TIMMY strained forward, but Julian had his hand on the dog's collar. He went up the stone stairway,very steep and narrow. The others followed with hardly a sound. All of them but Jo had 72on their rubber shoes; she had bare feet. Timmy made the most noise, because his claws clicked onthe stone.
At the top was another door. From behind it came a curious noise - guttural and growling1.
Timmy growled2 in his throat. At first Julian couldn't think what the noise was. Then he suddenlyknew.
'Somebody snoring! Well, that's lucky. I can take a peep in and see who it is. We must be at the top ofthe tower now.'
The door in front of him was not locked. He pushed it open and looked inside, his hand still onTimmy's collar.
The moonlight struck through a narrow window and fell on the face of a sleeping man. Julian staredat it in rising excitement. Those eyebrows3! Yes - this was the man whose face had appeared at thewindow!
'And I know who he is too - it is Terry-Kane!' thought Julian, moving like a shadow into the room.
'He's exactly like the picture we saw in the papers. Perhaps the other man is here too.'
He looked cautiously round the room but could see no one else, although it was possible there mightbe someone in the darkest shadows. He listened.
There was only the snoring of the man lying in the moonlight. He could not hear the breathing ofanyone else. With his hand still on Timmy's collar he switched on his torch and swept it round thetower-room, its beam piercing the black corners.
No one was there except the one man - and, with a sudden shock, Julian saw that he was tied withropes! His arms were bound behind him and his legs were tied together too. If this was Terry-Kanethen his uncle must be right. The man was no traitor4 - he had been kidnapped and was a prisoner.
Everyone was now in the room, staring at the sleeping man. He had his mouth open, and he stillsnored loudly.
'What are you going to do, Julian?' whispered George. 'Wake him up?'
Julian nodded. He went over to the sleeping man and shook him by the shoulder. He woke up at onceand stared in amazement5 at Julian, who was full in the moonlight. He struggled up to a sittingposition.
'Who are you?' he said. 'How did you get here - and who are those over in the shadows there?'
'Listen - are you Mr. Terry-Kane?' asked Julian.
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'Yes. I am. But who are you?'
'We are staying on the hill opposite the castle,' said Julian. 'And we saw your face at the window,through our field-glasses. So we came to find you.'
'But - but how do you know who I am?' said the man, still amazed.
'We read about you in the papers,' said Julian. 'And we saw your picture. We couldn't help noticingyour eyebrows, sir - we even saw them through the glasses.'
'Look here - can you undo6 me?' said the man, eagerly. 'I must escape. Tomorrow night my enemiesare smuggling7 me out of here, into a car and down to the sea and a boat is being hired to take meacross to the Continent. They want me to tell them what I know about my latest experiments. I shan'tof course - but life wouldn't be at all pleasant for me!'
'I'll cut the ropes,' said Julian, and he took out his pocket-knife. He cut the knots that tied Terry-Kane's wrists together and then freed his legs. Timmy stood and watched, ready to pounce8 if the mandid anything fierce!
'That's better,' said the man, stretching his arms out.
'How did you manage to get to the window?' asked Julian, watching the man rub his arms and knees.
'Each evening one of the men who brought me here comes to bring me food and drink,' said Terry-Kane. 'He undoes9 my hands so that I can feed myself. He sits and smokes while I eat, taking nonotice of me. I drag myself over to the window to have a breath of fresh air. I can't stay there longbecause I am soon tied up again, of course. I can't imagine how anyone could see my face at thisdeep-set slit-window!'
'It was our field-glasses,' said Julian. 'They are such fine ones. It's a good thing you did get to thewindow for a breath of air or we'd never have found you!'
'Julian - I can hear a noise,' said Jo, suddenly. She had ears like a cat, able to pick up the slightestsound.
'Where?' said Julian, turning sharply.
'Downstairs,' whispered Jo. 'Wait - I'll go and see.'
She slipped out of the door and down the steep little stairs. She came to the door at the bottom, theone that led into the gallery.
Yes - someone was coming! Coming along the gallery too. Jo thought quickly. If she darted10 back upthe stairs to warn the others this newcomer might go up there too, and they would all be 74caught. He could bolt the door at the top and would have six prisoners instead of one! She decided11 tocrouch down on the floor of the gallery a little beyond the door that led upwards12.
Footsteps came loudly along the gallery and up to the door. Then the stranger obviously found thedoor unbolted, and stopped in consternation13. He stood perfectly14 still, listening. Jo thought he reallymust be able to hear her heart beating, it was thumping15 so loudly. She didn't dare to call out to try andwarn the others - if she did they would walk straight into his arms!
And then Jo heard Julian's voice calling quietly down the stone stairs. 'Jo! Jo! Where are you?'
And then, oh dear, she thought she could hear Julian coming down the stairs to find her. 'Don't come,Julian,' she said under her breath. 'Don't come.'
But Julian came right down - and behind him came Terry-Kane and Dick, with the girls followingwith Timmy, on their way to escaping.
The stranger down at the door was even more amazed to hear voices and footsteps. He slammed thedoor suddenly and rammed16 the stout bolt home. The footsteps on the stairs stopped in alarm.
'Hey, Jo! Is that you?' called Julian's voice. 'Open the door!'
The stranger spoke17 angrily. 'The door's bolted. Who are you?'
There was a silence - then Terry-Kane answered. 'So you're back again, Pottersham! Open that doorat once.'
Oho! thought Julian, so the other scientist is here too - Jeffrey Pottersham. He must have got Terry-Kane here by kidnapping him. What can have happened to Jo?
The man at the door stood there as if he didn't quite know what to do. Jo crouched18 down in thegallery and listened intently. The man spoke again.
'Who set you free? Who's that with you?'
'Now, listen, Pottersham,' said Terry-Kane's voice. 'I've had enough of this nonsense. You must beout of your mind, acting19 like this! Doping me, and kidnapping me, telling me we're going to go off byfishing-boat to the Continent, and the rest of it! There are four children here, who saw my face at thewindow and came to investigate, and...'
'Children!' said Pottersham, taken aback. 'What in the middle of the night! How did they get up to thistower? I'm the only one that knows the way in.'
'Pottersham, open the door!' shouted Terry-Kane, furiously. He gave it a kick, but the old door wassturdy and strong.
'You can go back to the tower, all of you,' said Pottersham. 'I'm going off to get fresh orders. It 75looks as if we'll have to take those kids with us, Terry-Kane - they'll be sorry they saw your face atthe window. They won't like life, where we're going!'
Pottersham turned and went back the way he had come. Jo guessed that he knew the same way in asthey had happened on. She waited until she felt that it was perfectly safe, and then she ran to the dooragain. She hammered on it.
'Dick! Dick! Come down. Where are you?' She heard an answering shout from up the stairs behindthe door, and then Dick came running down.
'Jo! Unbolt the door, quick!'
Jo unbolted it - but it wouldn't open. Julian had now come down too, and he called to Jo. 'Turn thekey, Jo. It may be locked too.'
'Julian, the key's gone!' cried Jo, and she tugged20 in vain at the door. 'He must have locked it as well asbolted it - and he's taken the key. Oh, how can I get you out?'
'You can't,' said Dick. 'Still, you're free, Jo. You can go and tell the police. Buck21 up, now. You knowthe way, don't you?'
'I haven't got a torch,' said Jo.
'Oh dear - well, we can't possibly get one of ours out to you,' said Dick. 'You'd better wait tillmorning, then, Jo. You may lose yourself down in those dark passages. Yes - wait till morning.'
'The passages will still be dark!' said poor Jo. 'I'd better go now.'
'No - you're to wait till morning,' said Julian, fearing that Jo might wander off in the strange passages,and be lost for ever! She might even find herself down in the dungeons22. Horrible thought.
'All right,' said Jo. 'I'll wait till morning. I'll curl up on the gallery here. It's quite warm.'
'It will be very hard!' said Dick. 'We'll go back to the room upstairs, Jo. Call us if you want us.
What a blessing23 you're free!'
Jo curled up on the gallery, but she couldn't sleep. For one thing the floor was very hard, and thestone was very very cold. She suddenly thought of the little room where they had seen the pitcher24, thedagger and the chocolate wrapping-paper. That would be a far better place to sleep!
She could lie on the bench!
She stood up and thought out the way. All she had to do was to go round the gallery till she came tothe little door that opened on to the corkscrew staircase leading from the gallery to the little hiddenroom.
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She made her way cautiously to the door. She felt for the iron ring, turned it and opened the door.
It was very, very dark, and she could see nothing at all in front of her. She put out her foot carefully.
Was she at the top of the spiral staircase?
She found that she was. She held out her hands on either side, touching25 the stone walls of the curiouslittle stairway, and went slowly down, step by step.
'Oh dear - am I going the right way? The stairs seem to be going on so long!' thought Jo. 'I don't likeit - but I MUST go on!'
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收听单词发音
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1
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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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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3
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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4
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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6
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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7
smuggling
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| n.走私 | |
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8
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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undoes
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| 松开( undo的第三人称单数 )； 解开； 毁灭； 败坏 | |
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10
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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12
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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13
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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14
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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15
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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16
rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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17
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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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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20
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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22
dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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23
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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24
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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