Chapter 7 RICHARD TELLS A QUEER TALE

　　Chapter 7 RICHARD TELLS A QUEER TALE
　　Julian and George had managed to find a little farm-house tucked away in a hollow. A trio of dogs setup a terrific barking as they drew near. Timmy growled¹ and the hair rose up on his neck.
　　George put her hand on his collar.
　　'I won't go any nearer with Timmy,' she said. 'I don't want him to be set on by three dogs at once!'
　　So Julian went down to the farm-house by himself. The dogs made such a noise and looked so fiercethat he paused in the farm-yard. He was not in the least afraid of dogs, but these looked mostunpleasant, especially one big mongrel whose teeth were bared in a very threatening manner.
　　A voice called out to him. 'Clear off, you! We don't want no strangers here. When strangers come oureggs and hens go too!'
　　'Good evening,' called Julian, politely. 'We are four children camping out in the woods for the night.
　　Could you let us have any food? I'll pay well for it.'
　　There was a pause. The man pulled his head in at the window he was shouting from, and wasevidently speaking to someone inside.
　　He stuck it out again. 'I told you, we don't hold with strangers here, never did. We've only got plainbread and butter, and we can give you some hardboiled eggs and milk and a bit of ham.
　　That's all.'
　　'That'll do fine,' called Julian, cheerily. 'Just what we'd like. Shall I come and get it?'
　　'Not unless you want to be torn to pieces by them dogs,' came back the voice. 'You wait there. I'll beout when the eggs is done.'
　　'Blow,' said Julian, walking back to George. 'That means we'll have to kick our heels here for a while.
　　What an unpleasant fellow! I don't think much of his place, do you!'
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　　George agreed with him. It was ill-kept, the barn was falling to bits, rusty² bits of machinery³ lay hereand there in the thick grass. The three dogs kept up a continual barking and howling, but they did notcome any nearer. George still kept her hand firmly on Timmy. He was bristling⁴ all over!
　　'What a lonely place to live in,' said Julian. 'No house within miles, I should think. No telephone.
　　I wonder what they'd do if somebody was ill or had an accident and needed help.'
　　'I hope they'll hurry up with that food,' said George, getting impatient. 'It'll be dark soon. I'm gettinghungry too.'
　　At last somebody came out of the tumble-down farmhouse⁵. It was a bearded man, stooping and old,with long untidy hair and a pronounced limp. He had a grim and ugly face. Neither Julian nor Georgeliked him.
　　'Here you are,' he said, waving his three dogs away behind him. 'Get back, you!' He aimed a kick atthe nearest dog, and it yelped⁶ with pain.
　　'Oh don't!' said George. 'You hurt him.'
　　'He's my dog, ain't he?' said the man, angrily. 'You mind your own business!' He kicked out atanother dog and scowled⁷ at George.
　　'What about the food?' said Julian, holding out his hand, anxious to be gone before trouble camebetween Timmy and the other dogs. 'George, take Timmy back a bit. He's upsetting the dogs.'
　　'Well, I like that!' said George. 'It's those other dogs that are upsetting him.'
　　She dragged Timmy back a few yards, and he stood there with all his hackles up on his neck,growling⁸ in a horrible way.
　　Julian took the food which was done up carelessly in old brown paper. 'Thanks,' he said. 'Howmuch?'
　　'Five pounds,' said the old man, surprisingly.
　　'Don't be silly,' said Julian. He looked quickly at the food. 'I'll give you twenty-five pence for it, andthat's more than it's worth. There's hardly any ham.'
　　'I said five pounds,' said the man, sullenly⁹. Julian looked at him. 'He must be mad!' he thought.
　　He held out the food to the ugly old fellow.
　　'Well, take it back,' he said. 'I haven't got five pounds to give you for food. Twenty-five pence is themost I can spare. Good night.'
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　　The old man pushed the food back, and held out his other hand in silence. Julian fished in his pocketand brought out twenty-five pence. He placed them in the man's dirty hand, wondering why on earththe fellow had asked him for such a ridiculous sum before. The man put the money in his pocket.
　　'Clear off,' he said, suddenly, in a growling voice. 'We don't want strangers here, stealing our goods.
　　I'll set my dogs on you if you come again!'
　　Julian turned to go, half-afraid that the extraordinary old man would set his dogs on him. The fellowstood there in the half-dark, yelling abuse at Julian and George as they made their way out of thefarm-yard.
　　'Well! We'll never go there again!' said George, furious at their treatment. 'He's mad as a hatter.'
　　'Yes. And I don't much fancy his food, either,' said Julian. 'Still, it's all we'll get tonight!'
　　They followed Timmy back to the woods. They were glad they had him, because otherwise theymight have missed the way. But Timmy knew it. Once he had been along a certain route Timmyalways knew it again. He ran on now, sniffing¹⁰ here and there, occasionally waiting for the others tocatch him up.
　　Then he stiffened¹¹ and growled softly. George put her hand on his collar. Somebody must be coming.
　　Somebody was coming! It was Richard on his way to find them. He was still shouting and yelling,and the noise he made had already come to Timmy's sharp ears. It soon came to Julian's, andGeorge's too, as they stood there waiting.
　　'Julian! Where are you? Where's Timmy? I want Timmy! They're after me, I tell you; they're afterme.'
　　'Listen - it sounds like Richard? said Julian, startled. 'What in the world is he doing here? - andyelling like that too! Come on - we must find out. Something's happened. I hope Dick and Anne areall right.'
　　They ran up the path as fast as they could in the twilight¹². Soon they met Richard, who had nowstopped shouting, and was stumbling along, half-sobbing.
　　'Richard! What's up?' cried Julian. Richard ran to him and flung himself against him. Timmy did notgo to him, but stood there in surprise. George stared through the twilight, puzzled. What in the worldhad happened?
　　'Julian! Oh Julian! I'm scared stiff,' panted Richard, hanging on to Julian's arm.
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　　'Pull yourself together,' said Julian, in the calm voice that had made a good effect on Richard. 'I betyou're just making a silly fuss. What's happened? Did you find your aunt was out or something? Andcome racing¹³ after us?'
　　'My aunt's away,' said Richard, speaking in a calmer voice. 'She . . .'
　　'Away!' said Julian, in surprise. 'But didn't your mother know that when she said you could . . .?'
　　'I didn't ask my mother's permission to come,' cried Richard. 'I didn't even go back home when youthought I did! I just biked straight to Croker's Corner and waited for you. I wanted to come with you,you see - and I knew my mother wouldn't let me.'
　　This was said with a great air of bravado¹⁴. Julian was disgusted.
　　'I'm ashamed of you,' he said. 'Telling us lies like that!'
　　'I didn't know my aunt was away,' said Richard, all his sudden cockiness gone when he heard Julian'sscornful voice. 'I thought she'd be there - and I was going to tell her to telephone my mother and sayI'd gone for a trip with you. Then I thought I'd come biking after you and - and . .
　　.'
　　'And tell us your aunt was away, and could you come with us?' finished Julian, still scornfully. 'Adeceitful and ridiculous plan. I'd have sent you back at once; you might have known that.'
　　'Yes, I know. But I might have had a whole night camping out with you,' said Richard, in a smallvoice. 'I've never done things like that. I . . .'
　　'What I want to know is, what were you scared of when you came rushing along, yelling and crying,'
　　said Julian, impatiently.
　　'Oh Julian - it was horrible,' said Richard, and he suddenly clutched Julian's arm again. 'You see -I biked down back to my aunt's gate - and out into the lane - and I was just going along the way toMiddlecombe Woods when a car met me. And I saw who was in the car!'
　　'Well, who?' said Julian, feeling as if he could shake Richard.
　　'It was - it was Rooky!' said Richard, in a trembling voice.
　　'Who's he?' said Julian, and George gave an impatient click. Would Richard never tell his storyproperly?
　　'Don't you remember? - I told you about him. He was the fellow with thick lips and a huge nose thatmy father had for a bodyguard¹⁵ last year - and he chucked him out,' said Richard. 'He always sworehe'd have his revenge on my father - and on me too because I told tales about him to Dad 31and it was because of that he was sacked. So when I caught sight of him in the car I was terrified!'
　　'I see,' said Julian, seeing light. 'What happened then?'
　　'Rooky recognized me, and turned the car round and chased me on my bike,' said Richard, beginningto tremble again as he remembered that alarming ride. 'I pedalled for all I was worth -and when I got to Middlecombe Woods I rode into the path there, hoping the car couldn't follow.
　　It couldn't, of course - but the men leapt out - there were three of them, two I didn't know - and theychased me on foot. I pedalled and pedalled, and then I ran into a tree or something and fell off. Ichucked my bike into a bush, and ran into the thick undergrowth to hide.'
　　'Go on,' said Julian, as Richard paused. 'What next?'
　　'The men split up then - Rooky went one way to find me, and the other two went another way. Iwaited till I thought they were gone, then I crept out and tore down the path again, hoping to findyou. I wanted Timmy, you see, I thought he'd go for the men.'
　　Timmy growled. He certainly would have gone for them!
　　'Two of the men must have been hiding, waiting to hear me start up again,' went on Richard.
　　'And as soon as I began to run, they chased after me. I put them off the trail, though - I dodged¹⁶ andhid and hid and dodged - and then I came to Dick! He was mending a puncture¹⁷. But you weren't withhim - and it was you and Timmy I wanted - I knew the men would soon be catching¹⁸ me up, you see,so I tore on and on - and at last I found you. I've never been so glad in my life.'
　　It was a most extraordinary story - but Julian hardly paused to think about it. An alarming thoughthad come into his head. What about Dick and Anne? What would have happened to them if the menhad suddenly come across them?
　　'Quick!' he said to George. 'We must get back to the others! Hurry!'

1 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

3 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

4 bristling   

a.竖立的

参考例句：

• "Don't you question Miz Wilkes' word,'said Archie, his beard bristling. "威尔克斯太太的话，你就不必怀疑了。 "阿尔奇说。他的胡子也翘了起来。
• You were bristling just now. 你刚才在发毛。

5 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

6 yelped   

v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot. 马踩了他的脚痛得他喊叫起来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked. 鞭子一响，猎狗发出一阵嗥叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

8 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

9 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

10 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；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：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 stiffened   

加强的

参考例句：

• He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
• She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

12 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

13 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。

14 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

15 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

16 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 puncture   

n.刺孔，穿孔；v.刺穿，刺破

参考例句：

• Failure did not puncture my confidence.失败并没有挫伤我的信心。
• My bicycle had a puncture and needed patching up.我的自行车胎扎了个洞，需要修补。

18 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。