Chapter 12 REALLY VERY THRILLING

Chapter 12 REALLY VERY THRILLING
At teatime Julian spoke¹ to Mrs. Philpot about the old kitchen door. 'That's a fine old door,' he said.
'Did it come from the castle, do you suppose?'
'Yes - so it's said,' answered Mrs. Philpot. 'Great-Grand-dad here knows more about it than I do,though.'
Great-Grand-dad was not at the table. He was sitting in his enormous old chair in the window withSnippet at his feet. He was pulling contentedly² at his pipe, a cup of tea on the window-sill beside him.
'What's that?' called the old man. 'Speak up!' Julian repeated what Mrs. Philpot had said, and the oldfellow nodded.
'Oh ay! That door's from the castle all right. Made of the same oak as the beams in the barns, and thefloors of the bedrooms above! Ay, and that American fellow's been at me about it, too! Ho!
Offered me fifty pounds for it. FIFTY POUNDS! I wouldn't take a thousand. What - have that olddoor hanging in some newfangled house out in that American country, wherever it is? NO. I say NO,and I'll say it till I'm blue in the face!'
'All right, Grand-dad - don't upset yourself,' said Mrs. Philpot. She spoke to Julian in a low voice.
'Change the subject, quickly, or Grand-dad will go on and on, poor old fellow!'
Julian racked his brain for a change of subject, and fortunately remembered the hen-houses. He atonce began to tell Great-Grand-dad all they had done that afternoon, and the old fellow calmed downat once, and listened with pleasure. Snippet, who had run in fright to the twins as soon as Great-Grand-dad had begun to shout, ran back to him, and settled on his feet. Timmy also decided³ to jointhem, and soon Great-Grand-dad was completely happy again, drawing on his old pipe, with one dogat his feet, the other resting a great head on his knee. Timmy certainly did love Great-Grand-dad!
Mr. Henning did not come back that night, much to everyone's relief, but arrived next day just beforelunch, bringing with him a dried-up little fellow wearing thick glasses, whom he introduced as Mr.
Richard Durleston.
'The great Mr. Durleston!' he said proudly. 'Knows more about old houses in England than anyoneelse in the country. I'd like him to see that old door after lunch, Mrs. Philpot - and that 51queer opening in the wall of the bedroom upstairs, which was used to heat embers and bricks forwarming beds years ago.'
Fortunately Great-Grand-dad was not there to object, and after they had had dinner, Mrs. Philpot tookMr. Durleston to the old studded door. 'Ah yes,' he said. 'Quite genuine. Very fine specimen⁴. I shouldoffer two hundred pounds, Mr. Henning.'
How Mrs. Philpot longed to accept such an offer! What a difference it would make to herhousekeeping! She shook her head. 'You'd have to talk to old Great-Grand-dad,' she said. 'But I'mafraid he'll say no. Now I'll take you to see the queer old opening up in one of the bedrooms.'
She took Mr. Henning and Mr. Durleston upstairs, and the four followed, with Timmy. It was indeeda strange opening in the wall! It had a wrought-iron door rather like an old oven door.
Mrs. Philpot opened it. Inside was a big cavity, which had obviously been used as a kind of oven toheat bricks for placing into cold beds; some of the old bricks were actually still there, blackened withlong-ago heating! Mrs. Philpot took out what looked like a heavy iron tray with an ornamented⁵ raisededge. On it were old, old embers!
'This tray was used for heating and holding the embers before they were put into warming-pans,'
she said. 'We still have one old warming-pan left - there on the wall, look.'
The four, just as interested as the two men, looked at the copper⁶ warming-pan, glowing red-gold onthe wall. 'The red-hot embers were emptied into that,' Mrs. Philpot told the children, 'and then the panwas carried by its long handle into all the bedrooms, and thrust into each bed for a few minutes towarm it. And that funny little opening in the wall is, as I said, where people years and years agoheated the embers - and the bricks too, which were wrapped in flannel⁷ and left in each bed.'
'Hmmmmm. Very interesting. Quite rare to see one in such a well-preserved state,' said Mr.
Durleston, peering into the opening through thick glasses. 'You could make an offer for this too, Mr.
Henning. Interesting old place. We'll have a look at the barns too, I think, and the outbuildings. Mightbe a few things there you could pick up with advantage.'
George thought it was a good thing the twins were not with them to hear all this. They seemed toshare with their Great-Grand-dad a hatred⁸ of parting with any of the treasures belonging to the oldfarm-house!
Mrs. Philpot took the two men downstairs again, and the four followed.
52
'I'll just take Mr. Durleston to the old chapel⁹, mam,' said Mr. Henning, and Mrs. Philpot nodded.
She left them and hurried back into the kitchen, where she had a cake baking. The four looked at oneanother, and Julian nodded his head towards the two men, now making their way out of doors. 'Shallwe go too?' he said. 'We haven't seen this chapel yet, either!'
So they followed the two men, and soon came to a tall, quaint¹⁰ old building with small and beautifularched windows set high up in the walls. They went in at the door, a few paces behind the two men,and stared in wonder.
'Yes - you can see it was once a chapel!' said Julian, speaking instinctively¹¹ in a low voice. 'Thoselovely old windows - that arch there...'
'And the feel of it!' said Anne. 'I know now what old Mr. Finniston down at that little shop meant,when he said that though it was now a store-house, it was still full of prayer! You can feel that peoplehave been here to pray, can't you? What a lovely little chapel. Oh, I do wish it wasn't used as a store-house!'
'I was told by an old fellow down in the village antique shop that a Lady Phillippa, who was once theLady of the castle, brought each of her fifteen children here to learn their prayers,' said Mr.
Durleston, surprisingly. 'Hmm, hmm - nice old story. Probably true. Chapels¹² were often built near tocastles. Wonder which path they took from the castle to the chapel. All gone now, no castle, nothing!
Hmm, hmm.'
'I'd like to buy this chapel, knock it down, and take it stone by stone to my place in the States,'
said the American enthusiastically. 'Fine specimen, isn't it? It would look wunnerful in my place.'
'Can't advise that,' said Mr. Durleston, shaking his head. 'Not in good taste. Let's go to thoseoutbuildings yonder. Might see something in the old junk there.'
They went off, and the children stayed behind, entranced with the little chapel. Sacks upon sacks ofgrain and what looked like fertilizer were arranged in rows all over the floor. A cat had three kittenscuddled together on one sack, and a dove cooed somewhere high up in the arched roof. It was a verypeaceful sound, somehow just right for the silent little place. The children trooped out quietly, notfeeling inclined to follow the brash Mr. Henning round any more.
'At least the other man stopped him from his mad idea of removing the chapel stone by stone,'
said Anne. 'I couldn't bear that beautiful old place to be torn up by its roots and replanted somewhereelse.'
53
'You sound quite angry, Anne - almost as fierce as old Great-Grand-dad!' said Julian, slipping his armthrough his sister's. 'I don't somehow think the old chapel will be sold to Mr. Henning - even if heoffered a million dollars for it!'
'Well, I like most Americans very much,' said Anne. 'But not Mr. Henning. He - he wants to buyhistory just as if it were chocolate or toffee!'
That made the others laugh. 'I say!' said Julian, 'what about having a snoop round, now we're out, andjust see if we can decide where to hunt for the site of the castle? I presume we all agree that it can't bevery far away from the chapel?'
'Yes - that's agreed,' said Dick. 'And it's also agreed that the site is probably on a hill. The snag is thatthere are rather a lot of hills on this undulating farmland!'
'Let's make our way over there - up the nearest slope,' said George. 'Hallo, here are the twins.
We'll call them. They might like to come.'
The twins soon joined them, and said yes, they would certainly like to hunt for the castle-site.
'But it might take years!' said Harry¹³. 'It might be anywhere on the farm!'
'Well, we plan to examine this first slope,' said Julian. 'Heel, Tim, heel, Snippet. Oh gosh, here'sNosey the jackdaw too. NOT on my shoulder, if you don't mind, Nosey. I rather value my ears!'
'Chack!' said the jackdaw, and flew to the twins.
They made their way up the slope. There was, however, absolutely nothing to be seen except grass,grass, grass! They came to a big mound¹⁴ and stood looking at it.
'A very large mole¹⁵ must have made that!' said Dick, which made them all laugh, for the mound wasas high as their shoulders. Rabbit-holes could be seen at the bottom, though it was probable that veryfew burrowed¹⁶ there now - the great rabbit-disease, myxomatosis had wiped them practically out ofexistence on Finniston Farm.
Timmy couldn't see a rabbit-hole without scraping at it, and soon he and Snippet were scatteringearth over everyone. Snippet was small enough to disappear into one hole, and came out carrying- of all things - an oyster¹⁷ shell! Julian took it out of his mouth in amazement¹⁸.
'Look here - an oyster shell - and we're miles from the sea. How did it get there? Go in again,Snippet. Scrape hard, Timmy. Buck¹⁹ up! An idea is glimmering²⁰ in my brain!'
Before long, what with Timmy's excited scraping and Snippet's explorations deep into the burrow,quite a collection of oyster shells, and small and large bones, lay on the grass!
'Bones!' said Anne. 'Not bones of people surely! Don't tell me this is a mound covering an old graveor something, Ju.'
'No. But it is something rather exciting!' said Julian. 'I'm pretty sure it's an old kitchen-midden.'
'A kitchen-midden? What on earth's that?' said George. 'Oh look - Timmy's got another mouthful ofoyster shells!'
'A kitchen-midden is what you might call the rubbish-heap of the old days,' explained Julian, pickingup some oyster shells. 'It was often very big, when it comprised the rubbish thrown out from largehouses - or castles! Things like bones and shells wouldn't rot away like other rubbish -and I do believe we've found the kitchen-midden of the old castle. My word - what a find! Now weknow something very important!'
'What? asked everyone, in excitement.
'Well - we know now that the site of the castle must be somewhere on this slope!' said Julian.
'The kitchen-midden was probably not far from its walls. We're on the scent²¹, scouts²², we're on thescent! Come on - let's go further on. Spread out. Examine every inch of the ground!'

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 contentedly   

adv.心满意足地

参考例句：

• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe.父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。
• "This is brother John's writing,"said Sally,contentedly,as she opened the letter.

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

5 ornamented   

adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

7 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

8 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

9 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

10 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

11 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 chapels   

n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• Both castles had their own chapels too, which was incredible to see. 两个城堡都有自己的礼拜堂，非常华美。 来自互联网
• It has an ambulatory and seven chapels. 它有一条走廊和七个小教堂。 来自互联网

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

14 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

15 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

16 burrowed   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The rabbits burrowed into the hillside. 兔子在山腰上打洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She burrowed her head into my shoulder. 她把头紧靠在我的肩膀上。 来自辞典例句

17 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

18 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。

19 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

20 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

21 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

22 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。