SOMETHING certainly had happened to upset Pottersham and his three friends. After the door of thetower-room had been slammed and bolted, the men had gone clattering1 down the stone steps. Theyhad come to the door that led into the gallery, and had opened it and gone out on to the gallery itself.
But before they could find the spiral staircase a little way along, Pottersham had tripped oversomething - something that hissed2 like an engine letting off steam, and had wound itself round hislegs.
He yelled, and struck out at whatever it was. At first he had thought it was a man lying in wait forhim, who had pounced4 at his legs - but he knew it wasn't a man now. No man could hiss3 like that!
One of the men shone a torch down to see what was the matter with Pottersham. What he saw madehim yell and almost drop the torch.
'A snake! A snake bigger than any I've ever seen! It's got you, Pottersham!'
'Help me, man, help me!' shouted Pottersham, hitting down at the snake as hard as he could. 'It'ssqueezing my legs together in its coils.'
The other men ran to help him. As soon as they began to tug6, Beauty uncoiled and glided7 off into theshadows.
'Where's the horrible thing gone?' panted Pottersham. 'It nearly crushed my legs to powder!
Quick, let's go before it comes back. Where in the world did it come from?'
They took a few steps - but the snake was lying in wait for them! It tripped them all up by gliding8 inand out of their legs, and then began to coil itself round one of the men's waists.
Such a shouting and yelling and howling began then! If ever there were frightened men, those fourwere! No matter where they went, that snake seemed to be there, coiling and uncoiling, gliding,writhing, squeezing!
It was Jo who had set the python on to them, of course. Jo had stayed in the gallery while all thedisturbance upstairs had been going on, Beauty draped round her neck. The girl tried in vain to makeout what was happening.
And then she had heard a door slam, a bolt shot home, and men's feet pouring down the stone 94stairs! She guessed it must be the four whose voices she had heard earlier in the evening, the menwho had gone through the passages.
'Beauty! Now it's your turn to do something,' said Jo, and she pulled the snake off her shoulders.
He poured himself down her and flowed on to the ground in one beautiful movement. He glidedtowards the men, who were now coming out of the gallery. After that, the python had the time of hislife. The more the men howled the more excited the big snake became.
Jo was huddled9 in a corner, laughing till the tears ran down her cheeks. She knew the snake was quiteharmless unless he gave one of the men too tight a squeeze. She couldn't see what was going on, butshe could hear.
'Oh dear - there's another one down!' she thought, as she heard one of the men tripped up by Beauty.
'And there goes another! I shall die of laughing. Good old Beauty! He's never allowed to behave likethis in the usual way. He must be enjoying himself!'
At last the men could bear it no more. 'Come up to that tower-room!' yelled Pottersham. I'm not goingback through those dark passages with snakes after me. There must be dozens of them here. We'll bebitten soon!'
Jo laughed out loud. Dozens of them! Well, probably Beauty did seem like a dozen snakes to thebewildered men falling over one another in the dark. But Beauty would not bite - he was notpoisonous.
Somehow the men got up into the tower-room, and left the snake behind. Beauty was tired of thegame now, and went to Jo when the girl called to him. She draped him round her neck, and listened.
The door up in the tower-room had slammed. Jo slipped up the steps, felt for the door-bolt in thedarkness and neatly10 and quietly pulled it across. Now, unless the men liked to risk going down thepeg-rope, which she guessed Bufflo had put up against the wall to rescue the others, they were nicelytrapped. And if they did go down the rope they would be sure to find a few people waiting for them atthe bottom!
'Come on Beauty, let's go,' said Jo, and went down the steps, wishing she had a torch. Sheremembered the little lantern that had been left in the hidden room, and felt more cheerful. She wouldbe able to take that with her down all those dark passages. Good!
Beauty slithered in front of her. He knew the way all right! They came to the little room, and Jothankfully picked up the lantern. She looked down at the big python and he stared up at her with 95gleaming, unwinking eyes. His long body coiled and uncoiled, shining brown and polished in thelight.
'I wouldn't mind you for a pet, if you were a bit smaller,' Jo told him. 'I don't know why people don'tlike snakes. Oh, Beauty - it makes me laugh to think of the way you treated those men!'
She chuckled11 as she went along the secret ways, holding the lantern high, except when she came tothe last passage of all, and had to walk bent12 double. Beauty waited for her when she came to the holein the wall. He had heard noises outside.
Jo climbed out first, and was immensely surprised to find herself pounced on and held. She wriggledand shouted and struggled, and finally bit the hand that was holding her.
Then a torch was shone on her and a shout went up. 'It's Jo! Jo, where have you been? And look here,if you bite like that I'll scrag you!'
'Bufflo! I'm sorry - but what did you want to go and pounce5 on me for?' cried Jo. The moon suddenlycame out and lighted up the scene. She saw Julian and the rest there, coming up eagerly.
'Jo! Are you all right?' said her uncle. 'We were worried about you. Where have you been?'
'You escaped!' she cried. 'Did you all get safely down the peg-rope?'
'There's no time to tell about that now,' said Bufflo, watching the hole in the wall. 'What about thosefellows? We're waiting for them here. Did you hear anything of them, Jo?'
'Oh, yes. I followed them. Oh, Bufflo, it was so funny...' said Jo, and began to laugh. Bufflo, shookher, but she couldn't stop. And then who should come gliding out through the hole but Beauty!
Mr. Slither saw him at once and gave a yell. 'Beauty! Jo, did you take him with you. You wicked girl!
Come here, my Beauty!'
The snake glided to him and wound himself lovingly round him.
'I'm not wicked,' said Jo, indignantly. 'Beauty wanted to come with me and he did - and oh, he gotmixed up with all those men, and...'
She went off into peals13 of laughter again. Dick grinned in sympathy. Jo was very funny when shecouldn't stop laughing.
Alfredo shook her roughly and made her stop. 'Tell us what you know about those men,' hecommanded. 'Are they coming out this way? Where are they?'
'Oh - the men,' said Jo, wiping her eyes and trying to stop laughing. 'They're all right. Beauty 96chased them back to the tower-room, and I bolted them in. They're still there. I expect - unless theydare to get down the peg-rope, which I bet they won't!'
Bufflo gave a short laugh. 'You did well, Jo,' he said. 'You and Beauty!'
He gave a sharp order to Alfredo and the rubber-man, who went back over the wall and into thecourtyard to watch if the men slid down the peg-rope.
'I think it would be a good idea to get the police now,' said Terry-Kane, beginning to feel that he mustbe in some kind of extraordinary dream, with peg-ropes and whips and knives and snakes turning upin such a peculiar14 manner. 'That fellow Pottersham is dangerous. He's a traitor15, and must be caughtbefore he gives away all that he knows about the work he and I have been doing.'
'Right,' said Bufflo. 'We've got another fellow locked up too - in an empty caravan16.'
'But - didn't he escape then?' said Jo, surprised. 'I thought that man Pottersham, who's up in the tower-room now, was the one we locked up.'
'The one we locked up is still locked up,' said Bufflo grimly.
'But who is he, then?' said Terry-Kane, bewildered.
'We'll soon find out,' said Bufflo. 'Come on, let's get going now. It's very late, you kids must be dyingof hunger, somebody ought to go to the police, and I want to get back to camp.'
'Alfredo and the rubber-man will keep guard on the peg-rope,' said Mr. Slither, still fondling Beauty.
'There is no need to stay here any longer.'
So down the hill they went, talking nineteen to the dozen. Terry-Kane went off to the police-stationand to telephone what he vaguely17 called 'the high-up authorities'. The five children began to thinkhungrily of something to eat and drink! Timmy ran to the stream as soon as they reached the field andbegan to lap thirstily.
'Let's just find out if you know the fellow we've got locked up in this caravan,' said Bufflo, when theygot to the camp. 'He seems the only unexplained bit so far.'
He unlocked the caravan, and called loudly. 'Come on out. We want to know who you are!' He heldup a lamp, and the man inside came slowly to the door.
There was a shout of amazement18 from all the children. 'Uncle Quentin!' cried Julian, Dick and Anne.
'Father!' shouted George. 'What ARE you doing here?'
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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2
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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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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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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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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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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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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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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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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16
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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