10 In the old empty house

CHAPTER TEN In the old empty house THE DOOR wasn't locked. It opened quietly. The sounds became loud at once. Somebody was in there, snoring! The same thought came to both boys at once. It must be the caretaker! Quietly Peter looked in. Moonlight filled the room. On a low, untidy bed lay the old caretaker, not even undressed! He looked dirty and shabby, and he was snoring as he slept. Peter turned to go– and his torch suddenly knocked against the door and fell with a crash to the floor. He stood petrified, but the old man didn't stir. Then Peter remembered how deaf he was! Thank goodness– he hadn't even heard the

第十章在那座空荡荡的老房子里，门没有锁。 门悄悄地打开了。声音立刻变大了。 有人在里面打鼾！两个男孩同时产生了同样的想法。 一定是管理员！彼得悄悄地往里看。 月光洒满了房间。 老看门人躺在一张又矮又乱的床上，连衣服都没脱！他看起来又脏又破，睡觉时还打着呼噜。 彼得转身要走——他的手电筒突然撞在门上，啪的一声掉在地上。 他站在那里吓呆了，但老人一动不动。 这时彼得想起他是多么的失聪！谢天谢地——他甚至没有听到

noise! He shut the door quietly and the two boys stood out in the hall. Peter tried his torch to see if he had broken it. No, it was all right. Good. 'Now we'll go upstairs,' he whispered. 'You're not afraid, are you, Jack?' 'Not very,' said Jack. 'Just a bit. Come on.' They went up the stairs that creaked and cracked in a very tiresome manner. Up to the first floor with five or six rooms to peep into–

噪音!他轻轻地关上门，两个男孩站在大厅里。 彼得试了试手电筒，看是否把它弄坏了。 不，还好。好。 “现在我们上楼去。”他低声说。 “你不会害怕吧，杰克？”“不太好，”杰克说。 “有一点。来吧。”他们走上楼梯，楼梯嘎吱嘎吱地发出令人厌烦的响声。 上到一楼，有五六个房间可以窥探

all as empty as one another. Then up to the top floor. 'We'll have to be careful now,' said Jack. He spoke in such a whisper that Peter could hardly hear him. 'These are the only rooms we haven't been into. The prisoner must be here somewhere.' All the doors were ajar! Well, then, how could there be a prisoner– unless he was tied up? The two boys looked into each room, half- scared in case they saw something horrid. But there was absolutely nothing there at all. The rooms were either dark and empty, or full of moonlight and nothing else. 'It's strange, isn't it?' whispered Jack. 'Honestly I don't understand it. Surely those noises did come from the house somewhere? Yet there's nothing and no one here except the old caretaker!' They stood there, wondered what to do next– and once more that far-away, muffled

彼此都是空虚的。 然后上到顶楼。“我们现在得小心了。”杰克说。 他说话的声音小得彼得几乎听不见。 “这是我们唯一没进过的房间。 囚犯一定在这里的某个地方。”所有的门都半开着！那么，怎么会有犯人呢——除非他被绑起来了？ 两个男孩看着每个房间，有点害怕，生怕看到什么可怕的东西。 但那里什么也没有。 房间里不是漆黑空荡荡的，就是月光皎洁，什么也没有。 “很奇怪，不是吗？”杰克小声说。 “老实说，我不明白。 这些声音肯定是从房子的某个地方传来的吧？ 可是除了老看门人，这里什么也没有，也没有人！”他们站在那里，不知道下一步该做什么——又一次在那么遥远的地方，沉默了

squealing came on the night air, a kind of whinnying noise, followed by a series of curious thuds and crashes. 'There is a prisoner here somewhere– and he's knocking for help– and squealing too,' said Peter, forgetting to whisper. 'Somewhere downstairs. But we've looked everywhere.' Jack was making for the stairs. 'Come on– we must have missed a cupboard or something!' he called. Down they went, not caring now about the noise they made. They came to the kitchen. The noises had stopped again. Then the thudding began once more. Jack clutched Peter. 'I know where it's coming from– under our feet! There's a cellar there. That's where the prisoner is!'

夜晚的空气中传来了尖叫声，一种呜呜的声音，接着是一连串奇怪的撞击声。 “这儿什么地方有个囚犯——他在敲门求救——还在尖叫。”彼得说，忘了小声说。 “楼下的地方。但我们到处都找过了。”杰克朝楼梯走去。 “快点——我们一定是漏了一个碗柜什么的！”他叫道。 他们往下走，现在已经不在乎他们发出的声音了。 他们来到厨房。声音又停了。 接着，砰的一声又响起了。 杰克抓住彼得。“我知道它是从哪儿来的——在我们脚下！”那儿有个地窖。 那就是犯人所在的地方！”

'Look for the cellar door then,' said Peter. They found it at last, in a dark corner of the passage between kitchen and scullery. They turned the handle– and what a surprise– the door opened! 'It's not locked!' whispered Jack. 'Why doesn't the prisoner escape then?' Stone steps led downwards into the darkness. Peter flashed his torch down them. He called, in rather a shaky voice: 'Who's there? Who is it down there?' There was no answer at all. The boys listened with straining ears. They could distinctly hear the sound of very heavy

“那就去找地窖的门吧。”彼得说。 他们终于在厨房和洗碗间过道的一个黑暗角落里找到了它。 他们转动把手——真让人吃惊——门开了！“没有锁！”杰克小声说。 “那犯人为什么不逃跑呢？”石阶向下通向黑暗。 彼得用手电筒照着他们。 他用颤抖的声音喊道：“谁在那儿？ 下面是谁？”根本没有回答。 孩子们竖起耳朵听着。 他们可以清楚地听到很重的声音

breathing, loud and harsh. 'We can hear you breathing!' called Jack. 'Do tell us who you are. We've come to rescue you.' Still no reply. This was dreadful. Both boys were really scared. They didn't dare to go down the steps. Their legs simply refused to move downwards. Yet it seemed very cowardly to go back into the passage again. And then another sound came to them– the sound of low voices somewhere! Then came the sound of a key being turned in a lock– and a door being opened! Jack clutched Peter in a panic. 'It's those men I heard last night. They're back again. Quick– we must hide before they find us here.' The two boys, strange little figures in white, stood for a moment, not knowing where to go. Then Peter stripped off his white sheet and cap. 'Take yours off, too,' he whispered to

呼吸，响亮而刺耳。 “我们能听到你的呼吸声！”杰克叫道。 “一定要告诉我们你是谁。我们是来救你的。”还是没有回答。 这太可怕了。两个男孩都很害怕。 他们不敢下台阶。 它们的腿就是不肯向下移动。 然而，再回到通道里去似乎是一种怯懦。 接着，另一个声音传来了——什么地方传来了低沉的声音！然后传来钥匙在锁里转动的声音——一扇门被打开了！杰克惊慌地抓住彼得。 “就是我昨晚听到的那些人。 他们又回来了。快——我们必须在他们发现之前躲起来。”这两个穿着白色衣服的小男孩站了一会儿，不知道该往哪里走。 然后彼得脱下他的白床单和帽子。 “把你的也脱了。”他低声说