JO suddenly made up her mind. She would follow the men through those passages, and see if shecould warn the others by shouting when she came near enough to the tower-room. She would helpthem somehow. Bufflo and the others would be too late to save them now.
Jo ran to the wall. She was up the peg1-rope left there and down the other side in a trice. She made herway to where the missing stone left the gap in the old wall.
Beauty, the python, was surprised to find himself pulled off and thrown on the ground, just before Joran for the wall. He wasn't used to that sort of treatment. He lay there, coiling and uncoiling himself.
Where had that nice girl gone? Beauty liked Jo - she knew how to treat him!
He glided2 after her. He too went up the wall and over, quite easily, though he did not need to use thepeg-rope like Jo. He glided after Jo quickly. It was amazing to see his speed when he really wanted tobe quick!
He came to the hole in the wall. Ah, he liked holes. He glided in after Jo. He caught up with her justas she had reached the end of the small passage, through which she had had to walk bent3 double. Hepushed against her legs and then twined himself round her.
She gave a small scream, and then realized what it was. 'Beauty! You'll get into trouble with Mr.
Slither, coming after me like this. Go back! Stop twining yourself round me - I've got importantthings to do.'
But Beauty was not like Timmy. He obeyed only when he thought he would, and he was not going toobey this time!
'All right - come with me if you want to,' said Jo, at last, having in vain tried to push the great snakeback. 'You'll be company, I suppose. Stop hissing5 like that, Beauty! You sound like an engine lettingoff steam in this narrow passage.'
Soon Jo had gone down the steep steps that led to the level passage under the courtyard. Beautyslithered down them too, rather surprised at the sudden drop. Along the wider passage they went.
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Beauty now in front, and Jo sometimes tripping over his powerful tail.
Up steps again, and into the thick wall of the castle itself. Something shining ahead made Jo suddenlystop. She listened but heard nothing. She went forward cautiously and found that in the little secretroom was a small lantern, left there probably by one of the men in front.
She saw the rusty6 dagger7 lying on the floor where she had left it the night before and grinned.
The rope was there too, that she had untied8 from her arms and legs.
Jo went on, along the passage that led to the spiral stairway. Now she thought she could hearsomething. She climbed the steep stairs, cross with Beauty because he pushed by her and almost senther headlong down them. She came to the door that opened on to the little gallery. Dare she open it?
Suppose the men were just outside?
She opened it slowly. It was pitch dark on the other side, of course, but Jo knew she was about to stepout on the little gallery. Beauty suddenly slithered up her and coiled himself lovingly round her. Jocould not make the snake uncoil, and she stepped out on the small gallery with Beauty firmlywrapped about her.
And then, what a noise she heard! She stood quite aghast. Whatever could be going on? She heardexcited voices - surely one was Bufflo's? And was that crack a pistol-shot?
What had happened down below in the courtyard when Jo had disappeared over the wall withBeauty? None of the men noticed her go. They were all too intent on their plan.
Bufflo was to use his gift for knife-throwing - but in quite a different way from usual! He was tothrow the knife high into the air, and make it curve in through the slit4-window at the top of the tower!
Bufflo was an expert at knife-throwing, or, indeed, at any kind of throwing. He stood there in thecourtyard, looking up at the high window. He half-closed his eyes, getting the distance and thedirection fixed9 in his mind. The moon suddenly went in, and he lowered his hand. He could not throwaccurately in the dark!
The moon sailed out again, quite brilliant. Bufflo lost no time. Once more he took aim, his eyesnarrowed - and then the knife flew high into the air, gleaming as it went - taking behind it a long tailof very thin rope.
It struck the sill of the slit-window and fell back. Bufflo caught it deftly10. The moonlight showedplainly that the knife was not sharp-pointed - Bufflo had filed off the point, and it was now quiteblunt. Jo need not have worried about someone in the tower being hurt by a sharp dagger!
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Once more Bufflo took aim, and once more the knife sailed up, swift as a swallow, shining silver as itwent. This time it fell cleanly in at the window-opening, slithered all the way across the stone ledgeinside, and fell to the floor of the tower-room with a thud.
It caused the greatest astonishment11 there. Mr. Terry-Kane, the four children and Timmy were allhuddled together for warmth in one corner. They were hungry and cold. No one had brought themfood, and they had nothing to keep them warm except a rug belonging to Terry-Kane. All that daythey had been in the tower- room, sometimes looking from the window, sometimes shouting alltogether at the tops of their voices. But nobody heard them, and nobody saw them.
'Why doesn't Jo bring help?' they had said a hundred times that long, long day. They didn't know thatpoor Jo was spending hours trying to free herself from the knots round her legs and wrists.
They had looked out of the window at the camp on the opposite hill, where the fair-folk went abouttheir business, looking like ants on the far-off green slope. Was Jo there? It was too far-off to makeout anyone for certain.
When darkness came Julian had flashed his torch from the window on and off - on and off. Then, coldand miserable13, they had all huddled12 together, with Timmy licking first one and then another, not at allunderstanding why they should stay in this one room.
'Timmy will be so thirsty,' said George. 'He keeps licking round his mouth in the way he does whenhe wants a drink.'
'Well, I feel like licking round my mouth too,' said Dick.
They were half-asleep when the knife came thudding into the room. Timmy leapt up at once andbarked madly. He stood and stared at the knife that lay gleaming in the moonlight, and barkedwithout stopping.
'A knife!' said George, in amazement15. 'A knife with a string tied on the end!'
'It's blunt,' said Julian, picking it up. 'The tip has been filed off. What's the meaning of it? And whythe string tied to it?'
'Be careful that another knife doesn't come through' warned Terry-Kane.
'It won't,' said Julian. 'I think this is something to do with Jo. She hasn't gone to the police. She hasgot the fair-folk to help us. This is Bufflo's knife, I'm sure!'
They were all round him, examining it now. 'I'm going to the window,' said Julian. 'I'll look right outinto the courtyard. Hold my legs, Dick.'
He climbed up on the stone sill and crawled a little forward through the deep-set slit. He came to 88the outer edge of the window and looked down. Dick hung on to his legs, afraid that the sill mightcrumble away and Julian would fall.
'I can see four people down in the courtyard,' said Julian. 'Oh, good - one is Alfredo, one is Bufflo -and I can't make out the other two. AHOY down there!'
The four men below were standing14 looking up intently. They saw Julian's head appear outside thewindow, and waved to him.
'Pull in the rope!' shouted Bufflo. He had now tied the end of a second peg-rope to the thin rope, andhe and the others lifted it so that it might run easily up the wall.
Julian slid back into the tower room. He was excited. 'This string on the knife runs down the wall andis tied to a thicker rope,' he said. 'I'll pull it up - and up will come a rope that we can climb down!'
He pulled on the string, and more and more of it appeared through the window. Then Julian felt aheavier weight and he guessed the thicker rope was coming up. Now he had to pull more slowly.
Dick helped him.
Over the window-sill, in at the window, appeared the first length of the peg-rope. The children hadnever seen one like it before; they were used to the more ordinary rope-ladder. But Terry-Kane knewwhat it was.
'A peg-rope,' he said. 'Circus people and fair-people make them - they are lighter16 and easier tomanage than rope-ladders. We'll have to fix the end to something really strong, so that it will hold ourweight.'
Anne looked at the peg-rope in dismay. She didn't at all like the idea of climbing down that, swingingon it all the way down the high stone wall of the tower! But the others looked at it with pleasure andexcitement - a way of escape - a good, strong rope to climb down out of this hateful cold room!
Terry-Kane looked about for something to fasten the rope to. In the wall at one side was a great ironring, embedded17 in the stone. What it had been used for once upon a time nobody could imagine - butcertainly it would be of great use now!
There were no pegs18 in the first yard or so of the rope. Terry-Kane and Julian cut off the string that hadpulled it up, and then dragged the thick rope through the iron ring. They dragged it right through untilthe first peg stopped it. Then they twisted the rope-end round upon itself and made great strong knotsthat could not slip.
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Julian took hold of the rope, and leaned back hard on it, pulling it with all his strength. 'It would holda dozen of us at once!' he said, pleased. 'Shall I go first, sir? I can help everyone else down then, ifI'm at the bottom. Dick and you can see to the girls when they climb out.'
'What about Timmy?' asked George, at once.
'We'll wrap him up in the rug, tie him firmly and lower him down on the string,' said Dick. 'It's verystrong string - thin rope, really.'
'I'll go down now,' said Julian, and went to the window. Then he stopped. Someone was clattering19 upthe stone steps that led to the tower. Someone was at the door! Who could it be?
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收听单词发音
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1
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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2
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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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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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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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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14
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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15
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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16
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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17
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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18
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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19
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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