Chapter 15 LOCKED IN THE CAVE

Chapter 15 LOCKED IN THE CAVE
　　Dick, George and Anne looked at one another in dismay. Someone must have been lying in wait forthem, someone must have captured Timmy and shut him up. And now they were captured, too!
　　Timmy began to bark when Julian shouted. He ran to the door. Julian was hammering on it and evenkicking it.
　　A voice came from the other side of the door, a drawling voice, sounding rather amused.
　　'You came at an awkward time, that's all, and you must remain where you are till tomorrow.'
　　'Who are you?' said Julian fiercely. 'How dare you lock us in like this!'
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　　'I believe you have food and drink with you,' said the voice. 'I noticed the packs on your backs, whichI presume contain food. That is lucky for you! Now be sensible. You must pay the penalty of beinginquisitive!'
　　'You let us out!' shouted Julian, enraged¹ at the cool voice with its impertinent tone. He kicked thedoor again out of temper, though he knew that it wasn't the slightest use!
　　There was no reply. Whoever it was outside the cave door had gone. Julian gave the door one lastfurious kick and looked round at the others.
　　'That fellow must have been watching us from somewhere. Probably followed us all the way to theold house, and saw the packs on our backs then. It must have been he that you heard down in thehouse when we were in the tower, Anne.'
　　Timmy barked again. He was still at the door. George called him. 'Tim! It's no use! The door'slocked. Oh dear, why did we let you go into that hole first? If you hadn't run on ahead and somehowgot yourself caught, you'd have been able to protect us when those men lay in wait!'
　　'Well, what do we do now?' said Anne, trying to sound brave.
　　'What can we do?' said George. 'Nothing at all! Here we are, locked and bolted in a cave inside thecliff, with nobody near except the fellow who locked us in. If anybody's got any good ideas I'd like tohear them!'
　　'You do sound cross!' said Anne. 'I suppose there isn't anything to do but wait till we're let out. I onlyhope that man remembers we're here. Nobody else knows where we are.'
　　'Horrid thought!' said Dick. 'Still, I've no doubt that Mrs. Penruthlan would raise the alarm, and asearch-party would set out to find us.'
　　'What a hope they'd have!' said George. 'Even if they did trace us to the old tower, they wouldn'tknow the secret entrance to the passage!'
　　'Well, let's look on the cheerful side,' said Julian, undoing³ the pack from his back. 'Let's have somefood.'
　　Everybody cheered up at once. 'I feel quite hungry,' said Anne in surprise. 'It must be past our dinnertime now. Well, anyway, eating will be something to do!'
　　They had a very good meal and felt thankful that Mrs. Penruthlan had packed up so much food.
　　If they were not going to be let out till the next day they would need plenty to eat!
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　　They examined the boxes and crates⁴. Some were very old. All were empty. There was a big seaman'schest there, too, with 'Abram Trelawny' painted on it. They lifted the lid. That was empty, too, savefor one old brass⁵ button.
　　'Abram Trelawny,' said Dick, looking at the name. 'He must have been a sailor on one of the shipsthat the Wreckers enticed⁶ to the rocks. This chest must have been rolled up on the beach by the wavesand brought up here. I dare say this cave was the place where the man who owned that old house tookhis share of the booty and hid it.'
　　'Yes, I think you're right,' said Julian. 'That is why it has a door that can be locked. The Wreckerprobably stored quite a lot of valuable things here from different wrecks⁷, and didn't want any otherWrecker to creep up from the cave and take them. What a hateful lot they must have been!
　　Well, there doesn't seem anything of real interest here.'
　　It was very, very boring in the cave. The children used only one torch because they were afraid that ifthey used the two they had brought they might exhaust both batteries, and then have to be in the dark.
　　Julian examined the cave from top to bottom to see if there was any possible way of escape. But therewasn't. That was quite clear. The cave walls were made of solid rock, and there wasn't a holeanywhere through which to escape, big or small!
　　'That fellow said we'd come at an awkward time,' said Julian, throwing himself down on the ground.
　　'Why? Are they expecting some smuggled⁸ goods tonight? They've signalled out to sea twice alreadythis week, as we know. Hasn't the boat they expected come along yet? If so, they must be expecting ittonight, and so we've come at an awkward time!'
　　'If only we weren't locked in this beastly cave!' said George. 'We might have spied on them and seenwhat they were up to, and might even have been able to stop them somehow, or get word to thepolice.'
　　'Well, we can't now,' said Dick gloomily. 'Timmy, you were an ass² to get caught; you really were.'
　　Timmy put his tail down and looked as gloomy as Dick. He didn't like being in this low-roofed cave.
　　Why didn't they open the door and go out? He went to the door and whined⁹, scraping at it with hisfeet.
　　'No good, Tim. It won't open,' said Anne. 'I think he's thirsty, George.'
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　　There was nothing for Timmy to drink except home-made lemonade, and he didn't seem to like thatvery much.
　　'Don't waste it on him if he doesn't like it,' said Julian hastily. 'We may be jolly glad of it ourselvestomorrow.'
　　Dick glanced at his watch. 'Only half past two!' he groaned¹¹. 'Hours and hours to wait. Let's have agame of some sort, noughts¹² and crosses would be better than nothing.'
　　They played noughts and crosses till they were sick of them. They played word-games and guessinggames. They had a light tea at five o'clock and began to wonder what Mrs. Penruthlan would thinkwhen they didn't turn up that evening.
　　'If Mr. Penruthlan is mixed up in this affair, and it's pretty certain that he is,' said Julian, 'he'll not bebest pleased to be told to fetch the police to look for us! It's just the one night he won't want thepolice about!'
　　'I think you're wrong,' said George. 'I think he'd be delighted to have the police looking for lostchildren, and not poking¹³ their noses into his affairs tonight!'
　　'I hadn't thought of that,' said Julian. How slowly the time went by. They yawned, talked, fell silent,argued and played with Timmy. Julian's torch flickered¹⁴ out and they took Dick's instead.
　　'Good thing we brought two torches!' said Anne.
　　Half past nine came and they all began to feel sleepy.
　　'I vote we try to go to sleep,' said Dick, yawning hugely. 'There's a sandy spot over there, softer to lieon than this rock. What about trying to sleep?'
　　They all thought it was a good idea and went to the sandy spot. It certainly was better than the hardrock. They wriggled¹⁵ about in the sand and made dents¹⁶ for their bodies to lie in.
　　'It's still hard,' complained George. 'Oh, Timmy darling, don't snuffle all round my face. Lie downbeside me and Anne and go to sleep, too!'
　　Timmy lay down on George's legs. He put his nose on his paws and heaved a huge sigh.
　　'I hope Timmy's not going to do that all night,' said Anne. 'What a draught¹⁷!'
　　Although they thought they couldn't possibly go to sleep, they did. Timmy did, too, though he keptone ear open and one eye ready to open. He was on guard! No one could open that door or even comenear it without Timmy hearing!
　　At about eleven o'clock Timmy opened one eye and cocked both ears. He listened, not taking hishead off George's legs. He opened the other eye.
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　　Then he sat up and listened harder. George woke up when he moved and stretched out a hand toTimmy. 'Tim, lie down,' she whispered. But Timmy didn't. He gave a small whine¹⁰.
　　George sat up, fully¹⁸ awake. Why was Timmy whining¹⁹? Was there something going on outside thedoor, men passing perhaps, on their way to the cove²⁰? Had the light been flashing out to sea and had itbrought in the boat the men were waiting for?
　　She put her hand on Timmy's collar. 'What is it?' she whispered, expecting Timmy to growl²¹ when henext heard something. But he didn't growl. He whined again.
　　Then he shook off George's hand and went to the door. George switched on her torch, puzzled.
　　Timmy scraped at the door and whined again. But still he didn't growl.
　　'Ju! I believe someone is at the door!' called George, suddenly, in a low voice. 'I believe Timmy canhear a search-party or something. Wake up!'
　　Everyone awoke suddenly. George repeated her words again. 'Timmy's not growling²². That means it'snot our enemies he hears,' she added. 'He'd growl like anything at the man who locked us in.'
　　'Be quiet for a moment and listen,' said Julian. 'Let's see if we can hear anything ourselves. Wehaven't got Timmy's sharp ears, but we might be able to hear something.'
　　They sat absolutely still, listening. Then Julian nudged Dick. He had heard something. 'Quiet!' hebreathed. They listened again, hardly breathing.
　　They heard a little scrabbling noise at the door. Then it stopped. George expected Timmy to breakout into a fusillade of barks at once, but he didn't. He stood there with his head on one side and hisears cocked. He gave an excited little whine and suddenly scraped at the door again.
　　Somebody whispered outside the door, and Timmy whined and ran to George and then back to thedoor again. Everyone was puzzled.
　　Julian got up and went to the door himself, his feet making no sound. Yes, there was most certainlysomebody outside, two people, perhaps, whispering to one another?
　　'Who's there?' said Julian suddenly. 'I can hear you outside. Who is it?'
　　There was dead silence for a moment, and then a small familiar voice answered softly: 'It's me.
　　Yan.'
　　'Yan! Gosh! Is it really you?'
　　'Iss.'
　　There was an amazed silence in the cave. Yan! Yan at this time of night outside the door of the verycave they were locked in! Were they dreaming?
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　　Timmy went mad when he heard Yan speaking to Julian. He flung himself at the door, barking andyelping. Julian put his hand on his collar. 'Be quiet, idiot! You'll spoil everything! Be quiet!'
　　Timmy stopped. Julian spoke²³ to Yan again. 'Yan, have you got a light?'
　　'No. No light. It is dark here,' said Yan. 'Can I come to you?'
　　'Yes, of course. Listen, Yan. Do you know how to unlock and unbolt a door?' asked Julian,wondering whether the half-wild boy knew even such simple things.
　　'Iss,' said Yan. 'Are you locked in?'
　　'Yes,' said Julian. 'But the key may be in the lock. Feel and see. Feel for the bolts, too. Slide themback and turn the key if there is one.'
　　The four in the cave held their breath as they heard Yan's hands wandering over the stout door in thedark, tapping here and there to find the bolts and the lock.
　　Then they heard the bolts being slid smoothly²⁴ back. How they hoped their captor had left the key inthe lock!
　　'Here is a key,' said Yan's voice suddenly. 'But it is so stiff. My hand isn't strong enough to turn it.'
　　'Try both hands at once,' said Julian urgently.
　　They heard Yan trying, panting with his efforts. But the key would not turn.
　　'Blow!' said Dick. 'So near and yet so far!'
　　Anne pushed Dick out of the way, an idea suddenly flooding into her mind. 'Yan! Listen to me, Yan.
　　Take the key out of the lock and push it under the bottom of the door. Do you hear me?'
　　'Iss, I hear,' said Yan, and they heard him tugging²⁵ at the key. There was a sharp noise as it camesuddenly out of the lock. Then, lo and behold²⁶! It appeared under the bottom of the door, slid throughcarefully by Yan!
　　Julian snatched it up and put it into the lock his side. He turned the key, and unlocked the door.
　　What a wonderful bit of luck!

1 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

2 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

3 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

4 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

5 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

6 enticed   

诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。
• Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。

7 wrecks   

n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉

参考例句：

• The shores are strewn with wrecks. 海岸上满布失事船只的残骸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My next care was to get together the wrecks of my fortune. 第二件我所关心的事就是集聚破产后的余财。 来自辞典例句

8 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

9 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

10 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

11 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 noughts   

零，无，没有( nought的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A million is written with six noughts. 一百万写出来有六个零。
• Using binary notation is in fact just manipulating ones and noughts. 使用二进制标号法实际上只运用1和0两个数。

13 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

14 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

15 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 dents   

n.花边边饰；凹痕( dent的名词复数 )；凹部；减少；削弱v.使产生凹痕( dent的第三人称单数 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• He hammered out the dents in the metal sheet. 他把金属板上的一些凹痕敲掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Tin dents more easily than steel. 锡比钢容易变瘪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

19 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

20 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

21 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

22 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

23 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

24 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

25 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

26 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。