Chapter 13 JUNIOR SPRINGS A SURPRISE!

Chapter 13 JUNIOR SPRINGS A SURPRISE!
The six children felt a sudden upsurge of excitement, and Timmy felt it too and barked loudly.
Snippet joined in, and the jackdaw danced up and down on Harry¹'s shoulder, chacking hoarsely².
Junior, who had seen them start out and was tracking them, stared in surprise from behind a bush in anearby hedge. NOW what was all the excitement about? What had Timmy and Snippet found?
He saw the six children spread out and begin to go slowly up the great slope of the hill. Timmyfollowed them, rather puzzled. He wished he knew what they were looking for - then he could hunttoo! Junior kept safely behind the bush. He knew that if he followed too closely after the children,Timmy would hear him, and bark.
Suddenly the Harries³ gave a shout. 'Hey!' The others looked up from their search, and saw thembeckoning in excitement. 'What about THIS? Come and look!'
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Everyone hurried over to the twins, who were standing⁴ on a little ridge⁵ about two hundred yardsbelow the top of the gently sloping hill. 'Look!' said Harry, sweeping⁶ his arm in a circle. 'Would thisbe a likely place for the castle-site?'
The four looked at the great shallow depression that the twins pointed⁷ to. In shape it was like a veryshallow soup-plate, certainly big enough for a castle to have been built there! It was covered withthick, closely-growing grass, which was a little darker in colour than the grass around.
Julian clapped Harry on the shoulder. 'Yes! I bet this is where the castle once stood! Why should theground here suddenly have this great depression in it, as if it had sunk down, for some reason? Theonly reason could be that some enormously heavy building once stood here - and it must have beenthe castle!'
'It's not too far from the kitchen- midden, where they threw their rubbish, is it?' asked Anne,anxiously, looking back to see how far away that was.
'No - just about right,' said Julian. 'They would be sure to have it some distance away, because itwould smell, especially in the hot weather. Yes, twins - I think you really have hit on the castle-site -and I bet if we had the machinery⁸ to excavate⁹ here, we'd come across dungeons¹⁰, cellars, undergroundpassages - and all they contain!'
The twins went red with excitement, and stared solemnly at the great basin-like circle, green withgrass. 'What will our mother say?' they said, both together.
'Plenty!' said Dick. 'This might be the saving of your farm! But look - let's not say a word about it yet,in case it gets round to Mr. Henning. Let's get Bill and ask him if he'll lend us spades and things.
We'll tell him we've found some interesting old shells and bones on the hill and want to do a littledigging. We'll soon know if this really is the site of the castle.'
'Good idea,' said Julian, excited at the thought of being one of the first to dig down into the olddungeons! 'Let's pace round this old site and see how big it is.'
They walked round and round it and decided¹¹ it was more than big enough for even a large castle.
They thought it was strange that the grass should be a different colour there.
'But it does sometimes happen that grass marks out where old buildings once stood,' said Julian.
'I say - this is just about the most exciting thing that ever happened to us - and I'm so glad it was thetwins who first recognized the site! After all, it's on their farm!'
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'Isn't that Junior, running over there?' said George suddenly, as she saw Timmy prick¹² up his ears, andturn his nose to the wind. 'Yes, it is. He's been spying on us, the little beast! There he goes, look!'
'Well, he can't know much,' said Julian, gazing after the running figure. 'I don't expect he even knowsthat a castle was once built here, at the top of this hill - and he certainly wouldn't know we werelooking for the site. He's just snooping, that's all.'
But Junior did know all about the old castle, for he had overheard the children talking in the hen-house! And he did know what they had been looking for! He had followed them as closely as hedared, listening to their shouts - and now he felt that he must get back to his father and tell him whathe knew!
He found his father still with Mr. Durleston, examining an old fireplace. 'Now that's worth buying,'
Mr. Durleston was saying. 'You could rip that out, and use it in your own house - a beautiful thing!
Very old! And...'
'Pop! I say, Pop! Listen!' cried Junior, bursting in. Mr. Durleston looked annoyed. That boy again!
But Junior took no notice of the old man's annoyance¹³, and pulled urgently at his father's arm. 'Dad! Iknow where the place is that the castle once stood on! And there's dungeons and cellars underneath,full of treasure, I know there are. Pop, those kids found the place, but they don't know I saw them!'
'What is all this, Junior?' said his father, half-annoyed too. 'Silly talk! You don't know anything aboutcastle-sites and dungeons and the rest!'
'I do, I do! I heard them all talking in the hen-house - I told you I did!' cried Junior, tugging¹⁴ at hisfather's sleeve again. 'Pop, they've found an old rubbish-heap too, that belonged to the castle -they called it a - a - let me see now - a...'
'A midden?' asked Mr. Durleston, suddenly taking an interest.
'Yes! That's it. A kitchen-midden!' said Junior triumphantly¹⁵. 'With bones and shells. And then theylooked for where the old castle might have been built - they said it couldn't have been far away,and...'
'Well, they were right,' said Mr. Durleston. 'A kitchen-midden would certainly pin-point the castlearea! Mr. Henning, this is extremely interesting. If you could get permission to excavate, it would bea...'
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'Oh BOY!' said Mr. Henning, interrupting, his eyes almost starting out of his head. 'Can't you see thepapers - 'American discovers old castle-site - unknown for centuries! Excavates¹⁶ dungeons -find bones of long-ago prisoners - chests of gold coins...' '
'Not so fast, not so fast,' said Mr. Durleston, disapprovingly¹⁷. 'There may be nothing at all there.
Let us not count our chickens before they're hatched. And mind - not a word to the newspapers,Henning. We don't want a crowd of people rushing to pry¹⁸ over the farm, sending up its price!'
'I didn't think of that,' said Mr. Henning, a little cast-down. 'All right - we'll go carefully. What doyou advise?'
'I should advise you to approach Mr. Philpot - not the old Great-Grand-dad, but the farmer himself -and offer to put down, say, ?250 for the right to excavate up on the hill there,' said Mr.
Durleston. 'Then if you strike anything interesting, you can offer a further sum for whatever's downthere - say another ?250. If there is anything there, it will be extremely valuable - so very, very old.
Hmmm. Hmmm. Yes, that is my advice to you.'
'And it sounds pretty good to me,' said Mr. Henning, excitement flooding him again. 'You'll stay hereand advise me, won't you, Durleston?'
'Certainly, certainly, if you are prepared to pay my fee,' said Mr. Durleston. 'I think it would perhapsbe advisable if I approached Mr. Philpot, Mr. Henning, not you. You might - er - well -give something away in your excitement. You will come with me, of course - but let me do thetalking.'
'Right, old man, you do everything!' said Mr. Henning, feeling friendly with the whole world. Heclapped the listening Junior on the back. 'Well done, son! You may have let us into something good.
Now don't you breathe a word to ANYONE, see?'
'Aw shucks!' said Junior. 'What do you think I am? My mouth's sewn up from now on! Think I'dsplit, Pop, when there's a chance of getting even with those snooty kids? You go on up that hill whenthey've gone, and have a look yourself. Mr. Durleston will know if it's the real thing or not!'
So, when the six children and dogs were safely out of sight, gone to help with various jobs of workon the farm, Mr. Henning and Mr. Durleston went with Junior to see the kitchen-midden and thesupposed site of the old castle. Mr. Henning became very excited indeed, and even the weary-lookingMr. Durleston brightened up and nodded his head several times.
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'Looks the real thing!' he said. 'Yes, we'll get going this evening - after that fierce old fellow - the oldGreat-Grand-dad - has gone to bed. He might put a spoke¹⁹ in our wheels. He's as old as the hills, butas cute as a jackdaw!'
And so, that evening, when Great-Grand-dad was safely in bed, Mr. Henning and Mr. Durleston hada private, very private talk with Mr. and Mrs. Philpot together. The farmer and his wife listened,amazed. When they heard that Mr. Henning proposed to hand them a cheque for ?250merely for the right to do a little digging, Mrs. Philpot almost cried!
'And I have advised Mr. Henning that he should offer you further sums, if he finds anything he wouldlike to take back to the States with him, as - er - as mementos²⁰ of a very pleasant stay here,'
finished Mr. Durleston.
'It sounds too good to be true,' said Mrs. Philpot. 'We could certainly do with the money, couldn't we,Trevor?'
Mr. Henning took out his cheque book and produced his fountain-pen, before Mr. Philpot could sayanything else. He wrote out the sum of ?250, and signed the cheque with a flourish. He thenpresented it to Mr. Philpot.
'And I hope there'll be more cheques to come,' he said. 'Thank you, sir - I'll get men along tomorrowto start digging.'
'I'll have a formal agreement drawn²¹ up,' put in Mr. Durleston, thinking that he saw a rather doubtfullook coming over Mr. Philpot's face, as he took the cheque. 'But you can cash the cheque straightaway. Well, we'll leave you to talk over it!'
When the twins and the four heard of this, the next morning, they were astounded²². Mrs. Philpot toldthe twins first, and Harry and Harriet ran at once to find the others. They listened, amazed and angry.
'How did they know all that? How did they guess where to find the castle-site?' said Dick, fiercely. 'Ibet it's that snoopy little Junior who put them on to this! I bet he spied on us! I thought I saw twopeople up on that hill after tea yesterday. It must have been Mr. Henning and that friend of his - withJunior. Gosh, I could pull that kid's hair out!'
'Well, I suppose there's absolutely nothing we can do now!' said George, angrily. 'The next thing we'llsee is lorries rolling up with men inside, and spades and drills and goodness knows what!'
She was quite right! That very morning the hill became quite a busy place! Four men had alreadybeen hired by Mr. Henning, and they all went up the hill in their lorry, bumping slowly along, 59past the kitchen-midden mound²³, and on up to the shallow basin-like depression near the summit ofthe hill. Spades, forks and drills rattled²⁴ in the lorry. Junior was mad with joy, and danced about at asafe distance, yelling defiance²⁵ at the six children.
'You thought I didn't know anything, didn't you! I heard everything! Serves you right! Yah!'
'Timmy - chase him!' ordered George, in a furious voice. 'But don't hurt him, mind. Go on!'
And off went Timmy at a gallop²⁶, and if Junior hadn't leapt into the lorry and picked up a spade,Timmy would certainly have rolled him over and over on the ground!
Now what was to be done? The children almost gave up - but not quite! There might be somethingthey could do - there might! Why was Julian suddenly looking so excited?

1 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。

2 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 harries   

n.使苦恼( harry的名词复数 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰v.使苦恼( harry的第三人称单数 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• ex libris David Harries 戴维∙哈里斯藏书
• In defence, he harries attacking midfielders and helps protect the defensive line. 防守中，逼抢对方进攻性中场，帮助保护防线。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

6 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

7 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。

8 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

9 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

10 dungeons   

n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The captured rebels were consigned to the dungeons. 抓到的叛乱分子被送进了地牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He saw a boy in fetters in the dungeons. 他在地牢里看见一个戴着脚镣的男孩。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

13 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

14 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

15 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

16 excavates   

v.挖掘( excavate的第三人称单数 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• Biblical criticism excavates the various deposits that have been gathered in successive layers in these writings. “圣经”考证把向来积聚于这些作品的各层中的各种堆积物掘开。 来自辞典例句
• Why excavates K-V5's archaeology one not to die a violent death? 为什么发掘K-V5的考古者们没有一个死于非命呢？ 来自互联网

17 disapprovingly   

adv.不以为然地，不赞成地，非难地

参考例句：

• When I suggested a drink, she coughed disapprovingly. 我提议喝一杯时，她咳了一下表示反对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He shook his head disapprovingly. 他摇了摇头，表示不赞成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

19 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。

20 mementos   

纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The museum houses a collection of mementos, materials and documents. 博物馆保存着很多回忆录以及文献资料。
• This meant, however, that no one was able to retrieve irreplaceable family mementos. 然而，这也意味着谁也没能把无可替代的家庭纪念品从火中救出来。

21 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

22 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

23 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。

24 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

25 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

26 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。