The police were very, very thorough. The children got tired of them long before lunch-time; Joandidn't. She made them cups of coffee and put some of her homemade buns on a plate and sent Anneto pick up ripe plums. She felt proud to think that it was she who had discovered the ransacked1 study.
There were two policemen. One was a sergeant2, rather solemn and very correct. He interviewed eachof the children and asked them exactly the same questions. The other man went over the study bit bybit, very thoroughly3 indeed.
'Looking for finger-prints, I suppose,' said Anne. 'Oh dear - when can we go and bathe?'
The thing that puzzled everyone, the police included, was - how did the thief or thieves get in?
Both policemen went round the house, slowly and deliberately4 trying every door and window stilllocked or fastened. They stood and looked at the pantry window for some time.
'Got in there, I suppose,' said one of them.
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'Must have been as small as a monkey then,' said the other. He turned to Anne, who was the smallestof the four children. 'Could you squeeze through there, Missy, do you think?'
'No,' said Anne. 'But I'll try if you like.' So she tried - but she stuck fast before she got even halfwaythrough, and Julian had to pull hard to get her down again.
'Have you any idea what has been stolen, sir?' the sergeant asked Julian, who seemed extraordinarilygrownup that morning.
'No, sergeant - none of us has,' said Julian. 'Not even George here, who knows her father's workbetter than any of us. The only thing we know is that my uncle went to America to lecture a shorttime ago - and he brought back two notebooks, full of valuable diagrams and notes. He did say thatother countries might be very glad to get hold of those. I expect they were in that safe.'
'Well - they'll certainly be gone then,' said the sergeant, shutting his own fat notebook with a snap.
'Pity when people leave such things in an ordinary safe - and then go off without leaving an address.
Can't we possibly get in touch with him? This may be terribly important.'
'I know,' said Julian, looking worried. 'We shall have an address in a day or two - but I honestly don'tsee how we can get in touch before then.'
'Right,' said the sergeant. 'Well - we'll go now - but we'll bring back a photographer with us afterlunch to photograph the room - then your cook can tidy it up. I know she's longing5 to.'
'Coming back again!' said Anne, when the two men had solemnly walked down the path, mountedvery solid-looking bicycles, and gone sailing down the lane. 'Good gracious! Have we got to answerquestions all over again?'
'Well, we'll go down to the beach and take a boat and go rowing,' said Julian, with a laugh. 'We'll beout of reach then. I don't see that we can give them any more help. I must say it's all very peculiar6 - Iwish to goodness I knew how the thief got in.'
George had been very quiet and subdued7 all the morning. She had worried about Timmy, fearing thathe had been poisoned, and not merely drugged, as Julian had said. But Timmy was now quiterecovered, except that he seemed a bit sleepy still, and not inclined to gambol8 round in his usualridiculous way. He looked extremely sheepish, too.
'I can't think why Timmy looks like that,' said George, puzzled. 'He usually only puts that look onwhen he's done something he's ashamed of - or got into mischief9. He couldn't possibly know, couldhe, that whatever he picked up and ate last night was something he shouldn't eat?'
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'No,' said Dick. 'He's sensible though, I think, not to touch poisoned meat - but he couldn't know ifsome harmless sleeping powder had been put into anything. It might have no smell and no taste.
Perhaps he's just ashamed of being so sleepy!'
'If only he'd been awake!' groaned10 George. 'He would have heard any noise downstairs at once -and he'd have barked and waked us all, and flown downstairs himself to attack whoever was there!
Why, oh why didn't I take him out myself last night as I usually do?'
'It was a chapter of accidents,' said Julian. 'You didn't take him out, so he was alone - and it happenedthat someone was waiting there with drugged food - which he either found or took from the thief....'
'No,' said George. 'Timmy would never, never take anything from someone he didn't know. I'vealways taught him that.'
'Well, he got it somehow - and slept through the very night he should have been awake,' said Julian.
'What I'm so afraid of, George, is that the thieves have got your father's two American notebooks.
They seem to have left most of the stuff - piles and piles of books of all kinds, filled with your father'stiny handwriting.'
Joan came in to say lunch was ready. She told the children that the policemen had eaten every one ofher home-made buns. She still felt important and excited, and was longing to get out to the villageand tell everyone the news.
'You'd better stay in and give the policemen a good tea,' said Julian. 'They're coming back with aphotographer.'
'Then I'd better do another baking,' said Joan, pleased.
'Yes. Make one of your chocolate cakes,' said Anne.
'Oh, do you think they'd like one?' said Joan.
'Not for them, Joan - for us, of course!' said George. 'Don't waste one of your marvellous chocolatecakes on policemen. Can you make us up a picnic tea? We're fed up with being indoors- we're going out in a boat.'
Joan packed them a good tea after they had had their lunch and they all set off before the police cameback. Timmy was much less sleepy now and did a little caper11 round them as they walked to thebeach. George brightened up at once.
'He's getting better,' she said. 'Timmy, I simply shan't let you out of my sight now! If anyone's goingto dope you again they'll have to do it under my very nose.'
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They had a lovely time out in George's boat. They went half-way to Kirrin Island and bathed from theboat, diving in and having swimming races till they were tired out. Timmy joined them, though hecouldn't swim nearly as fast as they could.
'He doesn't really swim,' said Anne. 'He just tries to run through the water. I wish he'd let me ride onhis back like a sea-dog - but he always slips away under me when I try.'
'They got back about six o'clock to find that the policemen had eaten the whole of the chocolate cakethat Joan had made, besides an extraordinary amount of scones12 and buns.
Also the study was now tidied up, and a man had come to mend the safe. Everything was safely backthere, though the police had told Joan that if there was anything of real value it should be handed tothem till George's father came back.
'But we don't know which of all those papers are valuable!' said Julian. 'Well - we'll have to wait tillUncle Quentin cables us - and that may not be for days. Anyway, I don't expect we'll be worried bythe thief again - he's got what he wanted.'
The exciting happenings of the day had made them all tired except Julian. 'I'm off to bed,' said Dick,about nine o'clock. 'Anne, why don't you go? You look fagged out.'
'Yes, I will,' said Anne. 'Coming, George?'
'I'm going to take Timmy out for his last walk,' said George. 'I shall never let him go out alone atnight again. Come on, Timmy. If you want to go to bed I'll lock up the front door, Ju.'
'Right,' said Julian. 'I'll go up in a minute. I don't fancy staying down here by myself tonight. I'llfasten everything and lock up, except the front door. Don't forget to put up the chain, too, George- though I'm pretty certain we don't need to expect any more burglaries!'
'Or faces at the window,' said Anne, at once.
'No,' said Julian. 'There won't be any more of those either. Good night, Anne - sleep well!'
Anne and Dick went upstairs. Julian finished the paper he was reading, and then got up to go roundthe house and lock up. Joan was already upstairs, dreaming of policemen eating her chocolate cakes.
George went out with Timmy. He ran eagerly to the gate and then set off down the lane for his usualnight walk with George. At a gate in the lane he suddenly stood still and growled13 as if he sawsomething unusual.
'Silly, Timmy!' said George, coming up. 'It's only somebody camping in a caravan14! Haven't you seena caravan before! Stop growling15!'
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They went on, Timmy sniffing16 into every rat hole and rabbit-hole, enjoying himself thoroughly.
George was enjoying the walk, too. She didn't hurry - Julian could always go up to bed if he didn'twant to wait.
Julian did go up to bed. He left the front door ajar, and went yawning upstairs, suddenly feelingsleepy. He got into bed quietly and quickly seeing that Dick was already asleep. He lay awakelistening for George. When he was half asleep, he heard the front door shut.
'There she is,' he thought, and turned over to go to sleep.
But it wasn't George. Her bed was empty all that night, and nobody knew, not even Anne.
George and Timmy didn't come back!
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收听单词发音
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1
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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7
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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gambol
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| v.欢呼，雀跃 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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11
caper
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| v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏 | |
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scones
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| n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 ) | |
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13
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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14
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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15
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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16
sniffing
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| 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 | |
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