'Let's go,' said George. 'We can't find out any more from the poor old woman. I'm glad that son ofhers has been arrested for thieving. At least he won't be here to knock her about any more!'
Mr. Gringle began to talk angrily again, but the Five had had enough. Timmy growled1 and made himretreat.
'We're going, Mr. Gringle,' said Julian coldly. 'We shall be very glad to see the police, if you havereally sent them after us. Quite a lot has been going on here that you don't know anything about.
You've noticed nothing but your butterflies and moths2.'
'Anything wrong in that, you uncivil boy?' shouted Mr. Gringle.
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'Well, it would have been a good thing if you had noticed how that fellow Janes knocked his poormother about,' said Julian. 'I suppose you haven't even seen the bruised3 black eye she has thismorning? No? I thought not. Well, may be the police will be asking you a few questions soon - aboutthe four strangers that have been hiding in that little bedroom up there!'
'What? What's that you say? What do you mean?' stammered4 Mr. Gringle, astonished. 'Men?
Where from? Who?'
'I've no idea,' said Julian. 'I wish I had.' And then the Five walked off together, leaving a very puzzledand worried Mr. Gringle behind them.
'It serves him right,' said Julian. 'To think that he could make that miserable5 little woman slave forhim, and never even notice how frightened and unhappy she was - or even see that she had a blackeye from that scoundrel of a son. Let him get back to his butterflies!'
'What did Mrs. Janes mean - mumbling6 about men hidden in that room - four of them she said,'
wondered Anne. 'And why did they go and watch on the hill-side? What for? That must have beenone of them you saw that night of the storm, Julian - the one you spotted7 with the butterfly net, whosaid he was Mr. Brent. I suppose he pretended to be him, so that nobody would ask him why he wasprowling out there!'
'Yes, you're right,' said Julian. 'Of course, they may have been watching the airfield8, you know -yes, of course that's what they were doing! Why didn't I think of that before? They were watching itnight and day - two by day, I suppose, and two by night - and paid Janes to keep them hidden in thatroom. What were they up to?'
'Julian - could it - could it possibly be anything to do with the stolen aeroplanes?' asked George, withsudden excitement in her voice.
'It might. It certainly might,' said Julian. 'But I don't know how it ties up with Jeff Thomas and RayWells flying them away. That doesn't seem to fit, somehow. You know - I do really believe we are onto something here! Let's go down to Billycock Farm and see if Mr. Thomas, Toby's father, is about. Ithink we ought to tell him all we know.'
'Yes, that's a fine idea,' said Anne, pleased. 'We do want a bit of help over this now.'
'Well, come on then,' said Julian, and off they went at top speed down the hill, taking the path toBillycock Farm. They soon came to the farm-yard and called Toby.
'Toby! Where are you? We've got a bit of news.'
Toby appeared at the barn-door, looking rather pale, for he had had a bad night. 'Oh, hallo - what 73news? The only news I want to hear is about Jeff. I can't get it out of my mind.'
'Where's your father?' asked Julian. 'We think he ought to hear what we've got to say. He'll knowwhat to do. I'm afraid we don't - it's a puzzle we can't seem to fit together!'
'I'll call Dad,' said Toby at once, and sent a shout over the field where red-and-white cows weregrazing. 'Da-ad! Da-ad! You're WANTED!'
His father came hurrying over the field. 'What is it? I'm busy.'
'Dad - Julian and Dick have got something to tell you,' said Toby. 'It won't take very long - but they'rea bit worried.'
'Oh - well, what is it, lads?' said Mr. Thomas, turning his kindly9 brown face to the boys. 'Got into anytrouble?'
'Oh no, sir - not exactly,' said Julian. 'I'll tell you as shortly as I can.' And he began to tell him the taleof the Butterfly Farm - and of the man he had seen at night on the hill - of the old woman at theButterfly Farm, and of Will Janes, who treated her so badly. The farmer nodded at that.
'Ay!' he said. 'Will's changed this last year. Got into bad company, of course.'
'We've met some of the ''bad company'',' said Julian, and told of their adventure the night before -and then ended by telling Mr. Thomas what the old woman had said to them that morning.
'Now what has Will Janes been up to?' said the farmer. 'Bad enough to get into ill company - butworse to ill-treat his poor old mother! He'll have to say who these men are that he's been harbouringup there at Butterfly Farm - and why they go out at night - watching the airfield, as you say, I don'tdoubt. Why, may be they've even had a hand in the stealing of those planes!'
Toby became very excited at this and his face grew crimson10. 'Dad! May be it was those men whotook the planes! There were four, weren't there? They would be strong enough to capture Jeff andRay and take them off somewhere - and then two of them could fly off the planes, and the other twowatch poor Jeff and Ray, wherever they are!'
'You know - you may be right, young Toby,' said his father. 'This is a matter for the police - and atonce, too. They must get on to Will, and get everything out of him - make him confess. If Jeff andRay are held prisoner anywhere, they must be freed.'
Toby was dancing round in excitement. 'I knew it wasn't Jeff! I knew he couldn't do a thing like that!
I'm sure it was two of those men. Dad, get on to the police at once.'
Mr. Thomas hurried indoors to the telephone, and was soon telling the police all he knew. Theylistened in astonishment11, and at once saw the tremendous importance of the information the 74children had given.
'We'll question Will Janes at once,' they said. 'He's held on a matter of thieving, so we've got himunder our hands. We'll call you back, sir - in about half an hour.'
That half-hour was the very longest the children had ever known. Julian looked at his watch a scoreof times, and nobody could sit still, least of all Toby. Anne was fidgety, too, and thought she wouldplay with Benny. But neither Benny nor the pigling were there, so she had to wait in patience.
When the telephone bell at last shrilled12 out everyone jumped violently. Mr. Thomas ran to it.
'Yes - yes - that's the police speaking, is it? Yes, I'm listening. What's the news? Oh... yes...
yes...'
The farmer held the telephone close to his ear, nodding as he listened intently. The children watchedhim just as intently, trying to glean13 something from his few words, and from his face.
'I see. Well - that's very disappointing,' they heard Mr. Thomas say, and their hearts sank. 'Thank you.
Yes, very worrying indeed. Good-bye!'
He put down the receiver and faced the children. Toby called out to him. 'Was it Jeff who stole theplane, Dad? Was it?'
'No,' said his father, and Toby gave a wild yell of joy, and leapt into the air. 'Then nothing elsematters!' he cried. 'Oh, I knew it wasn't Jeff!'
'Wait a minute, wait a minute,' said Mr. Thomas. 'There's something very worrying.'
'What?' said Toby, startled.
'Will Janes has confessed that those four men were sent to steal those two planes,' he said. 'Two ofthem were first-class pilots - foreign, of course. The other two were thugs - bullies14 - sent to captureJeff and Ray that night in the storm. They knocked them out and dragged them away from theairfield, and hid them somewhere. Then the pilots got out the two planes, and flew them away. Whenthe alarm was raised, it was too late.'
'So - when the planes crashed into the sea, it was the foreign pilots who were drowned, not Jeff andRay?' said Julian.
'Yes. But here's the worrying part. The other two men, the ones who captured Jeff and Ray, havehidden them away, but didn't tell Janes where!' said Mr. Thomas. 'They refused to pay him anymoney for his help, because the planes had crashed and their plans had failed - and they also refusedto tell him where Jeff and Ray were hidden...'
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'And now I suppose the two thugs have left the district - made their escape - and left Jeff and Ray tostarve in some place where they may never be found!' said Toby, sitting down heavily and lookingsuddenly subdued15.
'Exactly,' said Mr. Thomas. 'And unless we find out where they are pretty quickly, things will go hardwith them - they're probably bound hand and foot - and are dependent on the two bullies for food andwater. Once the men are gone, there is no one to bring them anything!'
'Oh, I say!' said Toby, horrified16. 'Dad, we must find them, we must!'
'That's what the police think,' said his father. 'And what I think, too. But nobody knows where tolook!'
'Nobody knows where to look!' The words repeated themselves in everyone's mind. Nobody knowswhere to look!
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
growled
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| 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 | |
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moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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3
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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airfield
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| n.飞机场 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glean
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| v.收集(消息、资料、情报等) | |
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14
bullies
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| n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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15
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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16
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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