Chapter 17 PRISONERS TOGETHER

Chapter 17 PRISONERS TOGETHER
　　The two girls and Timmy made their way carefully, hoping to come across the lines that led to thequarry. They were lucky. They went across the gap in the lines where once long ago the gypsies hadwrenched out the rails, and came to where they began again, and led to the edge of the quarry¹.
　　76
　　'Here they are!' said George, thankfully. 'Now we're all right. We've only just got to follow these andwe'll be in the quarry. I hope it will be warmer than here. Brrrr! This mist is terribly cold andclammy.'
　　'It came up so suddenly,' said Anne, shining her torch downwards². 'I couldn't believe my eyes when Ilooked round and saw it creeping up on us. I...'
　　She stopped suddenly. Timmy had given a low growl³. 'What's up, Tim?' whispered George. He stoodquite still, his hackles up and his tail motionless. He looked steadfastly⁴ into the mist.
　　'Oh dear. What can be the matter now?' whispered Anne. 'I can't hear a thing, can you?'
　　They listened. No, there was nothing to hear at all. They went on into the quarry, thinking thatTimmy might have heard a rabbit or hedgehog, and growled⁵ at it as he sometimes did.
　　Timmy heard a sound and ran to the side, lost in the mist at once. He suddenly yelped⁶ loudly, thenthere was a heavy thud, and no more sound from Timmy!
　　'Timmy! What's happened! Timmy, come here!' shouted George, at the top of her voice. But noTimmy came. The girls heard the sound of something heavy being dragged away, and George ranafter the sound.
　　'Timmy! Oh Timmy, what's happened!' she cried. 'Where are you? Are you hurt?'
　　The mist swirled⁷ round, and she tried to beat against it with her fists, angry that she could not see.
　　'Tim! Tim!'
　　Then a pair of hands took her arms from behind and a voice said, 'Now you come with me! You werewarned not to snoop about on the moor⁸!'
　　George struggled violently, less concerned for herself than for Timmy.
　　'Where's my dog?' she cried. 'What have you done to him?'
　　'I knocked him on the head,' said the voice, which sounded very like Sniffer's father. 'He's all right,but he won't feel himself for a bit! You can have him back if you're sensible.'
　　George wasn't sensible. She kicked and fought and wriggled¹⁰ and struggled. It was no use. She washeld in a grip like iron. She heard Anne scream once and knew that she had been caught too.
　　When George was too tired to struggle any more, she was led firmly out of the quarry with Anne.
　　'Where's my dog?' she sobbed¹¹. 'What have you done with him?'
　　'He's all right,' said the man behind her. 'But if you make any more fuss I'll give him another blow onthe head. NOW will you be quiet.'
　　77
　　George was quiet at once. She was taken with Anne across the moor for what seemed like miles, butwas really only the fairly short distance between the quarry and the gypsies' camp.
　　'Are you bringing my dog?' asked George, unable to contain her fears about Timmy.
　　'Yes. Somebody's got him,' said her captor. 'You shall have him back safe and sound, if you do whatyou're told!'
　　George had to be content with that. What a night! The boys gone, Timmy hurt, she and Annecaptured, and this horrible, wreathing mist all the time!
　　The mist cleared a little as they came near to the gypsy camp. The hill behind seemed to keep it off.
　　George and Anne saw the light of a fire, and of a few lanterns here and there. More men weregathered together, waiting. Anne thought she could see Sniffer and Liz in the background but shecouldn't be sure.
　　'If only I could get hold of Sniffer,' she thought. 'He would soon find out if Timmy is really hurt.
　　Oh Sniffer, do come nearer if it's you!'
　　Their captors took them to the little fire, and made both girls sit down. One of the men thereexclaimed in surprise.
　　'But these are not those two boys! This is a boy and a girl, not as tall as the others were!'
　　'We're two girls,' said Anne, thinking that the men might treat George less roughly if they knew shewas not a boy. 'I'm a girl and so is she.'
　　She got a scowl¹² from George, but took no notice. This was not the time to pretend anything.
　　These men were ruthless, and very angry. They thought their plans had gone wrong, all because oftwo boys. Perhaps when they found they had got two girls, they would let them go.
　　The men began to question them. 'Where are the boys then?'
　　'We've no idea! Lost in the mist,' said Anne. 'We all went out to go back home, and got separated, soGeorge, I mean Georgina, and I went back to the quarry.'
　　'Did you hear the plane?'
　　'Of course!'
　　'Did you see or hear it dropping anything?'
　　'We didn't see anything drop, we heard it,' said Anne. George stared at her furiously. Why was Annegiving all this away? Perhaps she thought that Timmy would be given back to them if they provedhelpful? George immediately changed her mind about feeling cross with Anne. If only Timmy wereall right!
　　78
　　'Did you pick up what the plane dropped?' The man rapped out the question so sharply that Annehumped. What should she say?
　　'Oh yes,' she heard herself saying. 'We picked up a few queer parcels. What was in them, do youknow?'
　　'Never you mind,' said the man. 'What did you do with the parcels?'
　　George stared at Anne, wondering what she was going to say. Surely, surely she wouldn't give thatsecret away?
　　'I didn't do anything with them,' said Anne, in an innocent voice. 'The boys said they would hidethem. So they went off into the mist with them, but they didn't come back. So George and I went tothe quarry again. That's when you caught us.'
　　The men talked among themselves in low voices. Then Sniffer's father turned to the girls again.
　　'Where did the boys hide these packets?'
　　'How do I know?' said Anne. 'I didn't go with them. I didn't see what they did with them.'
　　'Do you think they will still have got them with them?' asked the man.
　　'Why don't you go and find the boys and ask them?' said Anne. 'I haven't seen or heard of the boyssince they left us and went into the mist. I don't know what became of them or the parcels!'
　　'They're probably lost somewhere on the moors,' said the old, grey-haired gypsy. 'With the packets!
　　We'll look for the boys tomorrow. They won't get home in this! We'll fetch them back here.'
　　'They wouldn't come,' said George. 'As soon as they saw you, they'd run. You'd never catch them.
　　Any way they'd get back home as soon as the mist cleared.'
　　'Take these girls away,' said the old gypsy, sounding tired of them. 'Put them in the far cave, and tiethem up.'
　　'Where's my dog?' shouted George, suddenly. 'You bring me my dog!'
　　'You haven't been very helpful,' said the old gypsy. 'We'll question you again tomorrow, and if youare more helpful, you shall have your dog.'
　　Two men took the girls away from the fire and over to the hill. A large opening led into the queer hill.
　　One of the men had a lantern and led the way, the other man walking behind.
　　A passage led straight into the hill. There was sand underfoot, and it seemed to Anne as if even thewalls were made of sand. How strange!
　　79
　　The hill was honeycombed with passages. They criss-crossed and forked like burrows¹³ in a rabbit-warren. Anne wondered however the men could find their way!
　　They came at last to a cave that must have been right in the heart of the hill, a cave with a sandyfloor, and a post that was driven deeply into the ground.
　　Ropes were fastened firmly to it. The two girls looked at them in dismay. Surely they were not goingto be tied up like prisoners!
　　But they were! The ropes were fastened firmly round their waists and knotted at the back. The knotswere gypsy knots, firm, tight and complicated. It would take the girls hours to unpick those, evensupposing they could manage to reach right round to their backs!
　　'There you are,' said the men, grinning at the two angry girls. 'May be in the morning you willremember where those packets were put?'
　　'You go and get my dog,' ordered George. But they only laughed loudly and went out of the cave.
　　It was stuffy¹⁴ and hot in there. George was worried to death about Timmy, but Anne was almost tootired to think.
　　She fell asleep, sitting up uncomfortably with the ropes round her waist, and the knots digging intoher back. George sat brooding. Timmy - where was he? Was he badly hurt? George was verymiserable indeed.
　　She didn't go to sleep. She sat there, worrying, wide awake. She made an attempt to get at the knotsbehind her, but it was no use, she couldn't.
　　Suddenly she thought she heard a noise. Was that someone creeping up the passage to the cave?
　　She felt frightened. Oh, if only Timmy were here!
　　Sniff⁹! Sniff!
　　'Gracious goodness, it must be Sniffer!' thought George, and at that moment she almost loved thedirty little gypsy boy!
　　'Sniffer!' she called quietly, and put on her torch. Sniffer's head appeared and then his body. He wascrawling quietly up the passage on all fours.
　　He came right into the cave, and stared at her and the sleeping Anne. 'I've sometimes been tied uphere too,' he said.
　　'Sniffer, how is Timmy?' asked George, anxiously. 'Tell me, quickly!'
　　'He's all right,' said Sniffer. 'He's just got a bad cut on his head. I bathed it for him. He's tied up too,and he's mad about it!'
　　80
　　'Sniffer, listen, go and get Timmy and bring him to me,' said George, breathlessly. 'And bring me aknife too, to cut these ropes. Will you? Can you?'
　　'Oooh, I dunno,' said Sniffer, looking frightened. 'My father would half kill me!'
　　'Sniffer, is there anything you want, anything you've always wanted?' said George. 'I'll give it to youif you do this for me. I promise you!'
　　'I want a bike,' said Sniffer, surprisingly. 'And I want to live in a house, and ride my bike to school.'
　　'I'll see that you have what you want, Sniffer,' said George, wildly. 'Only, do, do go and get Timmy,and a knife! You got here without being seen, you can surely get back again safely with Timmy.
　　Think of that bike!'
　　Sniffer thought of it. Then he nodded and disappeared down the passage as silently as he had come.
　　George waited and waited. Would he bring dear old Timmy to her, or would he be caught?

1 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

2 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

3 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。

4 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 growled   

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

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 yelped   

v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot. 马踩了他的脚痛得他喊叫起来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked. 鞭子一响，猎狗发出一阵嗥叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

8 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

9 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

10 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》

11 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

12 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

13 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

14 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。