Chapter 5 THINGS MIGHT BE WORSE!

Chapter 5 THINGS MIGHT BE WORSE!
The three snarling¹ dogs took no notice of George. It was Timmy they wanted. Who was this strangedog who dared to come wandering round their home? They tried to get at him, but 19George stood there, swinging the leather lead, and giving first one dog and then another a sharp flick².
Julian rushed to help her - and then Timmy gave a sharp yelp³. He had been bitten!
Someone came rushing round the corner. It was Mrs. Jones, running as if she were a twelve-year-old!
'Tang! Bob! Dai!' she called, but the three dogs took no notice of her. And then, from somewhere,came a voice. What a voice! It echoed all round the farmyard as if it had come through a megaphone.
'DAI! BOB! TANG!'
And at the sound of that stentorian⁴ voice the three dogs stopped as if shot. Then they turned aboutand tore off at top speed.
'Thank God! That was Morgan,' panted the old woman, clutching her shawl round her. 'He must haveheard the barking. Oh, my little dear - are you hurt?' She took hold of George's arm, and looked at heranxiously.
'I don't know. I don't think so,' said George, looking rather white. 'It's Timmy that's hurt. Oh, Tim,darling Tim, where did they bite you?'
'Woof!' said Timmy, who, though extremely startled, didn't seem at all frightened. It had all happenedso suddenly. George dropped down on her knees in the snow, and gave a little scream.
'He's been bitten on the neck - oh look! Poor, poor, Timmy. Why did I let you off the lead?'
'It's not much, George,' said Julian, looking at the bleeding place. 'The other dog bit just where hiscollar is, look - and his teeth went through the collar, not really into Tim's neck. It's really not muchmore than a graze.'
Anne was leaning against the wall, looking sick, and Dick suddenly felt as if his legs were wobblyagain. He couldn't help thinking what would have happened if the three savage⁵ dogs had bittenGeorge instead of Timmy. Good old George! She was as brave as a lion!
'What a thing to happen!' said old Mrs. Jones, upset. 'Why for did you let him loose, my boy?
You should have waited for my Morgan to come along with his dogs, and tell them your Timmy wasa friend.'
'I know,' said George, still on her knees beside Timmy. 'It was all my fault. Oh, Timmy, I'm sothankful you've only got that one small bite. Mrs. Jones, have you any iodine⁶? I must put some on atonce.'
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But before Mrs. Jones could answer, the giant like figure of Morgan came round the corner of thebarn, his three dogs, extremely subdued⁷ now, at his heels.
'Hey?' he said, enquiringly, looking at the four children and his mother.
'The dogs attacked this one,' explained his mother. 'You shouted just in time, Morgan. But he's notmuch hurt. You should have seen this boy here - the one the dog belongs to - he stood in front of hisdog, and fought off Tang, Bob and Dai!'
Julian couldn't help smiling to hear George continually called a boy - but, standing⁸ there in snow-trousers and coat, a woollen cap on her short hair, she looked very like a sturdy boy.
'Please come and get the iodine,' said George, anxiously, seeing a drop of blood drip from Timmy'sneck on to the white snow. Morgan took a step forward and bent⁹ down to look at Timmy.
He made a small scornful sound and stood up again. 'He's all right,' he said, and walked off.
George stared after him angrily. It was his dogs that had attacked and hurt Timmy - and he hadn'teven been sorry about it! She felt so angry that tears came suddenly into her eyes. She blinked themaway, ashamed.
'I don't think I want to stay here,' she said, loudly and clearly. 'Those dogs will be sure to attackTimmy again. They might kill him. I shall go home.'
'Now, now, you're just upset,' said kind old Mrs. Jones, taking George's arm. George shook off herhand, scowling¹⁰. 'I'm not upset. I'm just angry to think my dog should have been attacked for nothing -and I'm sure he'll be attacked again. And I want to see to his neck. I'm going indoors.'
She stalked off with Timmy at her heels, her head well up, bitterly ashamed of two more tears thatsuddenly ran down her cheeks. It wasn't like old George to cry! But she was still not quite herselfafter being ill. The other three looked at one another.
'Go with her, Anne,' said Julian, and Anne obediently ran after George. Julian turned to the worriedold woman.
'You shouldn't stand out here in the cold,' he said, seeing that she was shivering, and pulling hershawl more closely round her. 'George will soon be all right. Don't take any notice of what she says.'
'She! What, isn't she a boy, then?' said Mrs. Jones, in surprise. 'Is it a girl she is - as brave as that?
Now there's a fine thing, to be sure! What'll Morgan say to that? But now, surely she won't go home,will she?'
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'No,' said Julian, hoping he was right. You never could tell with George! 'She'll soon get over it.
If we could get some iodine it would help, though! She's always terrified of wounds going bad, whereTimmy is concerned.'
'Come away in, then,' said Mrs. Jones, and hurried back to the farmhouse¹¹, refusing Julian's hand overthe snow. What an independent little old woman!
George was in the living-room with Timmy. She had got some water and was bathing the woundwith her handkerchief, having first taken off Tim's collar.
'I'll fetch you the iodine, boy,' said Mrs. Jones, forgetting again that George was a girl. She ran to herkitchen, and came back with a big bottle of brown liquid. George took it gratefully, and dabbed¹² someon Timmy, who stood still, quite enjoying all the fuss. He jumped a little when the iodine stung him,and George patted him and praised him.
'He wouldn't mind having iodine dabbed on him all day long, George, if you would only make a fussof him,' said Dick, with a laugh.
George looked up. 'He might have been killed,' she said. 'And if those dogs get him again, hecertainly will be! I'm going to go back home - not to your home, Ju - but to my own, at KirrinCottage.'
'Oh, don't be an ass¹³, George,' said Dick, exasperated¹⁴. 'Anyone would think Timmy had been injuredfor life or something. He's only got a skin wound! Why spoil what may be a jolly good holiday justfor that?'
'I don't trust those three dogs,' said George, stubbornly. 'They'll be out to get Tim now - I know theywill. I tell you I'm going home. I'm not spoiling your holiday - only my own.'
'Well, listen - stay one more day,' said Julian, hoping that if she did, George would see how stupidlyshe was behaving. 'Just one more day. That's not much to ask. It will upset old Mrs.
Jones dreadfully if you rush off like this - and it will be difficult to make arrangements for you to goback today, now that everywhere is under snow again.'
'All right,' said George, ungraciously. 'I'll stay till tomorrow. It will give Timmy a bit of time to getover his fright. But ONLY till tomorrow.'
'Tim's not frightened,' said Anne. 'George, he would have taken on all three dogs by himself if youhadn't gone to his help. Wouldn't you, Timmy?'
'Woof, woof!' said Timmy, agreeing at once. He wagged his tail vigorously. Dick laughed. 'Good oldTim!' he said. 'You don't want to go home, do you?'
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'Woof!' said Timmy, obligingly, and wagged his tail again. George put on one of her scowls¹⁵, andJulian nudged the others to warn them to stop teasing her. He didn't want George suddenly to changeher mind and rush off home straightaway!
'I vote we go for a walk,' said Dick. 'It's a shame to stick indoors like this on this sunny, snowy day.
Anne, are you coming?'
'I will if George does,' said Anne. But George shook her head.
'No,' she said. 'I'll stay in with Tim this morning. You go off together.'
Anne wouldn't come, so the boys left the two girls and went out into the keen, invigorating mountainair once more. Already they felt better, and were not coughing at all. What a pity this had happened!
It spoilt things for everyone - even for old Mrs. Jones, who now appeared at her front door, lookinganxious.
'Don't you worry now, Mrs. Jones,' said Julian. 'I expect our cousin will be all right soon. She's givenup the idea of rushing home today at any rate! My brother and I are going for a walk up themountain. Which way is best?'
'Well now, take that path,' said the old woman, pointing. 'And go on till you come to our summerchalet. You can rest there before coming back - and if you don't want to come back for dinner, well,you'll find food in the cupboard there. Here is the key to get into the little place!'
'Oh thanks,' said Julian, surprised. 'That sounds good. We'd love to have our lunch up there, Mrs.
Jones - we'll be back before dark. Tell the girls for us, will you?'
And away they went, whistling. It was fun to have a day all to themselves, just the two of them,together!
They took the snowy path and began to climb up the slope of the mountain. The sun was now meltingthe snow a little, so they could make out the path fairly easily. Then they discovered that big blackstones marked the way here and there - a guide to the farmer and his men, when the snow coveredpath and everything!
The view was magnificent. As they climbed higher, they could see the tops of more and more hills,all of which sparkled snowy-white in the pale January sun.
'I say - if only we had a bit more snow, what tobogganing we could have down these slopes,' saidDick, longingly¹⁶. 'I wish I'd brought my skis this morning - the snow is deep enough for them downthat hill - we'd whizz along like lightning!'
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They were glad when they at last came to the little hut or chalet that old Mrs. Jones had spoken about.
After two hours' climbing it was nice to think of having something to eat, and a good rest!
'It's quite a place,' said Julian, slipping the key into the lock. 'A little wooden house, with windowsand all!'
He opened the door and went inside. Yes - it was a very fine little place indeed, with bunk-beds letinto the wooden walls, a stove for heating - and cupboards full of crockery - and tins of food!
The two boys had the same idea at once, and swung round to one another.
'Couldn't we stay here - on our own? George would love it too,' said Julian, putting into words whatDick was already thinking. Oh - if only they could!

1 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

2 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

3 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

4 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。

5 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

6 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。

7 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

8 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。

9 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。

10 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

11 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

12 dabbed   

（用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）…

参考例句：

• She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. 她轻轻擦了几下眼睛，擤了擤鼻涕。
• He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin. 他用餐巾快速擦去领带上的污点。

13 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。

14 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

15 scowls   

不悦之色，怒容( scowl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All my attempts to amuse the children were met with sullen scowls. 我想尽办法哄这些孩子玩儿，但是他们总是满脸不高兴。
• Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in. 1. 愁眉苦脸只会把人推开，而微笑却把人吸引过来。

16 longingly   

adv. 渴望地 热望地

参考例句：

• He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
• Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。