The five curled up in their holes once more. Dick felt his jaw-bone. 'That ragamuffin of a girl gave mea good bang,' he said, half-admiringly. 'Little demon1, isn't she! A bit of live wire!'
'I can't see why Julian wouldn't let me have a go at her,' said George sulkily. 'It was my hole she satin - she meant to be annoying! How dare she?'
'Girls can't go about fighting,' said Dick. 'Don't be an ass2, George. I know you make out you're asgood as a boy, and you dress like a boy and climb trees as well as I can - but it's really time you gaveup thinking you're as good as a boy.'
This sort of speech didn't please George at all. 'Well, anyway, I don't burst into howls if I'm beaten,'
she said, turning her back on Dick.
'No, you don't,' agreed Dick. 'You've got as much spunk4 as any boy - much more than that other kidhad. I'm sorry I sent her flying now. It's the first time I've ever hit a girl, and I hope it'll be the last.'
'I'm jolly glad you hit her,' said George. 'She's a nasty little beast. If I see her again I'll tell her what Ithink of her.'
'No, you won't,' said Dick. 'Not if I'm there, anyway. She had her punishment when I sent her flying.'
'Do shut up arguing, you two,' said Anne, and sent a shower of sand over them. 'George, don't go intoone of your moods, for goodness' sake - we don't want to waste a single day of this two weeks.'
'Here's the ice-cream man,' said Julian, sitting up and feeling for the waterproof5 pocket in the belt ofhis bathing trunks. 'Let's have one each.'
'Woof,' said Timmy, and thumped6 his tail on the sand.
10
'Yes, all right - one for you, too,' said Dick. 'Though what sense there is in giving you one, I don'tknow. One lick, one swallow, and it's gone. It might be a fly for all you taste of it.'
Timmy gulped7 his ice-cream down at once and then went into George's hole, squeezing beside her,hoping for a lick of her ice, too. But she pushed him away.
'No, Timmy. Ice-cream's wasted on you! You can't even have a lick of mine. And do get back intoyour hole - you're making me frightfully hot.'
Timmy obligingly got out and went into Anne's hole. She gave him a little bit of her ice-cream.
He sat panting beside her, looking longingly8 at the rest of the ice. 'You're melting it with your hotbreath,' said Anne. 'Go into Julian's hole now!'
The five of them had a thoroughly9 lazy morning. As none of them had a watch they went in far tooearly for lunch, and were shooed out again by Joan.
'How you can come in at ten past twelve for a one o'clock lunch, I don't know!' she scolded. 'I haven'teven finished the housework yet.'
'Well - it felt like one o'clock,' said Anne, disappointed to find there was so long to wait. Still, whenlunch-time came, Joan really did them well.
'Cold ham and tongue - cold baked beans - beetroot - crisp lettuce10 straight from the garden -heaps of tomatoes - cucumber - hard-boiled egg!' recited Anne in glee.
'Just the kind of meal I like,' said Dick, sitting down. 'What's for pudding?'
'There it is on the sideboard,' said Anne. 'Wobbly blancmange, fresh fruit salad and jelly. I'm glad I'mhungry.'
'Now don't you give Timmy any of that ham and tongue,' Joan warned George. 'I've got a fine bonefor him. Coming, Timmy?'
Timmy knew the word ''bone'' very well indeed. He trotted11 after Joan at once, his feet soundingloudly in the hall. They heard Joan talking kindly12 to him in the kitchen as she found him his bone.
'Good old Joan,' said Dick. 'She's like Timmy - her bark is worse than her bite.'
'Timmy's got a good bite, though,' said George, helping13 herself to three tomatoes at once. 'And hisbite came in useful heaps of times for us.'
They ate steadily14, thinking of some of the hair-raising adventures they had had, when Timmy and hisbite had certainly come in very useful. Timmy came in after a while, licking his lips.
11
'Nothing doing, old chap,' said Dick, looking at the empty dishes on the table. 'Don't tell me you'vechomped up that bone already!'
Timmy had. He lay down under the table, and put his nose on his paws. He was happy. He had had agood meal, and he was with the people he loved best. He put his head as near George's feet as hecould.
'Your whiskers are tickling15 me,' she said, and screwed up her bare toes. 'Pass the tomatoes, someone.'
'You can't manage any more tomatoes, surely!' said Anne. 'You've had five already.'
'They're out of my own garden,' said George, 'so I can eat as many as I like.'
After lunch they lazed on the beach till it was time for a bathe again. It was a happy day for all ofthem - warm, lazy, with plenty of fun and romping16 about.
George looked out for the ragamuffin girl, but she didn't appear again. George was half sorry.
She would have liked a battle of words with her, even if she couldn't have a fight!
They were all very tired when they went to bed that night. Julian yawned so loudly when Joan camein with a jug17 of hot cocoa and some biscuits that she offered to lock up the house for him.
'Oh, no, thank you, Joan,' said Julian at once. 'That's the man's job, you know, locking up the house.
You can trust me all right. I'll see to every window and every door.'
'Right, Master Julian,' said Joan, and bustled18 away to wind up the kitchen clock, rake out the fire, andgo up to bed. The children went up, too, Timmy, as usual, at George's heels. Julian was leftdownstairs to lock up.
He was a very responsible boy. Joan knew that he wouldn't leave a single window unfastened.
She heard him trying to shut the little window in the pantry, and she called down:
'Master Julian! It's swollen19 or something, and won't shut properly. You needn't bother about it, it's toosmall for anyone to get into!'
'Right!' said Julian, thankfully, and went upstairs. He yawned a terrific yawn again, and set Dick off,too, as soon as he came into the bedroom they both shared. The girls, undressing in the next room,laughed to hear them.
'You wouldn't hear a burglar in the middle of the night, Julian and Dick!' called Anne. 'You'll sleeplike logs!'
'Old Timmy can listen out for burglars,' said Julian, cleaning his teeth vigorously. 'That's his job, notmine. Isn't it, Timmy?'
12
'Woof,' said Timmy, clambering on to George's bed. He always slept curled up in the crook20 of herknees. Her mother had given up trying to insist that George didn't have Timmy on her bed at night.
As George said, even if she agreed to that, Timmy wouldn't!
Nobody stayed awake for more than five seconds. Nobody even said anything in bed, except for asleepy good night. Timmy gave a little grunt21 and settled down, too, his head on George's feet.
It was heavy, but she liked it there. She put out a hand and stroked Timmy gently. He licked one ofher feet through the bed-clothes. He loved George more than anyone in the world.
It was dark outside that night. Thick clouds had come up and put out all the stars. There was nosound to be heard but the wind in the trees and the distant surge of the sea - and both sounded somuch the same that it was hard to tell the difference.
Not another sound - not even an owl3 hooting22 to its mate, or the sound of a hedgehog pattering in theditch.
Then why did Timmy wake up? Why did he open first one eye and then another? Why did he prickup his ears and lie there, listening? He didn't even lift his head at first. He simply lay listening in thedarkness.
He lifted his head cautiously at last. He slid off the bed as quietly as a cat. He padded across the roomand out of the door. Down the stairs he went, and into the hall, where his claws rattled23 on the tiledfloor. But nobody heard him. Everyone in the house was fast asleep.
Timmy stood and listened in the hall. He knew he had heard something. Could it have been a ratsomewhere? Timmy lifted his nose and sniffed24.
And then he stiffened25 from head to tail, and stood as if turned into stone. Something was climbing upthe wall of the house. Scrape, scrape, scrape - rustle26, rustle! Would a rat dare to do that?
Upstairs, in her bed, Anne didn't know why she suddenly woke up just then, but she did. She wasthirsty, and she thought she would get a drink of water. She felt for her torch, and switched it on.
The light fell on the window first, and Anne saw something that gave her a terrible shock. Shescreamed loudly, and dropped her torch in fright. George woke up at once. Timmy came bounding upthe stairs.
'Julian! wailed27 Anne. 'Come quickly. I saw a face at the window, a horrible, dreadful face looking inat me!'
13
George rushed to the window, switching on her torch as she did so. There was nothing there.
Timmy went with her. He sniffed at the open window and growled28.
'Hark - I can hear someone running quickly down the path,' said Julian, who now appeared with Dick.
'Come on, Timmy - downstairs with you and after them!'
And down they all went - Anne too. They flung the front door wide and Timmy sped out, barkingloudly. A face at the window? He'd soon find out who it belonged to!
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1
demon
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n.魔鬼,恶魔 | |
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ass
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n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人 | |
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owl
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n.猫头鹰,枭 | |
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spunk
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n.勇气,胆量 | |
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waterproof
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n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水 | |
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6
thumped
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v.重击, (指心脏)急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
gulped
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v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 );大口地吸(气);哽住 | |
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8
longingly
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adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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thoroughly
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adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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10
lettuce
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n.莴苣;生菜 | |
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11
trotted
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小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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12
kindly
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adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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13
helping
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n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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14
steadily
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adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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15
tickling
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反馈,回授,自旋挠痒法 | |
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16
romping
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adj.嬉戏喧闹的,乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 );(尤指在赛跑或竞选等中)轻易获胜 | |
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17
jug
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n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂 | |
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18
bustled
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闹哄哄地忙乱,奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 ); 催促 | |
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19
swollen
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adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀 | |
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20
crook
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v.使弯曲;n.小偷,骗子,贼;弯曲(处) | |
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21
grunt
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v.嘟哝;作呼噜声;n.呼噜声,嘟哝 | |
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22
hooting
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(使)作汽笛声响,作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 ); 倒好儿; 倒彩 | |
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23
rattled
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慌乱的,恼火的 | |
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24
sniffed
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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 | |
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25
stiffened
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加强的 | |
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26
rustle
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v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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27
wailed
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v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
growled
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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 | |
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