THE 'scientitist', as Skippy persisted in calling him, was put into an empty caravan1 with windows anddoors shut, because he shouted so loudly. When the snake-man opened the door and slid in one of hispythons the scientist stopped shouting at once and lay extremely still.
The snake-man opened the door and his python glided2 out again. But the man in the caravan hadlearnt his lesson. Not another sound came from him!
Then everyone in the camp held a conference. There was no hurry about it at all, because it had beendecided that nothing should be done before night-time.
'If we make a rescue in the daylight, then the police will come,' said Alfredo. 'They will interfere3.
They will not believe a word we say. They never do.'
'How shall we rescue them?' said Skippy. 'Do we go through these strange passages and up steep 81stone stairs? It does not sound nice to me.'
'It isn't at all nice,' Jo assured her. 'And anyway it wouldn't be sensible. The door leading to thetower-room is locked, I told you. And that man has got the key.'
'Ah!' said Bufflo, springing up at once. 'You didn't tell us that before! He has the key? Then I will getit from him!'
'I didn't think of that,' said Jo, watching Bufflo leap up the caravan steps.
He came out in a minute or two and joined them again. 'He has no key on him,' he said. 'He says henever had. He says we are all mad, and he will get the police.'
'He will find it hard to get the police just yet,' said Mrs. Alfredo, and gave a high little laugh. 'He hasthrown away the key - or given it to a friend, perhaps?'
'Well, it's settled we can't get in through the door that leads to the tower-room, then,' said the snake-man, who seemed to have a better grasp of things than the others. 'Right. Is there any other way intothe room?'
'Only by the window,' said Jo. 'That slit4-window there, see? Too high for any ladder, of course.
Anyway, we've got to get into the courtyard first. We'll have to climb over the high castle wall.'
'That is easy,' said the rubber-man. 'I can climb any wall. But not, perhaps, one so high as the towerwall.'
'Can anyone get into or out of the slit of a window?' asked Bufflo screwing up his eyes to look at thetower.
'Oh, yes - it's bigger than you think,' said Jo. 'It's very deep - the walls are so thick, you see -though I don't think they are so thick up there as they are down below. But Bufflo, how can anyoneget up to that window?'
'It can be done,' said Bufflo. 'That is not so difficult! You can lend us a peg-rope, Jekky?' he said tothe rope-man.
'Yes,' said Jekky. Jo knew what that was - a thick rope with pegs5 thrust through the strands6 to act asfootholds.
'But how will you get the peg-rope up?' said Jo, puzzled.
'It can be done,' said Bufflo again, and the talking went on. Jo suddenly began to feel terribly hungryand got up to get herself a meal. When she got back to the conference everything was apparentlysettled.
'We set off tonight as soon as darkness comes,' Bufflo told her. 'You will not come, Jo. This is 82man's business.'
'Of course, I'm coming!' said Jo, amazed that anyone should think she wasn't. 'They're my friends,aren't they? I'm coming all right!'
'You are not,' said Bufflo, and Jo immediately made up her mind to disappear before the men set offand hide somewhere so that she might follow them.
By this time it was about six o'clock. Bufflo and the rope-man disappeared in Jekky's caravan andbecame very busy there. Jo went peeping in at the door to see what they were doing but they orderedher out.
'This is not your business any more,' they said, and turned her out when she refused to go.
When darkness came, a little company set out from the camp. They had searched for Jo to make sureshe was not coming, but she had disappeared. Bufflo led the way down the hill, looking extremely fatbecause he was wound about with a great deal of peg-rope. Then came Mr. Slither with one of hispythons draped round him. Then the rubber-man with Mr. Alfredo.
Bufflo also carried his whip though nobody quite knew why. Anyway, Bufflo always did carry awhip, it was part of him; so nobody questioned him about it.
Behind them, like a little shadow, slipped Jo. What were they going to do? She had watched thetower-window for the last two hours, and when darkness came she saw a light there - a light thatshone on and off, on and off.
That's Dick or Julian signalling, she thought. They will have wondered why I haven't brought helpsometime today. They don't know that I was captured and tied up! I'll have something to tell themwhen we're all together again!
The little company went over the stile, into the lane and up the path to the castle. They came to thewall. The rubber-man took a jump at it, and literally7 seemed to run up it, fling himself on to the top,roll over and disappear!
'He's over,' said Bufflo. 'What it is to be made of rubber! I don't believe that fellow ever feels hurt!'
There was a low whistle from the other side of the wall. Bufflo unwound a thin rope from his waist,tied a stone to it and flung it over. The rope slithered after the stone and over the wall like a long thinworm.
Thud! They heard the stone fall on the ground the other side. Another low whistle told them that therubber-man had it. Bufflo then undid8 the peg-rope from his waist, and he and the others held 83out its length between them, standing9 one behind the other. One end was fastened to the thin ropewhose other end held the stone.
The rubber-man, on the other side of the wall, began to pull on the thin rope. When all the slack wastaken in, the peg-rope began to go up the wall too, because it was tied to the thin rope and had tofollow it! Up went the peg-rope and up, looking like a great thick caterpillar10 with tufts sticking out ofits sides.
Jo watched. Yes, that was clever. A good and easy way of getting over the thick high wall. But to getthe peg-rope up to the slit-window would not be so easy.
A whistle came again. Bufflo let go the peg-rope, and it swung flat against his side of the wall.
He tugged11 it. It was firm. Evidently the rubber-man had tied it fast to something. It was safe to go up.
It would bear anyone's weight without slipping down the wall.
Bufflo went up first, using the pegs as foot-holds and pulling himself up by the rope between thepegs. Each of the men was quick and deft12 in the way he climbed. Jo waited till the last one hadstarted up, and then leapt for the rope too!
Up she went like a cat and landed beside Bufflo on the other side of the wall. He was astounded13 andgave her a cuff14. She dodged15 away, and stood aside, watching. She wondered how the men intended toreach the topmost window of the high tower. Perhaps she would be of some help. If only she couldbe!
The four men stood in the moonlight, looking up at the tower. They talked in low tones, while therubber-man undid the thin rope from the peg-rope, and neatly16 coiled it into loops. The peg-rope wasleft on the wall.
Jo heard a car going up the lane at the bottom of the castle hill. She heard it stop and backsomewhere. Part of her attention was on the four men and the other part on the car.
The car stopped its engine. There was no further sound. Jo forgot it for a few minutes, and then wason the alert again - was that voices she heard somewhere? She listened intently. The sound cameagain on the night air - a low murmur17 that came nearer.
Jo held her breath - could that horrid18 man - what was his name - Pottersham - could he have arrangedfor his equally horrid friends to fetch Mr. Terry-Kane, and all the children out of the tower that night,and take them off to the coast? Perhaps they had already hired a fishing-boat from Joseph the oldfisherman, and they would all be away and never heard of again!
So the thoughts ran in Jo's alert mind. Mr. Pottersham would have had plenty of time to get fresh 84orders, and arrange everything before he had gone to the camp and got himself locked up in acaravan! Oh dear - dare she go and warn her Uncle Alfredo, where he stood in the moonlight, holdinga little conference with the others?
He'll cuff me as soon as I go near, thought Jo, rubbing her left ear, which still stung from Bafflo'scuff. They won't listen to me, I know. Still I'll try.
She went up to the group of men cautiously. She saw Bufflo take out a dagger-knife from his belt,and tie it to the end of the thin rope that the rubber-man held. She guessed in a moment what he wasabout to do, and ran to him.
'No, Bufflo, no! Don't throw that knife up - you'll hurt someone - you might wound one of them!
No, Bufflo, no!'
'Clear out,' said Bufflo, angrily and raised his hand to slap her. She dodged away.
She went round the group to her uncle. 'Uncle Fredo,' she said beseechingly19. 'Listen. I can hear voices- I think those...'
Alfredo pushed her away roughly. 'Will you stop this, Jo? Do you want a good whipping? Youbehave like a buzzing fly!'
Mr. Slither called her. 'See here, Jo - if you want to be useful, hold Beauty for me. He will be in theway in a minute.'
He draped the great snake over her shoulders, and Beauty hissed20 loudly. He began to coil himselfround Jo, and she caught hold of his tail. She liked Beauty, but just at that moment she didn't wanthim at all!
She stood back and watched what Bufflo was going to do. She knew, of course, and her heart beatfearfully. He was going to throw his knife through that high slit-window, a thing that surely onlyBufflo, with his unerring aim, could possibly do!
'But if he gets it through the window, it may stick into one of the four up there - or into Mr.
Terry-Kane,' she thought, in a panic. 'It might wound Dick - or Timmy! Oh, I wish Bufflo wouldn't doit!'
She heard low voices again - this time they came from just the other side of the wall! Men were goingto follow those secret passages, and go right up to the tower-room! Jo knew they were!
They would be there before Bufflo and the others had followed out their rescue plan. She pictured thefour children being dragged down the stairs, and Terry-Kane, too. Would Timmy defend them? Hewould - but the men would certainly deal with him. They knew there was a dog 85there, because Timmy had barked the night before.
Oh, dear, thought Jo, in despair. I must do something! But what can I DO?
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收听单词发音
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1
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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5
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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6
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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caterpillar
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| n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫 | |
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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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deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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cuff
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| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 | |
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dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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beseechingly
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| adv. 恳求地 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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