THE unexpected happening came that evening after tea. They had all had rather a late tea, and a verynice one. Bread and butter and honey - new doughnuts from the dairy - and the sponge-cake that Mrs.
Alfredo had presented them with, which had a very rich filling indeed.
'I can't eat a thing more,' said George, 'that spongecake was too rich for words. I don't even feel as if Ican get up and clear away - so don't start suggesting it, Anne.'
'I'm not,' said Anne. 'There's plenty of time. It's a heavenly evening - let's sit for a while. There goesthat blackbird again. He has a different tune1 every time he sings.'
'That's what I like about blackbirds,' said Dick, lazily. 'They're proper composers. They make up theirown tunes2 - not like the chaffinch who just carols the same old song again and again and again.
Honestly there was one this morning that said it fifty times without stopping.'
'Chip-chip-chip, cherry-erry-erry, chippee-OO-EE-Ar!' shouted a chaffinch, rattling3 it all off as if hehad learnt it by heart. 'Chip-chip-chip...'
'There he goes again,' said Dick. 'If he doesn't say that, he shouts pink-pink-pink as if he'd got 46that colour on the brain. Look at him over there - isn't he a beauty?'
He certainly was. He flew down to the grass beside the children and began to peck up the crumbs,even venturing on to Anne's knee once. She sat still, really thrilled.
Timmy growled4, and the chaffinch flew off. 'Silly, Timmy,' said George. 'Jealous of a chaffinch!
Oh, look, Dick - are those herons flying down to the marsh5 on the east side of the castle hill?'
'Yes,' said Dick, sitting up. 'Where are your field- glasses, George? We could see the big birdsbeautifully through them.'
George fetched them from her caravan6. She handed them to Dick. He focused them on the marsh.
'Yes - four herons - gosh, what long legs they've got, haven't they? They are wading7 happily about -now one's struck down at something with its great beak8. What's it got? Yes, it's a frog. I can see itsback legs!'
'You can't!' said George, taking the field- glasses from him. 'You're a fibber. The glasses aren'tpowerful enough to see a frog's legs all that way off!'
But they were powerful enough. They were really magnificent ones, far too good for George, whowasn't very careful with valuable things.
She was just in time to see the poor frog's legs disappearing into the big strong beak of the heron.
Then something frightened the birds, and before the others could have a look at them they had allflapped away.
'How slowly they flap their wings,' said Dick. 'They must surely flap them more slowly than anyother bird. Give me the glasses again, George. I'll have a squint9 at the jackdaws. There are thousandsof them flying again over the castle - their evening jaunt10, I suppose.'
He put them to his eyes, and moved the glasses to and fro, watching the endless whirl and swoop11 ofthe black jackdaws. The sound of their many voices came loudly over the evening air. 'Chack-chack-chack-chack!'
Dick saw some fly down to the only complete tower of the castle. He lowered the glasses to followthem. One jackdaw flew down to the sill of the slit-window near the top of the tower, and Dickfollowed its flight. It rested for half a second on the sill and then flew off as if frightened.
And then Dick saw something that made his heart suddenly jump. His glasses were trained on thewindow-slit and he saw something most astonishing there! He gazed as if he couldn't believe hiseyes.
Then he spoke12 in a low voice to Julian.
47
'Ju! Take the glasses, will you? Train them on the window-slit near the top of the only completetower - and tell me if you see what I see. Quick!'
Julian held out his hand in astonishment13 for the glasses. The others stared in surprise. What couldDick have seen? Julian put the glasses to his eyes and focused them on the window Dick had beenlooking at. He stared hard.
'Yes. Yes, I can. What an extraordinary thing. It must be an effect of the light, I think.'
By this time the others were in such a state of curiosity that they couldn't bear it. George snatched theglasses from Julian. 'Let me see!' she said, quite fiercely. She trained them on to the window. Shegazed and gazed and gazed.
Then she lowered the glasses and stared at Julian and Dick. 'Are you being funny?' she said.
'There's nothing there - nothing but an empty window!'
Anne snatched the glasses from her just before Dick tried to take them again. She too trained them onthe window. But there was absolutely nothing there to see.
'There's nothing,' said Anne, disgusted, and Dick took the glasses from her at once, focusing themonce more on the window. He lowered them.
'It's gone,' he said to Julian. 'Nothing there now.'
'DICK! If you don't tell us what you saw we'll roll go you down the hill,' said George, crossly.
'Are you making something up? What did you see?'
'Well,' said Dick, looking at Julian. 'I saw a face. A face not far from the window, staring out.
What did you see, Ju?'
'The same,' said Julian. 'It made me feel pretty queer, too.'
'A face!' said George, Anne and Jo all together. 'What do you mean?'
'Well - just what we said,' replied Dick. 'A face - with eyes and nose and mouth.'
'But nobody lives in the castle. It's a ruin,' said George. 'Was it someone exploring, do you think?'
Julian looked at his watch. 'No, it couldn't have been a visitor. I'm sure - the castle shuts at half pastfive and it's gone six. And anyway - it looked a - a - sort of desperate face!'
'Yes. I thought so too,' said Dick. 'It's - well, it's very peculiar14, isn't it, Julian? There may be somekind of ordinary explanation for it, but I can't help feeling there's something queer about it.'
'Was it a man's face?' asked George. 'Or a woman's?'
'A man's, I think,' said Dick. 'I couldn't see any hair against the darkness inside the window. Or 48clothes. But it looked a man's face. Did you notice the eyebrows15, Ju?'
'Yes, I did,' said Julian. 'They were very pronounced, weren't they?'
This rang a bell with George! 'Eyebrows!' she said at once. 'Don't you remember - the picture of thatscientist, Terry-Kane, showed that he had thick black eyebrows you said he'd shave them off and usethem upside down for moustaches, don't you remember, Dick?'
'Yes. I do remember,' said Dick, and looked at Julian. Julian shook his head. 'I didn't recognize thelikeness,' he said, 'but after all it's a very long way away. It is only because George's glasses are soextraordinarily good that we managed to spot a face looking out of a window so very far away.
Actually I think there will be an ordinary explanation - it's just that we were so startled -and that made us think it was very queer.'
'I wish I'd seen the face,' sighed George. 'They're my glasses, too - and I never saw the face!'
'Well, you can keep on looking and see if it comes back,' said Dick, handing over the glasses. 'It maydo.'
So Anne, George, and Jo took turn and turn about, gazing earnestly through the field-glasses -but they saw no face. In the end it got so dark that it was quite difficult to make out the tower, letalone the window or a face!
'I tell you what we might do,' said Julian. 'We could go and see over the castle ourselves tomorrow.
And we could go up into that tower. Then we should certainly see if there's a face there.'
'But I thought we were leaving tomorrow,' said Dick.
'Oh - yes, we did think of leaving, didn't we?' said Julian, who had quite forgotten this idea of his inhis excitement. 'Well - I don't feel as if we can go before we've explored that castle, and found theexplanation of the face.'
'Of course we can't,' said George. 'Fancy seeing a thing like that and rushing off without finding outabout it. I couldn't possibly.'
'I'm going to stay anyhow,' announced Jo. 'I could stop with my Uncle Alfredo, if you go, and I'll letyou know if the face comes again - if George will leave me her glasses.'
'Well, I shan't,' said George, with much determination. 'If I go, my glasses go with me. But I'm notgoing. You will stay now, won't you, Julian?'
'We'll stay and find out about the face,' said Julian. 'I honestly feel awfully16 puzzled about it.
Hallo, who's this coming?'
49
A big figure loomed17 up in the twilight18. It was Alfredo, the fire-eater. 'Jo! Are you there?' he said.
'Your aunt invites you to supper - and all your friends too. Come along.'
There was a pause. Anne looked expectantly across at Julian. Was he still going to be high-and-mighty and proud? She hoped not.
'Thanks,' said Julian, at last. 'We'd be pleased to come. Do you mean now?'
'That would be nice,' said Alfredo, with a little bow. 'I fire-eat for you? Anything you say!'
This was too tempting19 to resist. Everyone got up at once and followed the big Alfredo over thehillside to his caravan. Outside there was a really good fire, and on it was a big black pot that gaveout a wonderful smell.
'Supper is not quite ready,' said Alfredo. The five children were relieved. After their big tea theydidn't feel ready even for a meal that smelt20 as good as the one in the pot! They sat down by it.
'Will you really eat fire for us?' asked Anne. 'How do you do it?'
'Ah, very difficult!' said Alfredo. 'I do it only if you promise me not to try it by yourselves. Youwould not like blisters21 all over your mouth inside, would you?'
Everyone felt certain that they wouldn't. 'I don't want you to have blisters in your mouth, either,'
added Anne.
Alfredo looked shocked. 'I am a very good fire-eater,' he assured her. 'No good ones ever makeblisters in their mouths. Now - you sit still and I will fetch my torch and eat fire for you.'
Someone else sat down beside them. It was Bufflo. He grinned at them. Skippy came and sat downtoo. Then the snake-man came up, and he sat down on the opposite side of the fire.
Alfredo came back carrying a few things in his hands. 'Quite a family circle!' he said. 'Now watch - Iwill eat fire for you!'
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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3
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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4
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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marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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7
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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jaunt
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| v.短程旅游；n.游览 | |
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swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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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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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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blisters
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| n.水疱( blister的名词复数 )；水肿；气泡 | |
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