Chapter 20 A PECULIAR MESSAGE

Chapter 20 A PECULIAR¹ MESSAGE
Toby raced off to the horse-pond, very frightened. The pond was deep in the middle and Bennycouldn't swim. Dick and Julian went off hurriedly through the farm-gate up to Billycock Hill, callingas they went.
'Benny! Benny, where are you? Benny!'
They toiled² up the steep, heathery slopes, looking for any sign of the small boy, but there was none.
They were both anxious, Benny was such a little wanderer, and his pig made such a good excuse forgoing³ long distances!
'Benny! BENNY!' they called, and sometimes the echo⁴ came back to them, calling the name, too.
'Perhaps he will be at the camp,' said Dick. 'I know he wanted to visit it. He may be there, the littlemonkey - with Curly⁵, too.'
'I hope so,' said Julian, soberly⁶. 'But it's a long way for his small legs to go. I don't see how he 80could possibly find the way without someone to guide him - he has never been there yet!'
'Well, may be the girls spotted⁷ him on their way up,' said Dick. 'My word - this is a day, isn't it? -nobody knows where Jeff and Ray are - and nobody knows where little Benny is either! I don't callthis a very good holiday!'
'Exciting - but decidedly worrying,' said Julian. 'Why do we always run into something like this?
We never seem to have a really peaceful time!'
Dick glanced sideways at Julian and gave a fleeting⁸ smile. 'Would you like a really peaceful time,Ju?' he said. 'I don't think you would! Come on - let's shout again!'
They came to the camp at last, not having seen a sign of Benny or the pigling. He was not at the campeither, that was quite clear. The girls and Timmy were alone.
They were horrified⁹ when they were told about Benny. Anne went pale. 'Let's go and look for him atonce,' she said. 'We must!'
'Well, can you make some sandwiches very quickly?' asked Dick. 'We're all hungry, and it won't takea minute. We can munch¹⁰ them as we go. Let's make a plan of campaign while you're cutting them.'
George and Anne set to work with the sandwiches. Anne's finger were all thumbs, she was soshocked to hear that little Benny was missing. 'Oh, I hope nothing's happened to him!' she said.
'Missing all the morning - for hours! Poor Mrs. Thomas!'
'The sandwiches are ready,' said George. 'Now, what's the plan, Julian? We all separate, I suppose,and quarter the hill, shouting all the time?'
'That's it,' said Julian, beginning on his sandwiches hungrily, and slipping some tomatoes andradishes into his pocket. 'You go round that side, Anne and George, one of you high up on the hill,and one lower down, so that your shouts cover as much distance as possible. And Dick and I will dothe same on this side. We'll go down to Butterfly Farm, too, in case he has wandered there.'
They all set off, and soon the hill echoed¹¹ to stentorian¹² shouts. 'BENNY! BE-ENNY! BENNY!
Coo-ee, Benny! Coo-ee!'
Over the heather scrambled¹³ the four, with Timmy excitedly leaping about, too. He knew that Bennywas lost, and he was sniffing¹⁴ for some smell of the small boy - but his sharp nose could find nothing.
Julian went to Butterfly Farm and searched all about, but there was no sign of the boy there. In 81fact, there was no sign of anyone, not even old Mrs. Janes. She had gone off somewhere, and the twomen were out butterflying as usual. In fact, George and Anne saw them as they searched their side ofthe hill, and called to them.
'Have you seen anything of a small boy and a little pig?' The two men were curt¹⁵ and unhelpful.
'No. No sign at all.'
'I suppose they're annoyed because they still think the boys broke the glass of their Butterfly House!'
said George. 'Well, I wish they would hunt for Benny instead of butterflies.'
It was two hours before Benny was found, and the Five had almost given up looking for him.
They had met together as they came round the hill, and were standing¹⁶ in despair, wondering what todo next, when Timmy suddenly pricked¹⁷ up his ears. Then he barked - an excited little bark that saidas plainly as possible, 'I've heard something interesting.'
'What is it then, Tim, what is it?' cried George at once. 'Go find, go find!'
Timmy trotted¹⁸ off, his ears well pricked. He stopped every now and again and listened, then went onagain. The children listened, too, but they could hear nothing - no call, no groan¹⁹, no whimper.
'Why - he's going downhill towards the caves,' said Julian at last. 'The caves! Why didn't we think ofthose? But how could that tiny little fellow have found the way there - it's a long and complicatedway from Billycock Farm?'
'He might have followed Curly, the pig,' said Anne. 'We always thought that he only pretended thatthe pig ran away, so that he could wander where he liked and blame it on the pig. But this time thepig might really have ''runned away''!'
'Let's hope it's Benny that Timmy can hear,' said Julian. 'I must say I can't hear a single sound andI've got pretty sharp ears!'
And then the next minute they all heard something - a small, tired voice calling high and clear -'Curly! Curly! I want you!'
'BENNY!' yelled²⁰ everyone and leapt ahead so fast that the heathery ground shook beneath theirtrampling feet.
Timmy was there first, of course, and when the four children came up, they saw him gently lickingthe golden-haired little boy, who had put his arms round the dog's neck in delight. Benny was sittingjust outside the entrance of the caves, all by himself - his pigling was not there.
'Benny! Oh, Benny darling, we've found you,' cried Anne, and knelt down beside him. He looked 82up at the others, not seeming at all surprised to see them.
'Curly runned away,' he said. 'He runned right away. Curly's gonned in there,' and he pointed²¹ into thecaves.
'Thank goodness you didn't follow him!' said George. 'You might never have been found! Comealong - we must take you home!'
But as soon as she lifted up the child he began to kick and scream. 'No! No! I want Curly! I wantCurly!'
'Darling, he'll come along when he's tired of the caves,' said Anne. 'But your Mummy wants you now- and your dinner is waiting for you.'
'I'm hungry,' announced Benny. 'I want my dinner - but I want Curly, too. Curly! Curly! Come here!'
'We must take Benny back,' said Dick. 'His mother will be so terribly worried. Curly will eventuallycome out if he's got sense enough to remember the way - if not, well - it's just too bad!
We daren't go wandering down the unroped paths in case we get lost. Come on, bring Benny,George.'
'Curly will come when he's ready,' George said, as she carried the little boy away from the entrance tothe caves. 'But now your Mummy wants you, and your dinner's waiting.'
With Timmy jumping up delightedly beside her, she carried the small boy down the chalky path,talking to him. They were all so thankful to have found him that they felt quite cheerful, forgettingJeff and Ray for a time. They teased²² little Benny, trying to make him forget his lost pet.
Mrs. Thomas was overjoyed to see the small boy again. She cried over him as she took him into herarms. 'Oh, Benny, Benny - what a bad pair you are, you and your pigling.'
'He runned away,' said Benny, of course. He was set down at the table to have his dinner and beganto eat very fast indeed because he was so hungry. Everyone sat and watched him, so glad to have himsafe again that they hardly took their eyes off him while he gobbled his meal.
He finished at last. 'I'm going to look for Curly,' he announced as he got down from his chair.
'Oh, no, you're not,' said his mother. 'You're going to stay with me. I want you to help me to makesome cakes. Curly will come home when he's ready.'
And in an hour's time, when Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Toby were busy at the messy job ofcleaning out the duck-pond, Curly did come back. He trotted into the farmyard, making his usual 83funny little squeals²³, and everyone looked round at once.
'CURLY! You have come back! Oh, you bad little pig!' cried George, and Timmy ran up to thepigling and sniffed²⁴ him and licked²⁵ him. The pig turned himself round to look for Benny - and Julianlaughed.
'Someone's written something on him - in black! Come here, Curly, and let's see.'
Curly trotted over to him, and Julian examined the rather smudged black lettering. 'Can't make it out,'
he said. 'Somebody's printed something on his pink little body - silly thing to do - but it will washoff.'
'Wait!' said Dick sharply²⁶, as Julian bent²⁷ to get one of the rags they were using, to wash the pigling'sbody. 'WAIT, I say! Look - isn't that a J and a T and below those are letters that look like R and V -no, W, because half that letter has been rubbed off by heather or something.'
Now everyone was staring in excitement. 'J... T, and R... W!' said Toby in a breathless voice.
Then it rose to a shout. 'They stand for JEFF THOMAS AND RAY WELLS. What does it mean- who put those letters there?'
'There are some more letters, smaller and rather smudged,' said Julian. 'Hold the pigling still, Dick.
We must, we must make out what they are! It's some kind of message from Jeff and Ray.
The pigling must have been where they are hidden!'
They all looked earnestly at the smudgy letters, which appeared to be five in number. They werealmost unreadable - but Dick's sharp brain got hold of them at last.
'The word is CAVES!' he said. 'See - the first letter might be G or O or C - but the third one iscertainly V and last is S. I'm sure it's CAVES - and that's where Curly went, we know.'
'Whew! That's where Jeff and Ray are hidden then,' said Julian. 'Quite near, after all - and we thoughtthey had been taken away by car and hidden miles away! Quick - where's your father, Toby?'
Mr. Thomas was found and was shown Curly, with the smudgy black letters on his back. He wasastounded. 'So Curly went wandering in the caves, did he - what a pig he is! Can't keep his nose outof anything! And somehow he went to where Jeff and Ray were. What a strange way to send amessage - they could surely have tied one on to his tail, or round his neck - these letters are almostunreadable!'
'I nearly washed them off, thinking that somebody had played a silly joke on Curly,' said Julian.
'My word - if I had, we'd not have known where Jeff and Ray were. What shall we do now, sir?
84
Go to the caves at once? Telephone the police?'
'Both!' said Mr. Thomas. 'The police must know because they are searching everywhere, of course.
Now - you start off to the caves - but take a ball of string with you, because Jeff and Ray won't havebeen hidden in any of the roped tunnels, where sightseers so often go, and without string you mightnot be able to find your way back down the unroped ones. You may find that you need to unwind thestring in order to get back safely. And take Timmy. He'll be useful.'
'He certainly will!' said Julian. 'And we'll take the little pig, too, so that Timmy can smell him, andthen smell the tracks Curly made as he wandered through the caves, and follow them! We shan't haveto wander all about wondering where Jeff and Ray are then.'
The Five set off at once, with Toby, too, all as excited as they could possibly be.
'Good old Jeff! Good old Ray!' Toby kept saying. 'We're coming! Hang on, we're coming!'

1 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

2 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

3 forgoing   

v.没有也行，放弃( forgo的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Everything, in short, is produced at the expense of forgoing something else. 总之，每一种东西的生产，都得以牺牲放弃某些其他东西为代价。 来自互联网
• These aren't the only ones forgoing the morning repast, of course. 当然，他们并不是放弃早餐的唯一几个。 来自互联网

4 echo   

n.回音，共鸣；vi.发出回声；vt.模仿，附和

参考例句：

• She shouted on the mountaintop and listened for the echo.她在山顶上大声喊着，然后聆听着回声。
• I should like to echo the words of the previous speaker.我想重复前面一位发言者的话。

5 curly   

adj.卷曲的，卷缩的

参考例句：

• The little boy has curly hair.这小男孩长着一头卷发。
• She is tall and dark with curly hair.她高高的个子，黑皮肤，卷头发。

6 soberly   

adv. 清醒地，严肃地，素净地

参考例句：

• We must be soberly aware that there is still a long way ahead of us. 我们一定要清醒地认识到我们的前面还有一段漫长的道路。
• She walked on more soberly now, and she was lonely. 她一个劲往前走去，这时头脑更加清醒了，感到自己格外孤单。

7 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

8 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

9 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

10 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

11 echoed   

重复，随声附和( echo的过去式和过去分词 )； 类似； 发射（声音等）； 发出回声

参考例句：

• Their shouts re-echoed through the darkness. 他们的喊声回荡在黑暗中。
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

12 stentorian   

adj.大声的，响亮的

参考例句：

• Now all joined in solemn stentorian accord.现在，在这庄严的响彻云霄的和声中大家都联合在一起了。
• The stentorian tones of auctioneer,calling out to clear,now announced that the sale to commence.拍卖人用洪亮的声音招呼大家闪开一点，然后宣布拍卖即将开始。

13 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

18 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

19 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

20 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

22 teased   

v.取笑，戏弄( tease的过去式和过去分词 )；梳理（羊毛等）

参考例句：

• He took a screwdriver and teased out the remaining screws. 他拿出螺丝刀把其余的螺丝卸了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt annoyance at being teased. 我恼恨别人取笑我。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

24 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 licked   

舔( lick的过去式和过去分词 )； 打败； （波浪）轻拍； （火焰）吞卷

参考例句：

• He licked his fingers. 他舔了一下自己的手指。
• The flames of the fire licked the sides of the fireplace. 火焰卷烧着壁炉的边缘。

26 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

27 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。