Chapter 8 A LAZY EVENING

　　Chapter 8 A LAZY EVENING
　　The five children and Mrs. Andrews stared in surprise at Mr. Andrews, when he shouted at them.
　　He repeated some of his words again.
　　'Go on! You tell me all you know. And then I'll tell you!'
　　Julian decided¹ to tell, very shortly, what had happened at the old railway yard, and whatWooden-Leg Sam had said. He made the tale sound rather bald and dull. Mr. Andrews listenedto it with the greatest interest, never once taking his eyes off Julian.
　　Then he sat back and drank a whole cup of strong tea in one gulp². The children waited for him tospeak, wondering what he had to say.
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　　'Now,' he said, making his voice sound important and impressive, 'you listen to me. Don't any ofyou ever go down to that yard again. It's a bad place.'
　　'Why?' asked Julian. 'What do you mean - a bad place?'
　　'Things have happened there - years and years ago,' said Mr. Andrews. 'Bad things. Accidents. Itwas all shut up after that and the tunnel wasn't used any more. See? Nobody was allowed to gothere, and nobody did, because they were scared. They knew it was a bad place, where badthings happen.'
　　Anne felt frightened. 'But Mr. Andrews - you don't mean there really are spook-trains, do you?'
　　she asked, her face rather pale.
　　Mr. Andrews pursed up his lips and nodded very solemnly indeed. 'That's just what I do mean.
　　Spook-trains come and go. Nobody knows why. But it's bad luck to be there when they come.
　　They might take you away, see?'
　　Julian laughed. 'Oh - not as bad as that, sir, surely! Anyway, you're frightening Anne, so let'schange the subject. I don't believe in spook-trains.'
　　But Mr. Andrews didn't seem to want to stop talking about the trains. 'Wooden-Leg Sam wasright to hide himself when they come along,' he said. 'I don't know how he manages to stay on ina bad place like that. Never knowing when a train is going to come creeping out of that tunnel inthe darkness.'
　　Julian was not going to have Anne frightened any more. He got up from the table and turned toMrs. Andrews.
　　'Thank you very much for a lovely day and lovely food!' he said. 'We must go now. Come along,Anne.'
　　'Wait a minute,' said Mr. Andrews. 'I just want to warn you all very solemnly that you mustn't godown to that railway yard. You hear me, Jock? You might never come back. Old Wooden-LegSam's mad, and well he may be, with spook-trains coming along in the dead of night. It's a badand dangerous place. You're not to go near it!'
　　'Well - thank you for the warning, sir,' said Julian, politely, suddenly disliking the small manwith the big nose very much indeed. 'We'll be going. Goodbye, Mrs. Andrews. Good-bye, Jock.
　　Come along tomorrow and have a picnic with us, will you?'
　　'Oh, thanks! Yes, I will,' said Jock. 'But wait a minute - aren't you going to take any food withyou?'
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　　'Yes, of course they are,' said Mrs. Andrews, getting up from her chair. She had been listening tothe conversation with a look of puzzled wonder on her face. She went out into the scullery,where there was a big, cold larder³. Julian followed her. He carried the two baskets.
　　'I'll give you plenty,' said Mrs. Andrews, putting loaves, butter, and cream cheese into thebaskets. 'I know what appetites you youngsters get. Now don't you be too scared at what myhusband's just been saying - I saw that little Anne was frightened. I've never heard of the spook-trains, and I've been here for three years. I don't reckon there's much in the tale, you know, for allmy husband's so set on warning you not to go down to the yard.'
　　Julian said nothing. He thought that Mr. Andrews had behaved rather oddly about the wholestory. Was he one of the kind of people who believed in all sorts of silly things and got scaredhimself? He looked weak enough! Julian found himself wondering how a nice woman like Mrs.
　　Andrews could have married such a poor specimen⁴ of a man. Still, he was a generous fellow,judging by all Jock had said, and perhaps Jock's mother felt grateful to him for giving her thefarm and the money to run it with. That must be it.
　　Julian thanked Mrs. Andrews, and insisted on paying her, though she would have given him thefood for nothing. She came into the kitchen with him and he saw that the others had already goneoutside. Only Mr. Andrews was left, eating ham and pickles⁵.
　　'Good-bye, sir,' said Julian politely.
　　'Good-bye. And you remember what I've told you, boy,' said Mr Andrews. 'Bad luck comes topeople who see the spook-trains - yes, terrible bad luck. You keep away from them.'
　　Julian gave a polite smile and went out. It was evening now and the sun was setting behind themoorland hills, though it still had a long way to go before it disappeared. He caught up with theothers. Jock was with them.
　　'I'm just coming half-way with you,' said Jock. 'I say! My stepfather was pretty scary about thosetrains, wasn't he?'
　　'I felt pretty scary too, when he was warning us about them,' said Anne. 'I shan't go down to thatyard again, ever. Will you, George?'
　　'If the boys did, I would,' said George, who didn't look very much as if she wanted to, all thesame.
　　'Are you going to the yard again?' asked Jock, eagerly. 'I'm not scared. Not a bit. It would be anadventure to go and watch for a spook-train.'
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　　'We might go,' said Julian. 'We'll take you with us, if we do. But the girls aren't to come.'
　　'Well, I like that!' said George angrily. 'As if you could leave me behind! When have I beenscared of anything? I'm as brave as any of you.'
　　'Yes. I know. You can come as soon as we find out it's all a silly story,' said Julian.
　　'I shall come whenever you go,' flashed back George. 'Don't you dare to leave me out. I'll neverspeak to you again if you do.'
　　Jock looked most surprised at this sudden flare-up of temper from George. He didn't know howfierce she could be!
　　'I don't see why George shouldn't come,' he said. 'I bet she'd be every bit as good as a boy. Ithought she was one when I first saw her.'
　　George gave him one of her sweetest smiles. He couldn't have said anything she liked better! ButJulian would not change his mind.
　　'I mean what I say. The girls won't come if we do go, so that's that. For one thing, Anne certainlywouldn't want to come, and if George came without her she'd be left all alone up at the camp.
　　She wouldn't like that.'
　　'She could have Mr. Luffy's company,' said George, looking sulky again.
　　'Idiot! As if we'd want to tell Mr. Luffy we were going off exploring deserted⁶ railway yardswatched over by a mad, one-legged fellow who swears there are spook-trains!' said Julian. 'He'dstop us going. You know what grown-ups are like. Or he'd come with us, which would be worse.'
　　'Yes. He'd see moths⁷ all the time, not spook-trains,' said Dick, with a grin.
　　'I'd better go back now,' said Jock. 'It's been a grand day. I'll come up tomorrow and picnic withyou. Good-bye.'
　　They called good-bye to Jock, and went on their way to the camp. It was quite nice to see itagain, waiting for them, the two tents flapping a little in the breeze. Anne pushed her waythrough the tent-flap, anxious to see that everything was untouched.
　　Inside the tent it was very hot. Anne decided to put the food they had brought under the bottomof the big gorse bush. It would be cooler there. She was soon busy about her little jobs. The boyswent down to see if Mr. Luffy was back, but he wasn't.
　　'Anne! We're going to bathe in the stream!' they called. 'We feel hot and dirty. Are you coming?
　　George is coming too.'
　　'No, I won't come,' Anne called back. 'I've got lots of things to do.'
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　　The boys grinned at one another. Anne did so enjoy 'playing house'. So they left her to it, andwent to the stream, from which yells and howls and shrieks⁸ soon came. The water was colderthan they expected, and nobody liked to lie down in it - but everyone was well and trulysplashed, and the icy-cold drops falling on their hot bodies made them squeal⁹ and yell. Timmydidn't in the least mind the iciness of the water. He rolled over and over in it, enjoying himself.
　　'Look at him, showing off!' said Dick. 'Aha, Timmy, if I could bathe in a fur coat like you, Iwouldn't mind the cold water either.'
　　'Woof,' said Timmy, and climbed up the shallow bank. He shook himself violently and thousandsof icy-cold silvery drops flew from him and landed on the three shivering children. They yelledand chased him away.
　　It was a pleasant, lazy evening. Mr. Luffy didn't appear at all. Anne got a light meal of bread andcream cheese and a piece of gingerbread. Nobody felt like facing another big meal that day. Theylay in the heather and talked comfortably.
　　'This is the kind of holiday I like,' said Dick.
　　'So do I,' said Anne. 'Except for the spook-trains. That's spoilt it a bit for me.'
　　'Don't be silly, Anne,' said George. 'If they are not real it's just a silly story, and if they are real,well, it might be an adventure.'
　　There was a little silence. 'Are we going down to the yard again?' asked Dick lazily.
　　'Yes, I think so,' said Julian. 'I'm not going to be scared off it by weird¹⁰ warnings from PaAndrews.'
　　'Then I vote we go one night and wait to see if a spook-train does come along,' said Dick.
　　'I shall come too,' said George.
　　'No, you won't,' said Julian. 'You'll stay with Anne.'
　　George said nothing, but everyone could feel mutiny in the air.
　　'Do we tell Mr. Luffy, or don't we?' said Dick.
　　'You know we've said we wouldn't,' said Julian. He yawned. 'I'm getting sleepy. And the sun hasgone, so it will soon be dark. I wonder where old Luffy is?'
　　'Do you think I'd better wait up and see if he wants something to eat?' said Anne, anxiously.
　　'No. Not unless you want to keep awake till midnight!' said Julian. 'He'll have got some fooddown in his tent. He'll be all right. I'm going to turn in. Coming, Dick?'
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　　The boys were soon in their sleeping-bags. The girls lay in the heather for a little while longer,listening to the lonely-sounding cry of the curlews going home in the dusk. Then they, too, wentinto their own tent.
　　Once safely in their sleeping-bags, the two boys felt suddenly wide awake. They began to talk inlow voices.
　　'Shall we take Jock down to see the yard in the daytime? Or shall we go one night and watch forthe Train from Nowhere?' said Julian.
　　'I vote we go and watch at night,' said Dick. 'We'll never see a spook-train in the daytime.
　　Wooden-Leg Sam is an interesting old chap, especially when he chucks cinders¹¹ about - but Idon't know that I like him enough to go and visit him again!'
　　'Well - if Jock badly wants to go and have a snoop round tomorrow morning when he comes,we'd better take him,' said Julian. 'We can always go one night, too, if we want to.'
　　'Right. We'll wait and see what Jock says,' said Dick. They talked a little longer and then feltsleepy. Dick was just dropping off when he heard something coming wriggling¹² through theheather. A head was stuck through the opening of the tent.
　　'If you dare to come in, I'll smack¹³ your silly face,' said Dick, thinking it was Timmy. 'I knowwhat you want, you perfect pest - you want to flop¹⁴ down on my tummy. You just turn yourselfround and go away! Do you hear?'
　　The head in the opening moved a little but didn't go away. Dick raised himself up on one elbow.
　　'Put one paw inside my tent and you'll be sent rolling down the hill!' he said. 'I love you verymuch in the daytime, but I'm not fond of you at night - not when I'm in a sleeping-bag anyway.
　　Scoot!'
　　The head made a peculiar¹⁵ apologetic sound. Then it spoke¹⁶. 'Er - you're awake, I see. Are all ofyou all right - the girls too? I'm only just back.'
　　'Gosh! It's Mr. Luffy,' said Dick, filled with horror. 'I say, sir - I'm most awfully¹⁷ sorry - I thoughtyou were Timmy, come to flop himself down on top of me, like he often does. So sorry, sir.'
　　'Don't mention it!' said the shadowy head with a chuckle¹⁸. 'Glad you're all right. See youtomorrow!'

1 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。

2 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

3 larder   

n.食物贮藏室，食品橱

参考例句：

• Please put the food into the larder.请将您地食物放进食物柜内。
• They promised never to raid the larder again.他们答应不再随便开食橱拿东西吃了。

4 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

5 pickles   

n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱

参考例句：

• Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

6 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

11 cinders   

n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道

参考例句：

• This material is variously termed ash, clinker, cinders or slag. 这种材料有不同的名称，如灰、炉渣、煤渣或矿渣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rake out the cinders before you start a new fire. 在重新点火前先把煤渣耙出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 wriggling   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕

参考例句：

• The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
• Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句

13 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

14 flop   

n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下

参考例句：

• The fish gave a flop and landed back in the water.鱼扑通一声又跳回水里。
• The marketing campaign was a flop.The product didn't sell.市场宣传彻底失败，产品卖不出去。

15 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

16 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。

17 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。

18 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。