back just after half past ten, as soon as I've spotted¹⁵ Timmy andFather.' She disappeared to make her bed. Julian and Dick went to fetch some books. Anne went62
　　to make her bed too, and then came down to help her aunt. In a few minutes George yelled good-bye and rushed out of the house.
　　'What a hurricane!' said her mother. 'It seems as if George never walks if she can possibly run.
　　Now Anne - put the clothes in three piles -- the very old - the not so old -- and the quite nice.'
　　Just before half past ten Julian went up to his window to watch for the signal from his uncle. Hewaited patiently. A few seconds after the hall-hour the flashes came - one, two, three, four, five,six - good! Now George would settle down for the day. Perhaps they could go to the quarry inthe afternoon. Julian went back to his books and was soon buried in them, with Dick grunting¹⁶ byhis side.
　　At about five minutes to eleven there was the sound of running feet and panting breath. Georgeappeared at the door of the sitting-room¹⁷ where the two boys were doing their work. They lookedup.
　　George was red in the face, and her hair was windblown. She fought to get her breath enough tospeak. 'Julian! Dick! Something's happened -- Timmy wasn't there!'
　　'What do you mean?' said Julian in surprise. George slumped¹⁸ down on a chair, still panting. Theboys could see that she was trembling too.
　　'It's serious, Julian! I tell you Timmy wasn't in the tower when the signals came!'
　　'Well -- it only means that your absent-minded father forgot to take him up with him,' said Julian,in his most sensible voice. 'What did you see?'
　　'I had my eye glued to the telescope,' said George, 'and suddenly I saw someone come into thelittle glass room at the top. I looked for Timmy, of course, at once - but I tell you, he wasn'tthere! The six flashes came, the man disappeared -- and that was all. No Timmy! Oh I do feel sodreadfully worried, Julian.'
　　'Well, don't be,' said Julian, soothingly¹⁹. 'Honestly, I'm sure that's what happened. Your fatherforgot about Timmy. Anyway, if you saw him, obviously things are all right.'
　　'I'm not thinking about Father!' cried George. 'He must be all right if he flashed his signals -- I'mthinking about Timmy. Why, even if Father forgot to take him, he'd go with him. You knowthat!'
　　'Your father might have shut the door at the bottom and prevented Timmy from going up,' saidDick.
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　　'He might,' said George, frowning. She hadn't thought of that. 'Oh dear - now I shall worry allday long. Why didn't I stay with Timmy? What shall I do now?'
　　'Wait till tomorrow morning,' said Dick. 'Then probably you'll see old Tim all right.'
　　'Tomorrow morning! Why, that's ages away!' said poor George. She put her head in her handsand groaned²⁰. 'Oh, nobody understands how much I love Timmy. You would perhaps if you had adog of your own, Julian. It's an awful feeling, really. Oh Timmy, are you all right?'
　　'Of course he's all right,' said Julian, impatiently. 'Do pull yourself together, George.'
　　'I feel as if something's wrong,' said George, looking obstinate²¹. 'Julian -- I think I'd better goacross to the island.'
　　'No,' said Julian at once. 'Don't be idiotic²², George.' 'Nothing is wrong, except that your father'sbeen forgetful. He's sent his O.K. signal. That's enough! You're not to go and create a scene overthere with him. That would be disgraceful!'
　　'Well - I'll try and be patient,' said George, unexpectedly meek²³. She got up, looking, worried.
　　Julian spoke in a kinder voice.
　　'Cheer up, old thing! You do like to go off the deep end, don't you?'

1 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。

2 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

3 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

6 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。

7 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。

8 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

9 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。

10 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。

11 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

12 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

13 jumble   

vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆

参考例句：

• Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
• The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 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。

16 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。

17 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

18 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

19 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

22 idiotic   

adj.白痴的

参考例句：

• It is idiotic to go shopping with no money.去买东西而不带钱是很蠢的。
• The child's idiotic deeds caused his family much trouble.那小孩愚蠢的行为给家庭带来许多麻烦。

23 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。