Chapter 16 IN THE TUNNEL AGAIN

　　Chapter 16 IN THE TUNNEL AGAIN
　　Jock was really enjoying himself at the camp. He had a picnic lunch with the others, and ate asmuch as they did, looking very happy. Mr. Luffy joined them, and Jock beamed at him, feelingthat he was a real friend.
　　'Where's George?' asked Mr. Luffy.
　　'Gone off by herself,' said Julian.
　　'Have you quarrelled, by any chance?' said Mr. Luffy.
　　'A bit,' said Julian. 'We have to let George get over it by herself, Mr. Luffy. She's like that.'
　　'Where's she gone?' said Mr. Luffy, helping¹ himself to a tomato. 'Why isn't she back to dinner?'
　　'She's taken hers with her,' said Anne. 'I feel a bit worried about her, somehow. I hope she's allright.'
　　Mr. Luffy looked alarmed. 'I feel a bit worried myself,' he said. 'Still, she's got Timmy with her.'
　　'We're going off on a bit of exploring,' said Julian, when they had all finished eating. 'What areyou going to do, Mr. Luffy?'
　　'I think I'll come with you,' said Mr. Luffy, unexpectedly. The children's hearts sank. Theycouldn't possibly go exploring for spook-trains in the tunnel if Mr. Luffy was with them.
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　　'Well - I don't think it will be very interesting for you, sir,' said Julian, rather feebly. However,Mr. Luffy took the hint and realised he wasn't wanted that afternoon.
　　'Right,' he said. 'In that case I'll stay here and mess about.'
　　The children sighed with relief. Anne cleared up, with Jock helping her, and then they calledgood-bye to Mr. Luffy and set off, taking their tea with them.
　　Jock was full of excitement. He was so pleased to be with the others, and he kept thinking ofsleeping in the camp that night - what fun it would be! Good old Mr. Luffy, taking his side likethat. He bounded after the others joyfully² as they went off to the old railway yard.
　　Wooden-Leg Sam was pottering about there as usual. They waved to him, but he didn't waveback. Instead he shook his fist at them and tried to bawl³ in his husky voice: 'You clear out!
　　Trespassing, that's what you are. Don't you come down here or I'll chase you!'
　　'Well, we won't go down then,' said Dick, with a grin. 'Poor old man - thinking of chasing uswith that wooden leg of his. We won't give him the chance. We'll just walk along here, climbdown the lines and walk up them to the tunnel.'
　　Which is what they did, much to the rage of poor Sam. He yelled till his voice gave out, but theytook no notice, and walked quickly up the lines. The mouth of the tunnel looked very round andblack as they came near.
　　'Now we'll jolly well walk right through this tunnel and see where that spook-train is that cameout of it the other night,' said Julian. 'It didn't come out the other end, so it must be somewhere inthe middle of the tunnel.'
　　'If it's a real spook-train, it might completely disappear,' said Anne, not liking⁴ the look of thedark tunnel at all. The others laughed.
　　'It won't have disappeared,' said Dick. 'We shall come across it somewhere, and we'll examine itthoroughly and try and find out exactly what it is, and why it comes and goes in such amysterious manner.'
　　They walked into the black tunnel, and switched on their torches, which made little gleamingpaths in front of them. They walked up the middle of one pair of lines, Julian in front keeping asharp look-out for anything in the shape of a train!
　　The lines ran on and on. The children's voices sounded weird⁵ and echoing in the long tunnel.
　　Anne kept close to Dick, and half wished she hadn't come. Then she remembered that Georgehad called her a coward, and she put up her head, determined⁶ not to show that she was scared.
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　　Jock talked almost without stopping. I've never done anything like this in my life. I call this aproper adventure, hunting for spook-trains in a dark tunnel. It makes me feel nice and shivery allover. I do hope we find the train. It simply must be here somewhere!'
　　They walked on and on and on. But there was no sign of any train. They came to where thetunnel forked into the second one, that used to run to Roker's Vale. Julian flashed his torch on theenormous brick wall that stretched across the second tunnel.
　　'Yes, it's well and truly bricked up,' he said. 'So that only leaves this tunnel to explore. Come on.'
　　They went on again, little knowing that George and Timmy were behind that brick wall, hiddenin a truck of the spook-train itself! They walked on and on down the lines, and found nothinginteresting at all.
　　They saw a little round circle of bright light some way in front of them. 'See that?' said Julian.
　　'That must be the end of this tunnel - the opening that goes into Kilty's Yard. Well, if the trainisn't between here and Kilty's Yard, it's gone!'
　　In silence they walked down the rest of the tunnel, and came out into the open air. Workshopswere built all over Kilty's Yard. The entrance to the tunnel was weed-grown and neglected.
　　Weeds grew even across the lines there.
　　'Well, no train has been out of this tunnel here for years,' said Julian, looking at the thick weeds.
　　'The wheels would have chopped the weeds to bits.'
　　'It's extraordinary,' said Dick, puzzled. 'We've been right through the tunnel and there's no trainthere at all, yet we know it goes in and out of it. What's happened to it?'
　　'It is a spook-train,' said Jock, his face red with excitement. 'Must be. It only exists at night, andthen comes out on its lines, like it used to do years ago.'
　　'I don't like thinking that,' said Anne, troubled. 'It's a horrid⁷ thought.'
　　'What are we going to do now?' Julian asked. 'We seem to have come to a blank. No train,nothing to see, empty tunnel. What a dull end to an adventure.'
　　'Let's walk back all the way again,' said Jock - he wanted to squeeze as much out of thisadventure as he could. 'I know we shan't see the train this time any more than we did the lasttime, but you never know!'
　　'I'm not coming through that tunnel again,' said Anne. 'I want to be out in the sun. I'll walk overthe top of the tunnel, along the path there that Julian took the other night and you three can walkback, and meet me at the other end.'
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　　'Right,' said Julian and the three boys disappeared into the dark tunnel. Anne ran up the path thatled alongside the top of it. How good it was to be in the open air again! That horrid tunnel! Sheran along cheerfully, glad to be out in the sun.
　　She got to the other end of the tunnel quite quickly, and sat down on the path above the yard towait for the others. She looked for Wooden-Leg Sam. He was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps hewas in his little hut.
　　She hadn't been there for more than two minutes when something surprising happened. A carcame bumping slowly down the rough track to the yard! Anne sat up and watched. A man gotout - and Anne's eyes almost fell out of her head. Why, it was - surely it was Mr. Andrews,Jock's stepfather!
　　He went over to Sam's hut and threw open the door. Anne could hear the sound of voices. Thenshe heard another noise - the sound of a heavy lorry coming. She saw it come cautiously downthe steep, rough track. It ran into an old tumbledown shed and stayed there. Then three men cameout and Anne stared at them. Where had she seen them before?
　　'Of course! They're the farm labourers at Jock's farm!' she thought. 'But what are they doinghere? How very strange!'
　　Mr. Andrews joined the men and, to Anne's dismay, they began to walk up the lines to thetunnel! Her heart almost stopped. Goodness, Julian, Dick and Jock were still in that tunnel,walking through it. They would bump right into Mr. Andrews and his men - and then whatwould happen? Mr. Andrews had warned them against going there, and had ordered Jock not togo.
　　Anne stared at the four men walking into the far-off mouth of the tunnel. What could she do?
　　How could she warn the boys? She couldn't! She would just have to stay there and wait for themto come out - probably chased by a furious Mr. Andrews and the other men. Oh dear, dear - ifthey were caught they would probably all get an awful telling off! What could she do?
　　'I can only wait,' thought poor Anne. 'There's nothing else to do. Oh, do come, Julian, Dick andJock. I daren't do anything but wait for you.'
　　She waited and waited. It was now long past tea-time. Julian had the tea, so there was nothing forAnne to eat. Nobody came out of the tunnel. Not a sound was heard. Anne at last decided⁸ to godown and ask Wooden-Leg Sam a few questions. So, rather afraid, the girl set off down to theyard.
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　　Sam was in his hut, drinking cocoa, and looking very sour. Something had evidently gonewrong. When he saw Anne's shadow across the doorway⁹ he got up at once, shaking his fist.
　　'What, you children again! You went into that tunnel this afternoon, and so I went up andtelephoned Mr. Andrews to come and catch you all, poking¹⁰ your noses in all the time? How didyou get out of that tunnel? Are the others with you? Didn't Mr. Andrews catch you, eh?'
　　Anne listened to all this in horror. So old Sam had actually managed to telephone Mr. Andrews,and tell tales on them - so that Jock's stepfather and his men had come to catch them. This wasworse than ever.
　　'You come in here,' said Sam suddenly, and he darted¹¹ his big arm at her. 'Come on. I don't knowwhere the others are, but I'll get one of you!'
　　Anne gave a scream and ran away at top speed. Wooden-Leg Sam went after her for a few yardsand then gave it up. He bent¹² down and picked up a handful of cinders¹³. A shower of them fell allround Anne, and made her run faster than ever.
　　She tore up the path to the heather, and was soon on the moors¹⁴ again, panting and sobbing¹⁵. 'Oh,Julian! Oh, Dick! What's happened to you? Oh, where's George? If only she would come home,she'd be brave enough to look for them, but I'm not. I must tell Mr. Luffy. He'll know what todo!' She ran on and on, her feet catching¹⁶ continually in the tufts of thick heather. She kept fallingover and scrambling¹⁷ up again. She now had only one idea in her mind - to find Mr. Luffy and tellhim every single thing! Yes, she would tell him about the spook-trains and all. There wassomething strange and important about the whole thing now, and she wanted a grown-up's help.
　　She staggered on and on. 'Mr. Luffy! Oh, Mr. Luffy, where are you? MR. LUFFY!'
　　But no Mr. Luffy answered her. She came round the gorse bushes she thought were the onessheltering the camp - but, alas¹⁸, the camp was not there. Anne had lost her way!
　　'I'm lost,' said Anne, the tears running down her cheeks. 'But I mustn't get scared. I must try tofind the right path now. Oh, dear, I'm quite lost! Mr. LUFFY!'
　　Poor Anne. She stumbled on blindly, hoping to come to the camp, calling every now and again.
　　'Mr. Luffy. Can you hear me? MR. LUFFFFFFFY!'

1 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。

2 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

3 bawl   

v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮

参考例句：

• You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫，大家都能听见你。
• Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。

4 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

5 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。

6 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。

7 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

8 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。

9 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

10 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

11 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

13 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》

14 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

16 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

17 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。