Chapter 2 SETTING OFF

Chapter 2 SETTING OFF
　　Julian and Dick were also on their way, very pleased to have such an unexpectedly long weekend.
　　'I never liked Willis or Johnson much,' said Dick, as they walked out of the school grounds.
　　'Awful swotters they were - never had any time for games or fun. But I take my hat off to them today!
　　Because of their swotting they've won medals and scholarships and goodness knows what- and we've got a week-end off in celebration! Good old Willis and Johnson!'
　　'Hear hear,' said Dick. 'But I bet they'll sit in a corner with their books all the week-end - they won'tknow if it's a brilliant day like this, or pouring with rain like yesterday! Poor mutts!'
　　'They'd hate to go off on a hike,' said Julian. 'It would be utter misery¹ to them. Do you remember howawful Johnson was at rugger? He never knew which goal he was playing against - always ran thewrong way!'
　　'Yes. But he must have got terrific brains,' said Dick. 'Why are we talking about Willis and Johnson?
　　I can think of plenty of more interesting things. Anne and George, for instance - and old Tim. I hopethey'll manage to get off in time all right.'
　　Julian had carefully looked up a large-scale map of the moors³ that lay between the two schools thathe and the girls went to. They were vast stretches of lonely heathery land, dotted with farms here andthere, with a few small cottages, and some inns.
　　'We'll keep right off the main roads, and the second-and third-grades,' he said. 'We'll take the littlelanes and paths. I wonder what Timmy will say if we see deer. He'll wonder what in the world theyare!'
　　'He'll only be interested in rabbits,' said Dick. 'I hope he's not as fat as he was last hols. I think wemust have given him too many ice-creams and too much chocolate!'
　　'Well, he won't get that in term-time!' said Julian. 'The girls don't get as much pocket money as wedo. Buck⁴ up - there's the bus!'
　　They ran for the little country bus that rumbled⁵ along the country lanes, taking people to market, or tothe tiny villages that lay here and there tucked away in the moor². It stopped most obligingly for them,and they leapt in.
　　'Ha! Running away from school?' said the conductor. 'Have to report you, you know!'
　　6
　　'Very funny,' said Julian, bored at this joke, which the conductor produced regularly every time a boygot on board with a rucksack over his shoulders.
　　They had to get out at the next village and cut across country to get to another bus- route. Theymanaged to catch a bus there easily and settled down comfortably in their seats. It was half an hour'srun from there to where they had planned to meet the girls.
　　'Here you are, young sirs,' called the conductor, as the bus ran into a village. It had a wide green onwhich geese cackled, and a small pond for ducks. 'You wanted Pippin Village, didn't you? We don'tgo any farther - we just turn round and go back.'
　　'Thanks,' said the boys and got out. 'Now - are the girls here or not?' said Julian. 'They have to walkfrom a tiny railway station about two miles away.'
　　They were not there. Julian and Dick went to have a drink of orangeade at the village store. They hadhardly finished when they saw the two girls looking in at the door.
　　'Julian! Dick! We guessed you'd be eating or drinking!' said Anne, and she rushed at her brothers.
　　'We came as quickly as we could. The engine broke down - it was such a funny little train! All thepassengers got out and advised the engine-driver what to do!'
　　'Hallo!' said Julian, and gave Anne a hug. He was very fond of his young sister. 'Hallo, George!
　　My, you've grown fat, haven't you?'
　　'I have not,' said George, indignantly. 'And Timmy isn't fat either, so don't tell him he is.'
　　'Julian's pulling your leg as usual,' said Dick, giving George a friendly slap on the back. 'All the same,you've grown a bit - you'll soon be as tall as I am. Hallo, Timmy! Good dog, fine dog!
　　Tongue as wet as usual? Yes, it is! I never knew a dog with a wetter tongue than yours!'
　　Timmy went nearly mad with joy at being with all four of his friends. He leapt round them, barking,wagging his long tail and sending a pile of tins crashing to the floor in his delight.
　　'Now, now!' said the shop-woman, emerging from a dark little room at the back, 'Take that dog out.
　　He's gone mad!'
　　'Don't you girls want a drink of ginger-beer or something?' asked Julian, getting hold of Timmy'scollar. 'You'd better, because we don't want to have to carry heavy bottles of drinkables with us.'
　　'Where are we going to set off to?' asked George. 'Yes, I'd like ginger-beer please. Get down, Timmy.
　　Anyone would think you'd been away from Julian and Dick for at least ten years!'
　　'It probably does seem like ten years to him,' said Anne. 'I say - are those sandwiches?'
　　She pointed⁶ to a ledge⁷ at the back of the counter. There was a little pile of sandwiches there, 7looking most appetizing.
　　'Yes, they're sandwiches, Miss,' said the shop-woman, opening two bottles of ginger-beer. 'I've madethem for my son who works over at Blackbush Farm - he'll be in for them soon.'
　　'I suppose you couldn't make us some, could you?' asked Julian, 'We wouldn't need to bother abouttrying to get to some village at lunch time then. They look jolly good.'
　　'Yes. I can make you all you want,' said the shop-woman, putting two glasses down in front of thegirls, 'What do you want - cheese, egg, ham or pork?'
　　'Well - we'd like some of all of those,' said Julian, 'The bread looks so nice too.'
　　'I make it myself,' said the woman, pleased, 'All right - I'll go and make you some. You tell me ifanyone comes into the shop while I'm gone.'
　　She disappeared. 'That's good,' said Julian. 'If she makes plenty of those we can avoid villages all theday and have a really good day of exploration - treading where no foot has trod before and all that!'
　　'How many can you manage each?' asked the woman, suddenly reappearing. 'My son, he has six- that's twelve rounds of bread.'
　　'Well - could you manage eight sandwiches for each of us?' said Julian. The woman lookedastonished. 'It's to last us all day,' he explained, and she nodded and disappeared again.
　　'That's a nice little sum for her,' said Anne. 'Eight sandwiches each, making sixteen rounds of bread -for four people!'
　　'Well, let's hope she's got a bread-cutting machine!' said Dick. 'Or we'll be here for keeps! Hallo -who's this?'
　　A tall man appeared at the entrance of the shop, a bicycle in his hand. 'Ma!' he called.
　　The children guessed who he was at once - the son who worked over at Blackbush Farm. He hadcome for his sandwiches!
　　'Your mother is hard at work cutting sixty-four rounds of bread,' said Dick. 'Shall I get her for you?'
　　'No. I'm in a hurry,' said the man and he set his bicycle by the door, came in, reached over the counterfor his sandwiches and then went back to his bicycle.
　　'Tell my mother I've been in,' he said, 'And you might tell her I'll be late home today - got to takesome stuff to the prison.'
　　He was off at once, sailing away down the road on his bicycle. The old woman suddenly came 8in, a knife in one hand, a loaf in the other.
　　'Did I hear Jim?' she said. 'Oh yes - he's got his sandwiches. You should have told me he was in!'
　　'He said he was in a hurry,' explained Julian. 'And he said we were to tell you he'd be late todaybecause he had to take some stuff to the prison.'
　　'I've got another son there,' said the woman. The four looked at her. Did she mean he was a prisoner?
　　And what prison?
　　She guessed their thoughts and smiled. 'Oh, my Tom isn't a prisoner!' she said. 'He's a warder - a finefellow. Not a nice job there though - I'm always afraid of those men in prison - a fierce lot, a bad lot!'
　　'Yes - I've heard there is a big prison on this moor,' said Julian. 'It's marked on our map too.
　　We're not going near it, of course.'
　　'No. Don't you take the girls near there,' said the woman, disappearing again. 'If I don't get on withyour sandwiches you'll not have them before tomorrow morning.'
　　Only one customer came in while the children were waiting - a solemn old man smoking a clay pipe.
　　He looked round the shop, couldn't see the woman, took a packet of blancmange powder, which heslipped into his pocket, and put the money down on the counter.
　　'Tell 'er when 'er comes,' he mumbled⁸ with his pipe still in his mouth, and out he shuffled⁹.
　　Timmy growled¹⁰. The old man smelt¹¹ very unwashed and Timmy didn't like him.
　　At last the sandwiches were finished and the old woman appeared again. She had packed them upneatly in four parcels of grease-proof paper, and had pencilled on each what they were, Julian readwhat she had written and winked¹² at the others.
　　'My word - we're in for a grand time!' he said. 'Cheese, Pork, Ham and Egg - and what's this?'
　　'Oh, that's four slices of my home-made fruit cake,' said the old woman. 'I'm not charging you forthat, It's just so that you can taste it!'
　　'It looks like half the cake!' said Julian, touched, 'But we shall pay for it, with many thanks. Howmuch is all that?'
　　She told him. Julian put down the money and added some extra for the cake. 'There you are, andmany thanks,' he said. 'And that money there was left by an old fellow with a clay pipe who took apacket of blancmange powder.'
　　'That would be Old Man Gupps,' said the woman. 'Well, I hope you'll enjoy your tour. Come backhere if you want any more sandwiches cut! If you eat all those today you won't do badly!'
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　　'Woof,' said Timmy, hoping that he too would share a few. The woman produced a bone for him, andhe took it up in his mouth.
　　'Thanks!' Julian said. 'Come on - now we'll really start!'

1 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

2 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

3 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》

4 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

5 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

8 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

9 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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》

11 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

12 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》