11 The prisoner

CHAPTER ELEVEN The prisoner PETER SWITCHED on his torch, his hand trembling as he did so. What were they going to see? What they saw was so surprising that both boys gave a gasp of amazement. They were looking down on a beautiful horse, whose pricked ears and rolling eyes showed that he was as scared as they were! 'A horse!' said Jack, feebly. 'It's a horse!' 'Yes– that squealing was its frightened whinny– and thudding was its hooves on the stone floor when it rushed about in panic,' said Peter. 'Oh, Jack– poor, poor thing! How wicked to keep a horse down here like this! Why do they do it!'

第十一章囚犯彼得打开手电筒，他的手颤抖着。 他们会看到什么？ 他们所看到的是如此令人惊讶，以至于两个男孩都惊讶地倒吸了一口气。 他们正俯视着一匹漂亮的马，它那竖起的耳朵和翻腾的眼睛表明它和他们一样害怕！“一匹马!杰克无力地说。 “是一匹马！”“是的——那尖叫声是它受惊时发出的呜呜声——那是它惊慌地跑来跑去时用蹄子踩在石头地板上的声音。”彼得说。 “啊，杰克——可怜的，可怜的家伙！”把马养在这样的地方是多么邪恶啊！他们为什么要这样做！”

'It's such a beauty. It looks like a racehorse,' said Jack. 'Do you suppose they've stolen it? Do you think they're hiding it here till they can change it to another colour, or something– horse thieves do do that, you know– and then sell it somewhere under a different name?' 'I don't know. You may be right,' said Peter. 'I'm going down to him.' 'Aren't you afraid?' said Jack. 'Look at his rolling eyes!'

“它真漂亮。“它看起来像一匹赛马。”杰克说。 “你认为是他们偷的吗？” 你认为他们会不会把马藏在这里，等他们把马换成另一种颜色之类的——你知道，偷马贼都是这么干的——然后用另一个名字在别的地方卖掉？”“我不知道。 “也许你是对的。”彼得说。 “我要下去找他。“你不害怕吗？”杰克说。 “看他翻白眼！”

'No, I'm not afraid,' said Peter, who was quite used to the horses on his father's farm, and had been brought up with them since he was a baby. 'Poor thing– it wants talking to and calming.' Peter went down the steps, talking as he went. 'So you're Kerry Blue, are you? And a beautiful name it is, too, for a beautiful horse! Don't be frightened, beauty. I'm your friend. Just let me stroke that velvety nose of yours and you'll be all right!' The horse squealed and shied away. Peter took no notice. He went right up to the frightened creature and rubbed his hand fearlessly down its soft nose. The horse stood absolutely still. Then it suddenly nuzzled against the boy and made funny little snorting sounds. 'Jack, come on. The horse is friendly now,' called Peter. 'He's such a beauty. What brutes

“不，我不怕。”彼得说，他对父亲农场里的马已经很习惯了，从小就和它们一起长大。 “可怜的东西——它需要和它谈谈，让它平静下来。”彼得走下台阶，边走边说。 “那么你就是凯瑞·布鲁，是吗？” 对于一匹漂亮的马来说，这也是一个美丽的名字！别害怕，美人。 我是你的朋友。让我抚摸一下你那柔软的鼻子，你就会好起来的！”那匹马尖叫着躲开了。 彼得没有理会。他径直走到这只受惊的动物跟前，用手无所畏惧地抚摸着它柔软的鼻子。 那匹马一动不动地站着。 然后，它突然用鼻子蹭着男孩，发出有趣的鼻息声。 “杰克，来吧。“这匹马现在很友好。”彼得叫道。 “他真是个美人。什么野兽

those men are to keep a horse down in a dark cellar like this. It's enough to make it go mad!' Jack came down the steps. He stroked the horse's back and then gave an exclamation. 'Ugh! He feels sticky and wet!' Peter shone his torch on to the horse's coat. It gleamed wetly. 'Jack! You were right! Those men have been dyeing him!' cried Peter. 'His coat's still wet with the dye.' 'And that's the horrid smell we smelt– the dye being boiled up ready to use,' said Jack. 'Poor old Kerry Blue! What have they been doing to you?' The horse had a mass of straw in one corner and a rough manger of hay in another. Oats were in a heavy pail. Water was in another pail. 'Well, if we want a bed, we'll have to use the straw,' said Peter. 'And have oats for a feed!' 'We shan't need to,' said Jack. 'I bet old

那些人竟然把马关在这样黑暗的地窖里。 这足以让它发疯！”杰克走下台阶。 他轻抚马背，然后叫了一声。 “啊!他觉得又湿又粘！”彼得用火把照着马的皮毛。 它潮湿地闪烁着。“杰克!你是对的！那些人一直在给他染色！彼得叫道。 他的衣服上还沾着染料。“这就是我们闻到的可怕的气味——染料正在煮，准备使用，”杰克说。 “可怜的老克里·布鲁！”他们对你做了什么？”马的一个角落里放着一大堆稻草，另一个角落里放着一槽粗糙的干草。 燕麦在一个沉重的桶里。 水在另一个桶里。 “好吧，如果我们想要一张床，就得用稻草了。”彼得说。 “还有燕麦当饲料！”“我们不需要，”杰克说。 “我敢打赌是老了。

Colin and George will come and look for us soon. We'll shout the place down as soon as we hear them!' They settled down on the straw to wait. Kerry Blue decided to lie down on the straw too. The boys leaned against his warm body, wishing he didn't smell so strongly of dye. Up in the field, where the snow was now rapidly melting, Colin and George had been waiting impatiently for a long time. They had seen Jack and Peter disappear over the gate, and had had a difficult time holding Scamper back, because he wanted to follow them. They had stood there quietly for about half an hour, wondering whenever Peter and Jack were coming back, when Scamper began to growl. 'He can hear something,' said Colin. 'Yes– a car– coming down the lane. I do hope it's not those men again. Jack and Peter will be caught, if so!' The car had no trailer-van behind it this

科林和乔治很快就会来找我们。 我们一听到他们的声音就大声把这个地方嚷下来！”他们在稻草上坐下来等待。 克里·布鲁也决定躺在稻草上。 男孩们靠在他温暖的身体上，希望他身上没有那么强烈的染料味。 在田野上，雪正在迅速融化，柯林和乔治已经不耐烦地等了很长时间。 他们看见杰克和彼得从大门那边消失了，好不容易才把斯坎普拉回来，因为他想跟着他们。 他们静静地站在那里大约半个小时，想着彼得和杰克什么时候回来，这时斯坎普开始咆哮起来。 “他能听到什么。”柯林说。 “是的——一辆车——沿着小路开过来了。 我真希望不是那些人又来了。 这样的话，杰克和彼得会被抓住的！”这辆车后面没有拖车

time. It stopped at the gate of the old house and two men got out. Scamper suddenly barked loud, and was at once cuffed by Colin. 'Idiot!' hissed Colin. 'Now you've given us away!' One of the men came to the field gate at once. He gazed at the six snowmen. 'Come and look here!' he called to the other man, who went to stand beside him. How Colin and George trembled and quaked! 'What? Oh, we saw the snowmen there last night. Don't you remember?' he said. 'Some kids have been messing about again today and built a few more. Come on. That dog we

时间。车停在老房子的门口，两个人下了车。 斯坎普突然大声叫了起来，立刻被科林铐住了。 “白痴!科林嘶嘶地说。“现在你出卖了我们！”其中一个人立刻来到了田门。 他凝视着六个雪人。 “过来看看！”他对另一个走过来站在他身边的人喊道。 科林和乔治是多么地颤抖和颤抖啊！“什么? 哦，我们昨晚在那里看到雪人了。 你不记得了吗？他说。 “有些孩子今天又在胡闹，又搭了几个。 来吧。那只狗我们