Chapter 15 JACOB IS IN TROUBLE

Chapter 15 JACOB IS IN TROUBLE
'Who's that shouting like that?' said Anne, fearfully. 'It can't be the robber, can it?'
'Of course not,' said Julian, and went to the door of the living-room. He yelled down the stairway:
'Who is it? What do you want?'
'It's the police!' shouted back the enormous voice.
'Oh. Come on up, then,' said Julian, relieved. Foot-steps could be heard coming up the iron stairway,accompanied by loud puffs¹ and pants. Then a policeman's helmet appeared, followed 58by his shoulders and the rest of him. Soon he was standing² in the living-room, beaming round at thesurprised company, panting with the effort of climbing so many stairs.
'How did you get in?' asked George. 'We jammed the door shut from the inside.'
'Well, I managed to unjam it, miss,' said the policeman, mopping his forehead, and smiling. He wasthe same policeman that Julian had seen that afternoon. 'Not much protection that, really.
You ought to get a new key made.'
'How did you get over here - the tide's in,' said Julian. 'You couldn't have walked over Demon'sRocks.'
'No, sir. I got Jem Hardy's boat,' said the policeman. 'By the way, my name's Sharp, sir - PoliceConstable Sharp.'
'A very good name for a policeman,' said Julian, with a cheerful grin. 'Well, have you caught the thiefwho took our key, and the other things?'
'No, sir. But I've a pretty good idea who it is,' said Sharp. 'I couldn't find anyone who'd been sitting onthe quay⁴ during the time you were away from the light-house, sir - but I did by chance find a ladywhose windows look down on the jetty, and she happened to see someone standing about there. Shesaid he went over the rocks to the light-house.'
'Who was it? The milkman, the postman?' asked Dick.
'Oh no, sir, I told your friend they were good fellows,' said the constable³, looking quite shocked.
'It was er - well, sir, a man who's a bit of a bad lot.'
'Who's that?' asked Julian, suddenly afraid it might be old Jeremiah. Could he be a bad lot - he hadsounded such a good fellow!
'Well, sir, it's no one you know,' said Sharp. 'It's one of a family with rather a bad name, sir - a mancalled Jacob - Jacob Loomer, sir. He comes of a family that used to do a bit of wrecking⁵, and...'
'Wrecking! Old Jeremiah was telling us of long-ago wreckers!' said Dick. 'One was called Nosey -and another was called Bart - relations of a well-known wrecker called One-Ear - er, One-Ear...'
'Bill,' said Sharp. 'Ah yes - One-Ear Bill. He lived a long time ago, when old Jeremiah was a youngman. This here Jacob, the one that was seen going into your light-house today, would be his great-great-great grandson, I reckon - something like that. Living image of old One-Ear Bill according toJeremiah. There's a bad strain in that family - can't seem to get it out!'
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'Well - you say it was Jacob who came into the light house? Why can't we have him arrested then?'
said Julian. 'And make him give up the key he took - and the other things?'
'Well, sir, if you'll come along with me and identify your things, maybe I can do something about it,'
said the constable. 'But he may have hidden them all by now - though he's that free-handed I wouldn'tbe surprised if he hasn't given them all away. A bit of a fool, Jacob is, as well as a rogue⁶. Ah - he'dhave liked the job of wrecking ships, he would - right up his street.'
'I'll come with you now,' said Julian. 'The others don't need to, do they?'
'Oh no - you'll do, sir,' said the policeman, and he and Julian went down the spiral stairway to theentrance. The others heard the door bang, and looked at one another.
'Well! To think that a great-great-great grandson of that horrid⁷ old One-Ear Bill is still living in thesame place as the old wrecker himself did!' said Dick. 'And he's a rogue too. History repeating itself?'
'We must go and see the Wreckers' Cave tomorrow, if we can,' said George. 'Jeremiah Boogle said hewould show it to us.'
'So long as there isn't an old old wrecker hiding there!' said Anne. 'Older than Jeremiah Boogle -with a beard down to his feet - a sort of Old Man of the Sea - with a horrid gurgling voice, and eyeslike a fish!'
'Really, Anne!' said George astonished. 'I'll be scared to go into caves if you say things like that!'
'I wonder how Julian's getting on,' said Tinker. 'Mischief⁸, stop jigging⁹ up and down - you make mefeel out of breath!'
Julian was at Jacob's house, and there, sure enough, were the things he had stolen - the rug - the clock- and Anne's purse - empty now!
'And what about the key?' demanded the constable. 'Come on now - you took the key out of the doorof the light-house - we know you did. Give it here, Jacob.'
'I didn't take it.' said Jacob, sullenly¹⁰.
'I'll have to take you in, you know, Jacob,' said the constable. 'You'll be searched at the police-station.
Better give up the key now.'
'Search me all you like!' said Jacob. 'You won't find that key on me. I tell you. I didn't take it.
What would I want that key for?'
'For the same reason that you usually want keys for,' said the constable. 'For breaking in and 60stealing. All right, Jacob. If you won't let this young gentleman have his key, I'll have you searched atthe police-station. Come along with me.'
But alas¹¹, no key was found on the surly Jacob, and the constable shrugged¹² his shoulders and raisedhis eyebrows¹³ at Julian.
'If you take my advice, sir, I'd get a different lock put on your door. Jacob's got your key somewhere.
He'll be at the light-house again as soon as he sees you all go out.'
'Bah!' said Jacob, rudely. 'You and your keys. I tell you I didn't take it. There wasn't a key there...'
'Come along with me, Jacob,' said the constable. He turned to Julian. 'Well, that's all, sir. We'll havehis house searched. The odds¹⁴ are that he's hidden the key somewhere. He's an artful dodger¹⁵, this one!'
Julian went back to the light-house, rather worried. It might take a few days in a little place like thisto have a new lock put in. In the meantime they would either have to keep themselves prisoners in thelight-house - or leave a front door that anyone could open!
The others listened excitedly to his tale, when he went back. They were glad to have the rug, theclock, and the purse again - though Anne was sad that all her money was gone.
'We'll have to get a new lock and key,' said Julian. 'After all, this light-house has only been lent to us,and it's our responsibility to look after it and all it contains. It's a good thing it was only our thingsthat were taken - not Professor Hayling's!'
'It's getting rather late,' said Anne, jumping up. 'We haven't had our tea yet! I'll get it. Anyone feellike buns with butter and jam?'
Everyone did, and soon Anne produced a large plate of delicious looking buns. They talked as theydrank their tea, and ate the buns.
'I vote we go and find Jeremiah Boogle tomorrow, and see if he's heard of the robbery, and if he hasanything interesting to say about it,' said George.
'And also we really must get him to show us the Wreckers' Cave,' said Julian. 'By the way, what werethe names of the two men who have the job of showing the visitors round the caves? I'm pretty sureone was Jacob!'
'You're right - it was - and the other man was called Ebenezer!' said Dick. 'Well - let's hope Jacob islocked up, or out of the way somewhere when we go to see the caves. We shall get some black looksfrom him, if not!'
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'Well, we can give him some back!' said George, putting on a terrific scowl¹⁶, and making Timmy givea sudden whine¹⁷. She patted him. 'It's all right, Timmy - that scowl wasn't for you!'
'We'd better go to the caves tomorrow morning when the tide will be more or less out,' said Julian.
'And I'd better see if I can find a locksmith here who can give us a new lock and key quickly!'
'Why not slip out now?' said Dick. 'I'll come with you for a bit of fresh air. Want to come girls?'
'No, I'd like to finish my book,' said Anne, and George said the same. Tinker was playing withMischief, and he didn't want to come either.
'Well, you and the light-house will be safe with Timmy and Mischief to look after you!' said Julian,and down the stairway he went, with Dick close behind him.
The locksmith promised to come and look at the door in the next day or two. 'Can't leave my shopjust now,' he said. 'Nobody to see to it! It'll take me a few days to do the job for you, I'm afraid, sir.'
'Oh blow!' said Julian. 'We've already had a thief in the light-house! We don't like to go out and leaveit empty now!'
They rowed back to the light-house, shut and jammed the door as best they could, and went up to thegirls. Timmy gave them an uproarious welcome, and Mischief took a flying leap from a chair-back onto Dick's shoulder.
'No lock or key for a few days,' said Dick, sitting down and tickling¹⁸ the delighted little monkey.
'I did want to go and see the caves tomorrow - especially the famous Wreckers' one - but we can'tpossibly leave the light-house empty.'
'Woof,' said Timmy at once.
'He says, why not leave him behind, and let him guard it,' said George, solemnly, and Timmy at oncesaid 'Woof' again.
They all laughed. Dick patted Timmy, and ruffled¹⁹ the fur behind his ears. 'Dear old Tim - all right,you guard the light-house - you shall have a Very Special Bone for a reward!'
'That's settled then. We leave Timmy here on guard, and we all go off to the caves,' said Julian.
'Well, one of the brothers who show visitors round will be missing tomorrow, I fear - Jacob will notbe there!'
'I bet we'll get some scowls²⁰ from the other brother - what's his name now - Ebenezer?' said Anne.
'We'll have to be careful that we don't get pushed into a deep pool of water!'
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'Dear me, yes,' said Julian. 'One never knows! We'll certainly be on our guard!'

1 puffs   

n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里，轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句
• Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句

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 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

4 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。

5 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

6 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

7 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

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 jigging   

n.跳汰选，簸选v.（使）上下急动( jig的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They were jigging up and down to the music. 他们随着音乐的节拍轻快地上下跳着。 来自互联网
• She hopped about on stage, jigging her feet. 她在舞台上用脚跳来跳去。 来自互联网

10 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

11 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

12 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

14 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

15 dodger   

n.躲避者；躲闪者；广告单

参考例句：

• They are tax dodgers who hide their interest earnings.他们是隐瞒利息收入的逃税者。
• Make sure she pays her share she's a bit of a dodger.她自己的一份一定要她付清--她可是有点能赖就赖。

16 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

17 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

18 tickling   

反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法

参考例句：

• Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？
• Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

19 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

20 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。