Chapter 11 JEREMIAH BOOGLE

Chapter 11 JEREMIAH BOOGLE
When it began to get dark, Tinker left the card-table, and fetched an old-fashioned oil-lamp. Heshook it.
'It's still got some oil in,' he said. 'Good. I'll light it, then we can see properly.'
'What a pity we can't light the great oil-lamp at the top of the light-house,' said George. 'That musthave been the light-house keeper's great moment - lighting¹ up the lamp to warn ships away. I wonderwho first thought of a light-house - someone whose folk sailed, and might be wrecked² on rocks, Isuppose?'
'One of the first great light-houses was built ages ago on an island called Pharos at the mouth of theNile, not far from the great port of Alexandria,' said Julian.
'What was it built of - stone, like this one?' asked Tinker.
'No. It was built of white marble,' said Julian. 'I thought of it today when we went up the spiral 41staircase here - because the Pharos light-house had one too - much, much bigger than ours.'
'What was their lamp like?' asked Tinker.
'I don't know if it had a lamp,' said Julian. 'It's said that an enormous fire was built each night on thetop of the light-house, whose flames could be seen by ships a hundred miles away!'
'Goodness - it must have been a pretty high light-house, then, this Pharos!' said Dick.
'Well, it was supposed to be 600 feet high!' said Julian.
'Whew! I wonder the wind didn't blow it down!' said Dick. 'Let's go and see it one day - if it's stillthere.'
'Ass³!' said Julian. 'It's gone long since. After all, it was built over twenty-two hundred years ago! Anearthquake came along one day and the magnificent light-house was shaken to bits -completely destroyed!'
There was a shocked silence. Everyone looked round at the walls of the light-house they were in. Anearth-quake! What a catastrophe⁴ that would be for even a little light-house!
'Cheer up, Anne!' said Julian, with a laugh. 'We're not likely to visited by an earthquake tonight!
That old light-house on Pharos Island was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. No- don't ask me the others - I'm getting too sleepy to remember!'
'I wish we could light the lamp in this light-house,' said Anne. 'It can't like being a blind lighthouse,after shining brightly for so many years. Could the lamp be lighted, Tinker, or is it broken now?'
'Anne - if you think we're going to scramble⁵ round that lamp-room and light the lamp just becauseyou feel sorry about it, you're mistaken,' said Dick, firmly. 'Anyway, it's sure to be out of order afterall these years.'
'I don't see why it should be,' objected Tinker. 'The lamp's never been interfered⁶ with.'
'Look - are we going to go on with our game, or are we not?' said Julian. 'I may as well remind youthat I have won practically every game so far! Unless someone else wins a game soon I shall considerthat I'm playing with a set of nitwits!'
That was quite enough to make everyone pick up their cards, and see if they couldn't possibly beatJulian!
'We'll jolly well play till you're well and truly beaten!' said Dick.
But no - nobody could beat Julian that night. Luck went his way all the time. At the end of the fifthgame Anne yawned loudly.
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'Oh sorry!' she said. 'Don't think I'm bored. That yawn came too suddenly for me to stop it.'
'Well, I feel decidedly yawny too,' said Dick. 'What about a snack of something - and then we'll go tobed. We had such an enormous tea-sup that I feel I can't manage another meal - but a chocolatebiscuit or two would be quite welcome.'
'Woof!' said Timmy at once, agreeing heartily⁷, and Mischief⁸ said something in his little chatteringvoice, and tugged⁹ at Tinker's sleeve.
'I'll bring you a snack or two,' said Anne, getting up. She soon came back with a tray on which shehad put lemonade, large slices of Joanna's new cake, and a chocolate biscuit for everyone, includingTimmy and Mischief.
They ate with enjoyment¹⁰, feeling lazy and comfortable. 'And now to bed!' said Julian. 'Girls, do youwant any help with your mattress¹¹ or rugs or anything?'
'No, thanks,' said Anne. 'Do you boys want to wash, and clean your teeth at the sink here?
Because if so, do it now.'
Before a quarter of an hour had gone, everyone was bedded down comfortably. The three boys curledup in rugs in the bedroom below, with Mischief cuddled into Tinker's neck. The two girls and Timmylay on a mattress, with a blanket over them. Timmy lay beside George, occasionally licking her earwith his big tongue.
'Dear Timmy!' said George, sleepily. 'I love you - but do please keep your tongue to yourself!'
And soon they were all asleep, boys, girls, and animals too. Outside, the sea sighed and splashed andswirled, and the wind cried like the day-time gulls¹². But all was peace and quiet inside the old light-house. Not even Mischief the monkey stirred in his sleep.
It was fun to wake up in the morning, and hear the gulls screaming round; fun to have breakfast ofeggs and bread-and-butter, and apples to crunch¹³ afterwards - fun to plan what to do that day.
'I vote we do a bit of shopping and buy some more eggs, and fresh bread, and a bottle or two ofcreamy milk,' said Anne.
'And we might try and find that car-driver's great-grandad, and ask him a few things about the light-house, and the wreckers that came in the old days,' said Dick.
'Yes - and he might show us the Wreckers' Cave!' said Julian. 'I'd like to see that! Buck¹⁴ up withwhatever jobs there are to do, Anne and George - and we'll go over the rocks to the jetty. The tideshould be out, so we ought to be able to walk over.'
'Well, we must be back before the tide comes in, then,' said Tinker. 'Because if we leave the 43boat tied up here by the light-house, we shan't be able to get back once the sea sweeps over the rocksand cuts us off!'
'Right,' said Julian. 'Be ready as soon as you can, girls.'
The girls were ready very quickly, and the little party set off over the rocks that at low tide laybetween the light-house and the shore. Wicked rocks they were too - with sharp edges and points thatwould hole a ship at once!
Soon the children were on the little stone jetty. 'What was the name of old great-grandad?' said Dickfrowning.
'Jeremiah Boogle,' said Anne. 'And he smokes a long pipe, and scowls¹⁵ at people.'
'Well - he should be easy to find!' said Julian. 'Come along. He's probably somewhere on the quay¹⁶.'
'There he is!' said George, spotting an old man with a long pipe in his mouth. 'That's Jeremiah, I'msure!'
Yes, there he was, sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, an old old man, smoking a verylong pipe! He had a fine beard, a yachting cap askew¹⁷ on his head, and such enormous shaggyeyebrows that it was difficult to see his eyes beneath them!
The Five went up to him, with Timmy trotting¹⁸ behind, and Mischief on Tinker’s shoulder. The oldman spotted¹⁹ Mischief at once.
'Well, well - a monkey!' he said. 'Many's the little monkey I've brought home from my voyages.'
He snapped his fingers and made a curious noise in his throat. Mischief stared at him, listening.
Then he leapt from Tinker's shoulder on to the old man's, and rubbed his head against the old sailor'shairy ear.
'Mischief!' said Tinker, amazed. 'Look at that, George. He never goes to a stranger!'
'Well, maybe I knew his great grandfather!' said the old sailor, laughing, and scratching Mischief'sneck. 'All monkeys like me - and I like them!'
'Er - are you Mr. Jeremiah Boogle!' asked Julian.
'Jeremiah Boogle, that's me,' said the old fellow, and touched his cap. 'How do you know my name?'
'Well, Jackson, the car-driver, told us he was your great-grandson,' said Julian. 'You see we're stayingat the old light-house - and Jackson said you could tell us a few things about it - its history, youknow. And about the wreckers that lived here before the light-house was built.'
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'Oh, I can tell you tales all right!' said Jeremiah, puffing²⁰ out a cloud of smoke, and making Mischiefcough. 'That's more than that silly young great- grandson of mine can! He don't know nothing,nothing at all - except about cars. Well, who wants cars, nasty, smelly noisy things?
Pah! That young George Jackson is a ninny!'
'He's not. He's the cleverest mechanic in the place!' said George, at once. 'There's not a thing hedoesn't know about cars!'
'CARS! There now, what did I say - nasty, noisy, smelly things!' said Jackson's great-grandad, with asnort.
'Well, look - we don't want to talk about cars,' said Julian. 'You tell us about the old days - thewreckers and all that!'
'Ah - them old days!' said great-grandad. 'Well I knew some wreckers myself, once - there was One-Ear Bill, now...' And then old Jeremiah told a story that the Five could hardly believe!

1 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

2 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

3 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。

4 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

5 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

6 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

8 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。

9 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

11 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

12 gulls   

n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

13 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

14 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。

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 quay   

n.码头，靠岸处

参考例句：

• There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
• The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

17 askew   

adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的

参考例句：

• His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.他的眼镜一下子被打歪了。
• Her hat was slightly askew.她的帽子戴得有点斜。

18 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

19 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

20 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》