Chapter 14 SNIPPET AND NOSEY ARE VERY HELPFUL!

Chapter 14 SNIPPET AND NOSEY ARE VERY HELPFUL!
'LISTEN!' said Julian, lowering his voice, and looking all about to make sure that no one was near.
'Do you remember what you told us, George, about a secret passage from the castle to the oldchapel?'
'Yes! Yes! I do!' said George, and Anne nodded, her eyes bright. 'You mean the story that old Mr.
Finniston told us, down at the little antique shop, about the Lady of the castle taking her children insafety from the burning castle, by way of an underground passage to the old chapel¹?
Gosh, I'd forgotten that!'
'Oh, Julian! Yes, George is right!' said Anne. 'Are you thinking that the passage might still be there,hidden underground?'
'What I think is this,' said Julian. 'If the Lady and her children escaped underground, they must firsthave fled down into the cellars of the castle - and so the passage or tunnel must have started fromthere. They couldn't have escaped in any other way because the castle was itself surrounded byenemies. So she must have gone with her children to hide in the cellars - and then, when the castlefell, she took them safely down the secret passage that led to the old chapel. So that means...'
'That means that if we can find the secret passage, we can get into the cellars ourselves - perhapsbefore the workmen do!' cried George, almost shouting with excitement.
'Exactly,' said Julian, his eyes shining. 'Now don't let's lose our heads and get too excited. Let's talkabout it quietly - and for GOODNESS' sake keep a watch for Junior.'
'Timmy - on guard!' said George, and Timmy at once went some paces away, and stood up straight,looking now in this direction, and now in that. Nobody could come within sight now, without Timmygiving a warning bark!
The children settled down beside a hedge. 'What's the plan?' asked Dick.
'I vote we go to the old chapel, take a line from there to the castle-site, and walk slowly up that line,'
said Julian. 'We might possibly see something that would guide us as to where the secret passage is. Idon't know what - maybe the grass might be slightly different in colour - a bit darker than thesurrounding grass, just as it was on the castle-site. Anyway, it's worth trying. If we do see a line ofdarker grass, or something like that, we'll dig down underground ourselves, hoping the secret passageis underneath³!'
'Oh Ju! What a wonderful idea!' said Anne. 'Come on, let's go down to the chapel straight away!'
So off they all went, Timmy, Snippet and Nosey the jackdaw too. He loved being with Snippet,though he teased him unmercifully. They arrived quickly at the chapel door and went in. 'I alwaysfeel as if there ought to be an organ playing when I'm inside,' said Anne, looking round the stackedsacks of grain.
'Never mind about organs,' said Julian, standing⁴ at the open door, and pointing up the hill. 'Now see -there's the place where the old castle stood - where the men are already at work - and if we take afairly straight line to it, we should be more or less walking over the old passage. I should think themen who made it would drive as straight a tunnel as they could, to save themselves work. A grindingone would take a long time.'
'I can't see that the grass is any different in colour, along the line I'm looking,' said Dick, squinting,and everyone agreed, very disappointed.
'So there's nothing to help us!' said George, mournfully. 'All we can do is to walk in a straight line upthe hill, and hope to find something that will tell us if we're over a tunnel. Hollow-sounding footsteps,perhaps!'
'That's very doubtful, I'm afraid,' said Julian. 'Still, I can't see that we can do anything else. Come on,then. All right, Tim, you can come back to us. Look at Nosey, on Snippet's back again! That's right,Snippet, roll over and get him off!'
'Chack!' said Nosey, crossly, as he flew up in the air. 'Chack!'
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The six children walked up the slope in as straight a line as they could. They came right up to wherethe men were digging, without having seen or heard anything of any help at all. It was mostdisappointing. Junior saw them, and yelled loudly.
'Children not allowed here! Keep off! My Dad's bought this place!'
'Fibber!' shouted back the two Harries⁵ at once. 'You've got the right to dig and that's all!'
'Yah!' yelled Junior. 'You wait! Now don't you set that great dog on me again! I'll tell my Pop, see?'
Timmy barked loudly, and Junior disappeared in a hurry. George laughed. 'Silly little fathead!
Why doesn't somebody box his ears? I bet one of the men will before he's many hours older.
Look at him trying to use that drill!'
Junior was certainly not at all popular. He made himself a great nuisance, and in the end his fatherput him roughly into a lorry and told him to stay there. He howled dismally⁶, but as no one paid anyattention, he soon stopped!
The six children went slowly back down the gentle slope of the hill, taking a slightly different line,still hopeful. The jackdaw flew down to Harry⁷'s shoulder, chacking loudly, bored with all thiswalking! He suddenly saw Snippet sitting down to scratch his neck, and at once launched himself athim. He knew that the poodle always shut his eyes when he scratched himself, and that that was avery good time to give him a well-placed peck!
But unfortunately for Nosey the poodle opened his eyes too soon, and saw the jackdaw just about toperch on him! He snapped at him - and got him by the wing! 'Chack-chack-CHACK!' cried thejackdaw, urgently calling for help. 'CHACK!'
Harry ran to Snippet, shouting, 'drop him, Snippet, drop him! You'll break his wing!' Before he couldreach the pair, the jackdaw managed to free himself by giving Snippet a sudden peck on his nose,which made him bark in pain. As soon as he opened his mouth to bark, the jackdaw dropped on theground, and scuttled⁸ away, his wing drooping⁹, unable to fly.
The poodle was after him in a second! The twins yelled in vain. He meant to catch that exasperatingjackdaw if it was the last thing he did! The squawking bird looked anxiously for a hiding-place - andsaw one! A rabbit-hole - just the thing to hop² down in a trice! In he went with another loud squawk,and disappeared from sight.
'He's gone down that rabbit- hole!' said Dick, with a shout of laughter. 'Clever old bird. You'reoutwitted, Snippet!'
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But no - Snippet wasn't! He disappeared down the hole too! He was as small as a rabbit, and couldeasily run down a burrow¹⁰. He had never done more than sniff¹¹ at one before, being rather scared ofdark tunnels - but if Nosey had gone down, well, he would too!
The children stared in surprise. First the jackdaw - now Snippet! The twins bent¹² down by the holeand yelled. 'Come back, Snippet, you idiot! The hill's honeycombed with old warrens -you'll get lost for ever. Come back! Snippet. Snip-Snip-Snippet, can you hear us? COMEHERE!'
There was silence down the rabbit-hole. No chack, no bark. 'They must have gone deep down,'
said Harry, anxiously. 'There's a perfect maze¹³ of burrows¹⁴ in this hill. Dad said there used to bethousands of rabbits here at one time. Hey, Snippet - COME HERE!'
'Well, we'd better sit down till they come back,' said Anne, feeling suddenly tired with excitementand with climbing up hill and down.
'Right,' said Julian. 'Anyone got any sweets?'
'I have,' said George, as usual, and took out a rather grimy packet of peppermints¹⁵. 'Here you are; haveone, twins?'
'Thanks,' they said. 'We really ought to be getting back - we've plenty of work to do!'
They sat sucking their peppermints, wondering what in the world the jackdaw and Snippet were upto. At last Timmy pricked¹⁶ up his ears and gave a small bark, looking at the entrance of the burrow ashe did so. 'They're coming,' said George. 'Timmy knows!'
Sure enough, Timmy was right. Out came first Snippet, and then Nosey, apparently¹⁷ quite goodfriends again. Snippet rushed to the twins and flung himself on them as if he hadn't seen them fordays. He put something down at their feet. 'What's this you've found?' said Harry, picking it up.
'Some dirty old bone?'
Julian suddenly took it from him, almost snatching it. 'Bone? No - that's not a bone. It's a smallcarved dagger¹⁸ with a broken handle - old as the hills! SNIPPET! Where did you find it?'
'The jackdaw's got something too!' cried Anne, pointing to him. 'Look - in his beak¹⁹!'
Harriet caught the jackdaw easily, for he still could not fly. 'It's a ring!' she said. 'With a red stone in it- look!'
All six children gazed at the two strange articles. An old carved knife, black with age - and an oldring, with a stone still set in it! They could have come from only one place! George said whateveryone was thinking.
'Snippet and the jackdaw have been to the cellars of the castle! They must have! That burrow musthave led straight into the tunnel that goes to the dungeons²⁰ and the cellars - and they've been there!
Oh, Snippet - you clever, clever dog - you've told us JUST what we want to know!'
'George is right!' said Dick, jubilantly. 'We know quite a lot of things now, because of Snippet andNosey. We know there must be plenty of things still in those castle cellars - and we know thatsomewhere near the end of this burrow is the secret passage - because that's the only way they couldhave got into the cellars - by using the passage! The burrow led into the passage!
Don't you agree, Julian?'
'Rather!' said Julian, flushed with excitement. 'My word, this is a bit of good luck! Hurrah²¹ for Snippetand Nosey. Look, the jackdaw's trying to fly - his wing isn't badly hurt - just bruised²², I expect. Goodold Nosey - little did he know what his bit of mischief²³ would lead to!'
'What happens now?' said George, her eyes shining. 'Do we dig, too - now that we know where thepassage is? It can't be very far - and once we've got down to it, we can easily get into the cellarsbefore that American does!'
WHAT an excitement! Timmy really thought everyone had gone completely mad!

1 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。

2 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

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 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

6 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

10 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

11 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

12 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。

13 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

14 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

15 peppermints   

n.薄荷( peppermint的名词复数 )；薄荷糖

参考例句：

• She just curls up and sucks peppermints. 她老是蜷着腿躺着，吮着薄荷糖。 来自辞典例句
• Enough, already with this mellow incense and peppermints vibe. 够了，我受够这些薰香以及薄荷的感觉了。 来自电影对白

16 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。

17 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

18 dagger   

n.匕首，短剑，剑号

参考例句：

• The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
• The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。

19 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

20 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

21 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

22 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

23 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。