Chapter 20 IN THE HEART OF THE HILL

Chapter 20 IN THE HEART OF THE HILL
It seemed like a bad dream to the four children, making their way over the rocky edge of theunderground river. Their torches had good batteries, fortunately, and gave a bright light, so that theycould see their way alongside the river. But at times this rocky 'path' they had to walk on grew verynarrow indeed!
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'Oh dear!' thought Anne, trying to keep up with the boys, 'I know I shall slip! I wish I hadn't theseheavy snow-boots on. What a noise the river makes, booming along, and how fast it goes!'
Some way in front of the two boys and Anne was George, still calling for Timmy. She was veryworried because he didn't come back to her, as he always did when she called him. She didn't realisethat Timmy couldn't hear her! The river made such a noise in the enclosed rocky tunnel that Timmyheard nothing at all but the sound of the churning waters!
Quite suddenly the tunnel widened tremendously - the river making a big, broad pool before it toreon down the tunnel again. The walls opened out into an enormous cave, half of which was water andthe other half a stretch of rough, rocky floor. George was most astonished. But she was even moreastonished at other things she saw!
Two rafts, sturdy and immensely strong, were moored¹ at the side of the deep pool! And on the floorof the cave were what looked like tin barrels, standing² in rough rows - presumably waiting to bepacked on to the rafts.
At one side of the cave were stacked great heaps of tins and bottles and cans, none of them opened -and on the other side an equally vast heap of discarded ones - all opened and thrown to one side. Bigwooden crates³ stood about too - though George could not imagine what they were for.
The cave was dimly lighted by electricity of some kind - probably from a battery fixed⁵ upsomewhere. Nobody seemed to be about at all! George gave a call, hoping that Timmy wassomewhere there.
'Timmy! Where are you?'
And at once Timmy came from behind one of the big crates, his tail wagging hard! George was soglad that she fell on one knee and hugged him tight.
'You naughty dog,' she said, fondling him. 'Why didn't you come when you were called? Did you findthe others? Where is Aily?'
A small face peeped from behind the crate⁴ near by, the one from which Timmy had appeared. It wasAily. She looked terrified, and tears were on her cheeks. She clasped her lamb to her, and Dave wasat her heels. She ran straight across to George, crying out something in Welsh, pointing back up thetunnel. George nodded.
'Yes. We'll go back straightaway! Look - here come the others!'
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Aily had already seen them. She ran to Julian with a cry of delight, and he swung her up in his arms,lamb and all. He was very glad to see George and Timmy too.
They all had a good look round the strange cave.
'I see what the idea is,' said Julian. 'Jolly clever too! They are mining that precious metal down heresomewhere - and putting it on those rafts there, so that the underground river can take it right down tothe sea. I bet they've got barges⁶ or something waiting down at some secret creek⁷, to take the stuffaway at night!'
'Whew!' said Dick. 'Very ingenious! And they count on the queer noises and shudderings and thingsto frighten people and keep them away from this hill - nobody dares to come prying⁸ round to seewhat's up!'
'The nearest farm is Magga Glen Farm, where the Jones's live,' said Julian. 'They would really be theonly people who could find out anything definite.'
'Which they obviously did!' said Dick. 'I bet Morgan knows all about this, and is in with the son whosold the precious metal to the men who came after it - though it was his mother's.'
'There's no queer noise or anything down here - no noise at all except the sound of the river,' saidJulian. 'Do you suppose the works aren't going just now?'
'Well,' began Dick, and then suddenly stopped as Dave and Timmy began to growl⁹, Timmy in a deepvoice and Dave in a smaller one. Julian at once pulled Aily and George behind a big crate, and Dickpushed Anne there. They listened intently. What had the dogs heard? Was there time to rush back tothe tunnel and make their way out before they were seen?
Timmy went on growling¹⁰ in a low voice. The children's hearts began to beat fast - and then theyheard voices. Where did they come from? Dick peeped cautiously round the crate. It was in a darkcorner and he hoped he could not be seen.
The voices seemed to come from the direction of the great pool, and Dick looked over to it. He gavea sudden exclamation¹¹.
'Ju! Look over there! Do you see what I see?'
Julian looked - and was filled with astonishment¹². Two men had come up the tunnel, from the sea- evidently walking on the rocky edge of the river, just as they themselves had done - and were nowwading in the shallows of the pool.
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'One is MORGAN!' whispered Julian. 'And who's the other man! Gosh - it's the shepherd - Aily'sfather! Would you believe it? Well - we always thought Morgan was mixed up in this - but I didn'tthink the shepherd was.'
Aily had seen both Morgan and her father. She made no move to go to the shepherd - she was far tooscared of Morgan!
Morgan and the shepherd stood and gazed round a little, as if looking for someone. Then, keeping tothe shadows, they made their way across the great cave right to the back of it, where another tunnel,very wide, led downwards¹³ into the hill.
As they went, a strange noise began.
'The rumbling¹⁴!' whispered George, and Timmy growled¹⁵ again. 'But oh - doesn't it sound near.
What a terrific noise - it's got right inside my head!'
It was no use whispering now! They had to shout if they wanted to say anything. And then theshuddering began! Everything shuddered¹⁶ and vibrated, and when the children touched one another,they could feel the vibration¹⁷ in the other's hands and arms.
'It's as if we're being run by electricity ourselves!' said Dick, astonished. 'I wonder if it's anything todo with that strange metal that is under this hill - that makes steel things heavy, so that ploughs won'tplough, and spades won't dig!'
'Let's follow Morgan and the shepherd,' said Julian, so excited now that he felt he must seeeverything possible. 'We can keep well in the shadows. Nobody would ever guess we were here!'
'Aily - you stay here,' said Julian. 'Big noise, big big noise frighten Fany and Dave.'
Aily nodded. She settled down behind the crate with her pets.
'Aily wait,' she said. She had no desire at all to go any nearer that strange noise! In her simple mindshe imagined that possibly the thunder itself came from this hill and was made here. Yes, perhaps thelightning too!
Morgan and the shepherd had now disappeared into the tunnel right at the back of the cave, on theopposite side to the great pool. The Five went quickly over to it and looked down. It was very wideand very steep - but rough steps had been cut in it, so that it was not difficult to go down.
They trod warily¹⁸ down the steep tunnel, astonished because it was dimly lighted - and yet there wereno lamps of any sort to be seen.
'I think it's the reflection of some great glare far below,' shouted Julian, above the rumbling. Thenoise was so loud that it was almost like walking in the middle of thunder.
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Down and down they went, and the tunnel curved and wound about, always steep, rocky and dimlylit. Suddenly the noise grew louder, and the tunnel grew lighter¹⁹. The children saw the end of it, theexit outlined in brilliant light - a light that shimmered²⁰ and shook in a most curious way.
'We're coming to the works - the mine - where that strange metal is!' shouted Dick, so excited that hefelt his hands trembling. 'Be careful we aren't seen. JU! BE CAREFUL WE AREN'TSEEN!'
They went cautiously to the end of the tunnel and peered out. They were looking into a vast pit oflight, round which men stood, working some curious-looking machines. The children could not makeout what they were - and, indeed, the light was so blinding that it was only possible to look with theireyelids almost closed. All the men were wearing face-guards.
Suddenly the loud rumbling stopped and the light disappeared as if someone had turned off anelectric switch! Then, in the darkness, a glow formed, a strange glow that came upwards²¹ andoutwards, and seemed to go right through the roof itself! Dick clutched at Julian.
'That's the kind of glow we saw the other night!' he said. 'My word - it begins down here, goes rightup through the hill in some strange way, and hangs above it! That shimmering²² must come from heretoo - some kind of rays that can go through anything - like X-rays or something!'
'It's like a dream,' said Anne, feeling George to make sure it wasn't! 'Just like a dream!'
'Where are Morgan and the shepherd?' said Dick. 'Look - there they are - in that corner, not far off.
Look out - they're coming back!'
The four children moved back quickly into the tunnel, afraid of being seen. They suddenly heardshouts, and stumbled up the rocky steps even faster. Had they been seen? It sounded like it!
'I can hear someone coming up the tunnel behind us!' panted Dick. 'Quick, quick! I wish that noisewould begin again. I know we can be heard!'
Someone was climbing swiftly up behind them. There were shouts and yells from below too. Itsounded as if all the men were disturbed and angry. Why, oh why had they followed Morgan and theshepherd? They could so easily have gone back to the cellars!
They came to the top of the steep rocky tunnel at last, and ran to hide behind the crates, hoping to slipinto the river-tunnel without being seen. They had to get Aily before they fled! Where was she?
'Aily, Aily!' shouted Julian. 'Where's she gone? We daren't leave her here. AILY!'
It was difficult to remember exactly where they had left her, in this great cave.
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'There's the lamb!' cried Julian, thankfully, as he saw it on the other side of a crate. 'AILY!'
'Look out! There's Morgan!' shouted George, as the big farmer came out of the tunnel and ran acrossthe cave. He saw the children and stopped in the utmost amazement²³.
'What are you doing here?' he roared. 'Come with us, quickly! You're in danger!'
The shepherd now appeared too, and Aily ran from behind her crate to him. He stared as if he couldnot believe his eyes, and then picked her up, calling something to Morgan in Welsh.
Morgan swung round on Julian again.
'I told you not to interfere²⁴!' he roared. 'I was handling this! Now we shall all be caught! Fool of a boy!
Quick - we must hide and hope that the men will think we've gone down the tunnel. If we try toescape now, they will overtake us, and bring us back!'
He swept the astonished children into a dark corner and pulled crates round them.
'Stay there!' he said. 'We will do what we can!'

1 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

2 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。

3 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。

4 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

12 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

13 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。

14 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

15 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》

16 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

18 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

19 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

20 shimmered   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea shimmered in the sunlight. 阳光下海水闪烁着微光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A heat haze shimmered above the fields. 田野上方微微闪烁着一层热气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

22 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

23 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

24 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。