Five Go Off In A Caravan Chapter Seven A TEA-PARTY - AND A VISIT IN THE NIGHT

（单词翻译）

Chapter Seven A TEA-PARTY - AND A VISIT IN THE NIGHT

Nobody particularly wanted to see round the camp just then, as Lou had been so unpleasant. So instead  they  showed  the  admiring  Nobby  over  the  two  caravans.  He  had  never  seen  such beauties.

'Jumping Jiminy, they're like palaces!' he said. 'Do you mean to say them taps turn on and water comes out? Can I turn on a tap? I've never turned a tap in my life!'

He turned the taps on and off a dozen times, exclaiming in wonder to see the water come gushing out.  He  thumped  the  bunks  to  see  how  soft  they  were.  He  admired  the  gay  soft  rugs  and  the shining crockery. He was, in fact, a very nice guest to have, and the children liked him more and more. They liked Barker and Growler, too, who were both well-behaved, obedient, merry dogs.

Pongo, of course, wanted to turn the taps on and off, too, and he threw all the coverings off the two bunks to see what was underneath. He also took the kettle off the stove put the spout to his thick lips and drank all the water out of it very noisily indeed.

'You're  forgetting  your  manners,  Pongo!'  said  Nobby  in  horror,  and  snatched  the  kettle  away from him. Anne squealed with laughter. She loved the chimpanzee, and he seemed to have taken a  great  fancy  to  Anne,  too.  He  followed  her  about  and  stroked  her  hair  and  made  funny affectionate noises.

'Would you like to stay and have tea here with us?' asked Julian, looking at his watch. 'It's about time.'

'Coo - I don't have tea as a rule,' said Nobby. 'Yes, I'd like to. Sure you don't mind me staying, though? I ain't got your manners, I know, and I'm a bit dirty, and not your sort at all. But you're real kind.'

'We'd love to have you stay,' said Anne in delight. 'I'll cut some bread and butter and make some sandwiches. Do you like potted meat sandwiches, Nobby?'

'Don't I just!' said Nobby. 'And Pongo does, too. Don't  you let him get near them or he'll finish up the lot.'

It was a pleasant and amusing little tea-party. They all sat out on the heather, on the shady side of the  caravan.  Barker  and  Growler  sat  with  Timmy.  Pongo  sat  beside  Anne,  taking  bits  of 29

sandwich  from  her  most  politely.  Nobby  enjoyed  his  tea  immensely,  eating  more  sandwiches than anyone and talking all the time with his mouth full.

He  made  the  four  children  yell  with  laughter.  He  imitated  his  Uncle  Dan  doing  some  of  his clown tricks. He turned cart-wheels all round the caravan while he was waiting for Anne to cut more sandwiches. He stood solemnly on his head and ate a sandwich like that, much to Timmy's amazement. Timmy walked round and round him, and sniffed at his face as if to say:  'Strange!

No legs! Something's gone wrong.'

At last nobody could eat any more. Nobby stood up to go, suddenly wondering if he had stayed too long.

'I was enjoying myself so much I forgot the time,' he said awkwardly. 'Bet I've stayed too long and you've been too polite to tell me to get out. Coo, that wasn't half a good tea! Thanks, Miss, awfully, for all them delicious sandwiches. 'Fraid my manners aren't like yours, kids, but thanks for a very good time.'

'You've got very good manners indeed,' said Anne, warmly. 'You've been a splendid guest. Come again, won't you?'

'Well,  thanks,  I  will,'  said  Nobby,  forgetting  his  sudden  awkwardness,  and  beaming  round.

'Where's Pongo? Look at that chimp! He's got one of your hankies, and he's blowing his nose!'

Anne squealed in delight. 'He can keep it!' she said. 'It's only an old one.'

'Will you be here camping for long?' asked Nobby.

'Well, not just exactly here, said Julian. 'We thought of going up higher into the hills. It will be cooler there.  But  we might  camp  here just for tonight.  We meant  to  go up higher this  evening, but we might as well stay here and go tomorrow morning now. Perhaps we could see round the camp tomorrow morning.'

'Not if Lou's there you can't,' said Nobby. 'Once he's told people to clear out he means it. But it will be all right if he's not. I'll come and tell you.'

'All  right,'  said  Julian.  'I'm  not  afraid  of  Lou  -  but  we  don't  want  to  get  you  into  any  trouble, Nobby. If Lou's there tomorrow morning, we'll go on up into the hills, and you can always signal to us if he's out of the camp, and we can come down any time. And mind you come up and see us when you want to.'

'And bring Pongo,' said Anne.

'You bet!' said Nobby. 'Well - so long!'

30

He went off with Barker and Growler at his heels and with Pongo held firmly by the paw. Pongo didn't want to go at all. He kept pulling back like a naughty child.

'I  do  like  Nobby  and  Pongo,'  said  Anne.  'I  wonder  what  Mummy  would  say  if  she  knew  we'd made friends with a chimpanzee. She'd have a fit.'

Julian  suddenly  looked  rather  doubtful.  He  was  wondering  if  he  had  done  right  to  follow  the circus and let Anne and the others make friends with such queer folk and even queerer animals.

But Nobby was so nice. He was sure his mother would like Nobby. And they could easily keep away from Tiger Dan and Lou the acrobat.

'Have we got enough to eat for supper tonight and breakfast tomorrow?' he asked Anne. 'Because there doesn't seem to be a farm near enough to go to just here. But Nobby says there's one up on the  hill  up  there  -  the  circus  folk  get  their  supplies  from  it,  too  -  what  they  don't  get  from  the nearest town. Apparently somebody goes in each day to shop.'

'I'll just see what we've got in the larder, Julian,' said Anne, getting up. She knew perfectly well what there was in the larder - but it made her feel grown-up and important to go and look. It was nice to feel like that when she so often felt small and young, and the others were big and knew so much.

She called back to them: 'I've got eggs and tomatoes and potted meat, and plenty of bread, and a cake we bought today, and a pound of butter.'

'That's all right then,' said Julian. 'We won't bother about going to the farm tonight.'

When  darkness  fell  that  night,  there  were  clouds  across  the  sky  for  the  first  time.  Not  a  star showed and there was no moon. It was pitch-black, and Julian, looking out of the window of his caravan, before clambering into his bunk, could not even see a shimmer of water from the lake.

He  got  into  his  bunk  and  pulled  the  covers  up.  In  the  other  caravan  George  and  Anne  were asleep. Timmy was, as usual, on George's feet. She had pushed him off them once or twice, but now that she was asleep he was undisturbed, and lay heavily across her ankles, his head on his paws.

Suddenly his ears cocked up. He raised his head cautiously. Then he growled softly in his throat.

He  had  heard  something.  He  sat  there  stiffly,  listening.  He  could  hear  footsteps  from  two different directions. Then he heard voices - cautious voices, low and muffled.

Timmy  growled  again,  more  loudly.  George  awoke  and  reached  for  his  collar.  'What's  the matter?' she whispered. Timmy listened and so did she. They both heard the voices.

31

George slipped quietly out of the bunk and went to the half-open door of the caravan. She could not see anything outside at all because it was so dark. 'Don't make a noise, Tim,' she whispered.

Timmy understood. He did not growl again, but George could feel the hairs rising all along the back of his neck.

The voices seemed to come from not very far away. Two men must be talking together, George thought. Then she heard a match struck, and in its light she saw two men lighting their cigarettes from the same match. She recognised them at once - they were Nobby's Uncle Dan and Lou the acrobat.

What  were  they  doing  there?  Had  they  got  a  meeting-place  there  -  or  had  they  come  to  steal something from the caravans? George wished she could tell Julian and Dick - but she did not like to go out of her caravan in case the men heard her.

At  first  she  could  not  hear  anything  the  men  said.  They  were  discussing  something  very earnestly. Then one raised his voice.

'Okay, then - that's settled.' Then came the sound of footsteps again, this time towards George's caravan. The men walked straight into the side of it, exclaimed in surprise and pain, and began to feel about to find out what they had walked into.

'It's those posh caravans!' George heard Lou exclaim. 'Still here! I told those kids to clear out!'

'What  kids?' asked Tiger Dan, in  surprise. Evidently he had come back in  the dark and did  not know they had arrived.

'Some  kids  Nobby  knows,'  said  Lou  in  an  angry  voice.  He  rapped  loudly  on  the  walls  of  the caravan, and Anne woke up with a jump. George, just inside the caravan with Timmy, jumped in fright, too. Timmy barked in rage.

Julian and Dick woke up. Julian flashed on his torch and went to his door. The light picked out the two men standing by George's caravan.

'What are you doing here at this time of night?' said Julian. 'Making a row like that! Clear off!'

This  was  quite the wrong thing to  have said  to  Dan and  Lou, both  bad-tempered men who  felt that the whole of the camping-ground around belonged to them and the circus.

'Who do you think you're talking to?' shouted Dan angrily. 'You're the ones to clear off! Do you hear?'

'Didn't I tell you to clear out this afternoon?' yelled Lou, losing his temper, too. 'You do as you're told, you young rogue, or I'll set the dogs on you and have you chased for miles.'

32

Anne  began  to  cry.  George  trembled  with  rage.  Timmy  growled.  Julian  spoke  calmly  but determinedly.

'We're going in the morning, as we meant. But if you're suggesting we should go now, you can think  again.  This  is  as  much  our  camping-ground  as  yours.  Now  get  off,  and  don't  come disturbing us again.'

'I'll give you a leathering, you young cockerel!' cried Lou, and began to unfasten the leather belt from round his waist.

George let  go her hold  of Timmy's collar.  'Go  for them, Timmy,' she said. 'But  don't bite. Just worry them!'

Timmy sprang down to the ground with a joyful bark. He flung himself at the two men. He knew what George wanted him to do, and although he longed to snap at the two rogues with his sharp teeth,  he  didn't.  He  pretended  to,  though,  and  growled  so  fiercely  that  they  were  scared  out  of their wits.

Lou hit out at Timmy, threatening to kill him. But Timmy cared for no threats of that kind. He got hold of Lou's right trouser-leg, pulled, and ripped it open from knee to ankle.

'Come on - the dog's mad!' cried Dan. 'He'll have us by the throat if we don't  go. Call him off, you kids. We're going. But mind you clear out in the morning, or we'll see you do! We'll pay you out one day.'

Seeing that the men really meant to go, George whistled to Timmy. 'Come here, Tim.  Stand on guard till they're really gone. Fly at them if they come back.'

But the men soon disappeared - and nothing would have made either of them come back and face Timmy again that night!