章节正文
"Well, then, let's be off," continued the Ork, after
sticking its head into the black hole and sniffing once
or twice. "The air seems fresh and sweet, and it can't
lead us to any worse place than this."
The girl and the sailor-man got up and climbed to the
side of the Ork.
"We'd about decided to explore this hole before you
came," explained Cap'n Bill; "but it's a dangerous
place to navigate in the dark, so wait till I light a
candle."
"What is a candle?" inquired the Ork.
"You'll see in a minute," said Trot.
The old sailor drew one of the candles from his
right-side pocket and the tin matchbox from his left-
side pocket. When he lighted the match the Ork gave a
startled jump and eyed the flame suspiciously; but
Cap'n Bill proceeded to light the candle and the action
interested the Ork very much.
"Light," it said, somewhat nervously" target="_blank" title="ad.神经质地；胆怯地">nervously, "is valuable in
a hole of this sort. The candle is not dangerous, I
hope?"
"Sometimes it burns your fingers," answered Trot,
"but that's about the worst it can do -- 'cept to blow
out when you don't want it to."
Cap'n Bill shielded the flame with his hand and
crept into the hole. It wasn't any too big for a grown
man, but after he had crawled a few feet it grew
larger. Trot came close behind him and then the
Ork followed.
"Seems like a reg'lar tunnel," muttered the sailor-
man, who was creeping along awkwardly because of his
wooden leg. The rocks, too, hurt his knees.
For nearly half an hour the three moved slowly along
the tunnel, which made many twists and turns and
sometimes slanted downward and sometimes upward.
Finally Cap'n Bill stopped short, with an exclamation
of disappointment, and held the flickering candle far
ahead to light the scene.
"What's wrong?" demanded Trot, who could see nothing
because the sailor's form completely filled the hole.
"Why, we've come to the end of our travels, I guess,"
he replied.
"Is the hole blocked?" inquired the Ork.
"No; it's wuss nor that," replied Cap'n Bill sadly.
"I'm on the edge of a precipice. Wait a minute an' I'll
move along and let you see for yourselves. Be careful,
Trot, not to fall."
Then he crept forward a little and moved to one side,
holding the candle so that the girl could see to follow
him. The Ork came next and now all three knelt on a
narrow ledge of rock which dropped straight away and
left a huge black space which the tiny flame of the
candle could not illuminate.
"H-m!" said the Ork, peering over the edge; "this
doesn't look very promising, I'll admit. But let me
take your candle, and I'll fly down and see what's
below us."
"Aren't you afraid?" asked Trot.
"Certainly I'm afraid," responded the Ork. "But
if we intend to escape we can't stay on this shelf
forever. So, as I notice you poor creatures cannot fly,
it is my duty to explore the place for you."
Cap'n Bill handed the Ork the candle, which had now
burned to about half its length. The Ork took it in one
claw rather cautiously and then tipped its body forward
and slipped over the edge. They heard a queer buzzing
sound, as the tail revolved, and a brisk flapping of
the peculiar wings, but they were more interested just
then in following with their eyes the tiny speck of
light which marked the location of the candle. This
light first made a great circle, then dropped slowly
downward and suddenly was extinguished, leaving
everything before them black as ink.
"Hi, there! How did that happen?" cried the Ork.
"It blew out, I guess," shouted Cap'n Bill. "Fetch it
here."
"I can't see where you are," said the Ork.
So Cap'n Bill got out another candle and lighted it,
and its flame enabled the Ork to fly back to them.
It alighted on the edge and held out the bit of candle.
"What made it stop burning?" asked the creature.
The wind," said Trot. "You must be more careful, this
time."
"What's the place like?" inquired Cap'n Bill.
"I don't know, yet; but there must be a bottom to it,
so I'll try to find it."
With this the Ork started out again and this time
sank downward more slowly. Down, down, down it went,
till the candle was a mere spark, and then it headed
away to the left and Trot and Cap'n Bill lost all sight
of it.
In a few minutes, however, they saw the spark of
light again, and as the sailor still held the second
lighted candle the Ork made straight toward them. It
was only a few yards distant when suddenly it dropped
the candle with a cry of pain and next moment alighted,
fluttering wildly, upon the rocky ledge.
"What's the matter?" asked Trot.
It bit me!" wailed the Ork. "I don't like your
candles. The thing began to disappear slowly as soon as
I took it in my claw, and it grew smaller and smaller
until just now it turned and bit me -- a most
unfriendly thing to do. Oh -- oh! Ouch, what a bite!"
"That's the nature of candles, I'm sorry to say,"
explained Cap'n Bill, with a grin. "You have to handle
'em mighty keerful. But tell us, what did you find down
there?"
"I found a way to continue our journey," said the
Ork, nursing tenderly the claw which had been burned.
"Just below us is a great lake of black water, which
looked so cold and wicked that it made me shudder;
but away at the left there's a big tunnel, which we
can easily walk through. I don't know where it leads
to, of course, but we must follow it and find out."
"why, we can't get to it," protested the little girl.
"We can't fly, as you do, you must remember."
"No, that's true," replied the Ork musingly. "Your
bodies are built very poorly, it seems to me, since all
you can do is crawl upon the earth's surface. But you
may ride upon my back, and in that way I can promise
you a safe journey to the tunnel."
"Are you strong enough to carry us?" asked Cap'n
Bill, doubtfully.
"Yes, indeed; I'm strong enough to carry a dozen of
you, if you could find a place to sit," was the reply;
"but there's only room between my wings for one at a
time, so I'll have to make two trips."
"All right; I'll go first," decided Cap'n Bill.
He lit another candle for Trot to hold while they
were gone and to light the Ork on his return to her,
and then the old sailor got upon the Ork's back, where
he sat with his wooden leg sticking straight out
sidewise.
"If you start to fall, clasp your arms around my
neck," advised the creature.
"If I start to fall, it's good night an' pleasant
dreams," said Cap'n Bill.
"All ready?" asked the Ork.
"Start the buzz-tail," said Cap'n Bill, with a
tremble in his voice. But the Ork flew away so gently
that the old man never even tottered in his seat. Trot
watched the light of Cap'n Bill's candle till it
disappeared in the far distance. She didn't like to be
left alone on this dangerous ledge, with a lake of
black water hundreds of feet below her; but she was a
brave little girl and waited patiently for the return
of the Ork. It came even sooner than she had expected
and the creature said to her:
"Your friend is safe in the tunnel. Now, then, get
aboard and I'll carry you to him in a jiffy."
I'm sure not many little girls would have cared to
take that awful ride through the huge black cavern on
the back of a skinny Ork. Trot didn't care for it,
herself, but it just had to be done and so she did it
as courageously as possible. Her heart beat fast and
she was so nervous she could scarcely hold the candle
in her fingers as the Ork sped swiftly through the
darkness.
It seemed like a long ride to her, yet in reality the
Ork covered the distance in a wonderfully brief period
of time and soon Trot stood safely beside Cap'n Bill on
the level floor of a big archedtunnel. The sailor-man
was very glad to greet his little comrade again and
both were grateful to the Ork for his assistance.
"I dunno where this tunnel leads to," remarked Cap'n
Bill, "but it surely looks more promisin' than that
other hole we crept through."
"When the Ork is rested," said Trot, "we'll travel on
and see what happens."
"Rested!" cried the Ork, as scornfully as his shrill
voice would allow. "That bit of flying didn't tire me
at all. I'm used to flying days at a time, without ever
once stopping."
"Then let's move on," proposed Cap'n Bill. He still
held in his hand one lighted candle, so Trot blew out
the other flame and placed her candle in the sailor's
big pocket. She knew it was not wise to burn two
candles at once.
The tunnel was straight and smooth and very easy to
walk through, so they made good progress. Trot thought
that the tunnel began about two miles from the cavern
where they had been cast by the whirlpool, but now it
was impossible to guess the miles traveled, for they
walked steadily for hours and hours without any change
in their surroundings.
Finally Cap'n Bill stopped to rest.
"There's somethin' queer about this 'ere tunnel, I'm
certain," he declared, wagging his head dolefully.
"Here's three candles gone a'ready, an' only three more
left us, yet the tunnel's the same as it was when we
started. An' how long it's goin' to keep up, no one
knows."
"Couldn't we walk without a light?" asked Trot. "The
way seems safe enough."
"It does right now," was the reply, "but we can't
tell when we are likely to come to another gulf, or
somethin' jes' as dangerous. In that case we'd be
killed afore we knew it."
"Suppose I go ahead?" suggested the Ork. "I don't
fear a fall, you know, and if anything happens I'll
call out and warn you."
sticking its head into the black hole and sniffing once
or twice. "The air seems fresh and sweet, and it can't
lead us to any worse place than this."
The girl and the sailor-man got up and climbed to the
side of the Ork.
"We'd about decided to explore this hole before you
came," explained Cap'n Bill; "but it's a dangerous
place to navigate in the dark, so wait till I light a
candle."
"What is a candle?" inquired the Ork.
"You'll see in a minute," said Trot.
The old sailor drew one of the candles from his
right-side pocket and the tin matchbox from his left-
side pocket. When he lighted the match the Ork gave a
startled jump and eyed the flame suspiciously; but
Cap'n Bill proceeded to light the candle and the action
interested the Ork very much.
"Light," it said, somewhat nervously" target="_blank" title="ad.神经质地；胆怯地">nervously, "is valuable in
a hole of this sort. The candle is not dangerous, I
hope?"
"Sometimes it burns your fingers," answered Trot,
"but that's about the worst it can do -- 'cept to blow
out when you don't want it to."
Cap'n Bill shielded the flame with his hand and
crept into the hole. It wasn't any too big for a grown
man, but after he had crawled a few feet it grew
larger. Trot came close behind him and then the
Ork followed.
"Seems like a reg'lar tunnel," muttered the sailor-
man, who was creeping along awkwardly because of his
wooden leg. The rocks, too, hurt his knees.
For nearly half an hour the three moved slowly along
the tunnel, which made many twists and turns and
sometimes slanted downward and sometimes upward.
Finally Cap'n Bill stopped short, with an exclamation
of disappointment, and held the flickering candle far
ahead to light the scene.
"What's wrong?" demanded Trot, who could see nothing
because the sailor's form completely filled the hole.
"Why, we've come to the end of our travels, I guess,"
he replied.
"Is the hole blocked?" inquired the Ork.
"No; it's wuss nor that," replied Cap'n Bill sadly.
"I'm on the edge of a precipice. Wait a minute an' I'll
move along and let you see for yourselves. Be careful,
Trot, not to fall."
Then he crept forward a little and moved to one side,
holding the candle so that the girl could see to follow
him. The Ork came next and now all three knelt on a
narrow ledge of rock which dropped straight away and
left a huge black space which the tiny flame of the
candle could not illuminate.
"H-m!" said the Ork, peering over the edge; "this
doesn't look very promising, I'll admit. But let me
take your candle, and I'll fly down and see what's
below us."
"Aren't you afraid?" asked Trot.
"Certainly I'm afraid," responded the Ork. "But
if we intend to escape we can't stay on this shelf
forever. So, as I notice you poor creatures cannot fly,
it is my duty to explore the place for you."
Cap'n Bill handed the Ork the candle, which had now
burned to about half its length. The Ork took it in one
claw rather cautiously and then tipped its body forward
and slipped over the edge. They heard a queer buzzing
sound, as the tail revolved, and a brisk flapping of
the peculiar wings, but they were more interested just
then in following with their eyes the tiny speck of
light which marked the location of the candle. This
light first made a great circle, then dropped slowly
downward and suddenly was extinguished, leaving
everything before them black as ink.
"Hi, there! How did that happen?" cried the Ork.
"It blew out, I guess," shouted Cap'n Bill. "Fetch it
here."
"I can't see where you are," said the Ork.
So Cap'n Bill got out another candle and lighted it,
and its flame enabled the Ork to fly back to them.
It alighted on the edge and held out the bit of candle.
"What made it stop burning?" asked the creature.
The wind," said Trot. "You must be more careful, this
time."
"What's the place like?" inquired Cap'n Bill.
"I don't know, yet; but there must be a bottom to it,
so I'll try to find it."
With this the Ork started out again and this time
sank downward more slowly. Down, down, down it went,
till the candle was a mere spark, and then it headed
away to the left and Trot and Cap'n Bill lost all sight
of it.
In a few minutes, however, they saw the spark of
light again, and as the sailor still held the second
lighted candle the Ork made straight toward them. It
was only a few yards distant when suddenly it dropped
the candle with a cry of pain and next moment alighted,
fluttering wildly, upon the rocky ledge.
"What's the matter?" asked Trot.
It bit me!" wailed the Ork. "I don't like your
candles. The thing began to disappear slowly as soon as
I took it in my claw, and it grew smaller and smaller
until just now it turned and bit me -- a most
unfriendly thing to do. Oh -- oh! Ouch, what a bite!"
"That's the nature of candles, I'm sorry to say,"
explained Cap'n Bill, with a grin. "You have to handle
'em mighty keerful. But tell us, what did you find down
there?"
"I found a way to continue our journey," said the
Ork, nursing tenderly the claw which had been burned.
"Just below us is a great lake of black water, which
looked so cold and wicked that it made me shudder;
but away at the left there's a big tunnel, which we
can easily walk through. I don't know where it leads
to, of course, but we must follow it and find out."
"why, we can't get to it," protested the little girl.
"We can't fly, as you do, you must remember."
"No, that's true," replied the Ork musingly. "Your
bodies are built very poorly, it seems to me, since all
you can do is crawl upon the earth's surface. But you
may ride upon my back, and in that way I can promise
you a safe journey to the tunnel."
"Are you strong enough to carry us?" asked Cap'n
Bill, doubtfully.
"Yes, indeed; I'm strong enough to carry a dozen of
you, if you could find a place to sit," was the reply;
"but there's only room between my wings for one at a
time, so I'll have to make two trips."
"All right; I'll go first," decided Cap'n Bill.
He lit another candle for Trot to hold while they
were gone and to light the Ork on his return to her,
and then the old sailor got upon the Ork's back, where
he sat with his wooden leg sticking straight out
sidewise.
"If you start to fall, clasp your arms around my
neck," advised the creature.
"If I start to fall, it's good night an' pleasant
dreams," said Cap'n Bill.
"All ready?" asked the Ork.
"Start the buzz-tail," said Cap'n Bill, with a
tremble in his voice. But the Ork flew away so gently
that the old man never even tottered in his seat. Trot
watched the light of Cap'n Bill's candle till it
disappeared in the far distance. She didn't like to be
left alone on this dangerous ledge, with a lake of
black water hundreds of feet below her; but she was a
brave little girl and waited patiently for the return
of the Ork. It came even sooner than she had expected
and the creature said to her:
"Your friend is safe in the tunnel. Now, then, get
aboard and I'll carry you to him in a jiffy."
I'm sure not many little girls would have cared to
take that awful ride through the huge black cavern on
the back of a skinny Ork. Trot didn't care for it,
herself, but it just had to be done and so she did it
as courageously as possible. Her heart beat fast and
she was so nervous she could scarcely hold the candle
in her fingers as the Ork sped swiftly through the
darkness.
It seemed like a long ride to her, yet in reality the
Ork covered the distance in a wonderfully brief period
of time and soon Trot stood safely beside Cap'n Bill on
the level floor of a big archedtunnel. The sailor-man
was very glad to greet his little comrade again and
both were grateful to the Ork for his assistance.
"I dunno where this tunnel leads to," remarked Cap'n
Bill, "but it surely looks more promisin' than that
other hole we crept through."
"When the Ork is rested," said Trot, "we'll travel on
and see what happens."
"Rested!" cried the Ork, as scornfully as his shrill
voice would allow. "That bit of flying didn't tire me
at all. I'm used to flying days at a time, without ever
once stopping."
"Then let's move on," proposed Cap'n Bill. He still
held in his hand one lighted candle, so Trot blew out
the other flame and placed her candle in the sailor's
big pocket. She knew it was not wise to burn two
candles at once.
The tunnel was straight and smooth and very easy to
walk through, so they made good progress. Trot thought
that the tunnel began about two miles from the cavern
where they had been cast by the whirlpool, but now it
was impossible to guess the miles traveled, for they
walked steadily for hours and hours without any change
in their surroundings.
Finally Cap'n Bill stopped to rest.
"There's somethin' queer about this 'ere tunnel, I'm
certain," he declared, wagging his head dolefully.
"Here's three candles gone a'ready, an' only three more
left us, yet the tunnel's the same as it was when we
started. An' how long it's goin' to keep up, no one
knows."
"Couldn't we walk without a light?" asked Trot. "The
way seems safe enough."
"It does right now," was the reply, "but we can't
tell when we are likely to come to another gulf, or
somethin' jes' as dangerous. In that case we'd be
killed afore we knew it."
"Suppose I go ahead?" suggested the Ork. "I don't
fear a fall, you know, and if anything happens I'll
call out and warn you."
- valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl]
a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词) - tunnel [´tʌnl] n.隧道 v.挖隧道 (初中英语单词)
- disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)
- promising [´prɔmisiŋ] a.有希望的；有为的 (初中英语单词)
- peculiar [pi´kju:liə] a.特有的；奇异的 (初中英语单词)
- circle [´sə:kəl] n.圆圈 v.环绕；盘旋 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- nervous [´nə:vəs] a.神经的；神经过敏的 (初中英语单词)
- swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)
- reality [ri´æliti] n.现实(性)；真实；逼真 (初中英语单词)
- safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)
- grateful [´greitful] a.感谢的；令人愉快的 (初中英语单词)
- steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- explore [ik´splɔ:] v.勘探；探索；探查 (高中英语单词)
- downward [´daunwəd] a.下降的，向下的 (高中英语单词)
- cautiously [´kɔ:ʃəsli] ad.小心地；谨慎地 (高中英语单词)
- location [ləu´keiʃən] n.定位；位置；地方 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- tenderly [´tendəli] ad.娇嫩地；柔和地 (高中英语单词)
- patiently [´peiʃəntli] ad.有耐心地；坚韧地 (高中英语单词)
- cavern [´kævən] n.大山洞；大岩洞 (高中英语单词)
- nervously [´nə:vəsli] ad.神经质地；胆怯地 (英语四级单词)
- awkwardly [´ɔ:kwədli] a.笨拙地；棘手地 (英语四级单词)
- precipice [´presipis] n.悬崖；危急的处境 (英语四级单词)
- poorly [´puəli] a.不舒服的 ad.贫穷地 (英语四级单词)
- wonderfully [´wʌndəfuli] ad.令人惊讶地；奇妙地 (英语四级单词)
- traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)
- arched [´ɑ:tʃid] a.弓形(结构)的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
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