2 The Secret Seven Society

CHAPTER TWO The Secret Seven Society THE NEXT morning five children made their way to Old Mill House, where Peter and Janet lived. It took its name from the ruined mill that stood up on the hill, some distance away, which had not been used for many years. George came first. He walked down the garden and came to the shed. The first thing he saw was the sign on the door, S.S. There it was, bold and clear in bright green. He knocked on the door. There was a silence. He knocked again. Still no reply, though he felt sure that Peter and Janet were there because he was certain he had seen Janet's face at the little window of the shed. He heard a snuffling under the door. That

第二章秘密七人会社第二天早晨，五个孩子来到彼得和珍妮特住的老磨坊屋。 它的名字来源于一段距离外山上一座废弃的磨坊，这座磨坊已经很多年没有使用过了。 乔治先来。他穿过花园来到小屋。 他首先看到的是门上的牌子：S.S. 它就在那儿，明亮的绿色，醒目而清晰。 他敲了敲门。一阵沉默。 他又敲了敲门。仍然没有回答，尽管他确信彼得和珍妮特在那里，因为他确信他在小屋的小窗口看到了珍妮特的脸。 他听到门下有鼻息声。 那

must be Scamper! He knocked again, impatiently. 'Give the password, silly!' said Peter's voice. 'Oh, I forgot,' said George. 'Wenceslas!' The door opened at once. George grinned and went in. He looked round. 'This is very cosy. Is it to be our meeting-place these hols?' 'Yes. It's nice and warm here,' said Peter. 'Where's your badge? Your button with S.S. on?' 'Bother– I forgot it,' said George. 'I hope I haven't lost it.' 'You're not a very good member,' said Janet sternly. 'Forgetting to say the password, and forgetting your badge as well.' 'Sorry,' said George. 'To tell you the truth I'd almost forgotten about the Secret Society too!' 'Well, you don't deserve to belong then,' said Peter. 'Just because we haven't met for some time!

一定是斯坎普！他又不耐烦地敲了敲门。 “把密码给我，笨蛋！”彼得的声音说。 “哦，我忘了。”乔治说。 “温塞斯拉斯!”门立刻开了。 乔治咧嘴一笑，走了进去。 他环顾四周。“这里非常舒适。 这两个洞是我们见面的地方吗？“是的。 “这里又暖和又好。”彼得说。 “你的徽章呢？”你和S.S.的纽扣 在吗?“真讨厌——我忘了。”乔治说。 “我希望我没有把它弄丢。“你不是一个很好的会员，”珍妮特严厉地说。 “忘了说密码，也忘了你的徽章。“对不起，”乔治说。 “说实话，我也差点把秘密社团的事给忘了！”“好吧，那么你不配属于这里，”彼得说。 “就因为我们有段时间没见面了！”

I do think—' There was another knock at the door. It was Pam and Barbara. There was silence in the shed. Everyone was listening for the password. 'Wenceslas,' hissed Barbara, in such a peculiar voice that everyone jumped. 'Wenceslas,' whispered Pam. The door opened, and in they went. 'Good– you're both wearing your badges,' said Peter, pleased. 'Now where are Colin and Jack? They're late.' Jack was waiting for Colin at the gate. He had forgotten the password! Oh dear, whatever could it be? He thought of all sorts of things– Nowell– Wise Men– what could it be? He felt sure it was something to do with Christmas carols. He didn't like to go to the meeting-place without knowing the password. Peter could be very strict. Jack didn't like being ticked off in front of people, and he racked his brains to try

我确实认为——”又有人敲门。 是帕姆和芭芭拉。小屋里一片寂静。 每个人都在听密码。 “温塞斯拉斯，”芭芭拉嘶嘶地说，声音特别，大家都吓了一跳。 “温塞斯拉斯。”帕姆小声说。 门开了，他们走了进去。 “太好了——你们俩都戴上了徽章。”彼得高兴地说。 “现在柯林和杰克在哪儿？” 他们迟到了。杰克在大门口等科林。 他忘了密码！哦，天哪，会是什么呢？ 他想到了各种各样的事情——诺埃尔——智者——会是什么呢？ 他确信这与圣诞颂歌有关。 他不喜欢在不知道密码的情况下去开会。 彼得可能很严格。 杰克不喜欢在人们面前被责骂，他绞尽脑汁想试试

to think of the word. He saw Colin away in the distance and decided to wait for him. Colin would be sure to know the word! 'Hallo!' said Colin, as he came up. 'Seen the others yet?' 'I saw Pam and Barbara going in,' said Jack. 'Do you know the password, Colin?' 'Of course I do,' said Colin. 'I bet you don't!' said Jack. 'Well, I do– it's Wenceslas!' said Colin.

想想这个词。他远远地看见柯林，就决定等他。 科林肯定知道这个词！“喂!科林走过来说。 “看到其他人了吗？”“我看见帕姆和芭芭拉进去了，”杰克说。 “你知道密码吗，科林？”“我当然知道，”柯林说。 “我打赌你不知道！”杰克说。 “嗯，我知道——是温塞斯拉斯！”科林说。

'Aha– sucks to you, Jack– you thought I didn't know it!' 'Thanks for telling me,' grinned Jack. 'I'd forgotten it. Don't tell Peter. Come on down the path. Hey! Look at the S.S. for Secret Seven on the door.' They knocked. 'WENCESLAS,' said Colin in a very loud voice. The door opened quickly and Peter's indignant face looked out. 'Whatever are you shouting for? Do you want everyone in the village to know our password, you fool?' 'Sorry,' said Colin, going in. 'Anyway, there's nobody but us to hear.' 'Wenceslas,' said Jack, seeing that Peter was not going to let him in without the password. The door shut and the seven settled down. Peter and Janet took the flowerpots for themselves. Everyone else sat on the boxes. 'This is a great meeting-place,' said George. 'Warm and cosy, and right away from the

“啊哈——你真倒霉，杰克——你以为我不知道！”“谢谢你告诉我，”杰克笑着说。 “我忘了。别告诉彼得。 沿着小路走吧。嘿!看S.S. 门上的七号秘密。”他们敲了敲门。 “温塞斯拉斯。”柯林大声说。 门很快开了，彼得愤怒的脸向外望去。 “你在喊什么？” 你想让村里的每个人都知道我们的密码吗，你个傻瓜？“对不起，”柯林说着走了进去。 “不管怎样，除了我们没人听。“温塞斯拉斯，”杰克说，他看到彼得没有密码是不会让他进去的。 门关上了，七个人坐了下来。 彼得和珍妮特把花盆占为己有。 其他人都坐在箱子上。 “这是一个很棒的聚会地点，”乔治说。 “又暖和又舒适，而且离

house.' 'Yes. I must say you and Janet have made it very comfortable,' said Barbara. 'Even a little curtain at the window.' Peter looked round at the little company. 'We'll have our meeting first, and then we'll have the eats and drinks,' he said. Everyone's eyes went to the neat little shelf behind Colin. On it were arranged seven mugs, a plate of oatmeal biscuits, and a bottle of some dark-looking liquid. Whatever could it be? 'First of all,' went on Peter, 'we must arrange a new password, because Wenceslas doesn't seem right for after Christmas– besides, Colin yelled it out at the top of his voice, so everyone probably knows it now.'

的房子。“是的。“我得说你和珍妮特把它弄得很舒服，”芭芭拉说。 “甚至在窗户上也有一个小窗帘。”彼得环顾了一下这群人。 他说，我们先开会，然后吃东西喝饮料。 每个人的眼睛都盯着科林身后整洁的小架子。 桌子上放着七个马克杯，一盘燕麦饼干和一瓶看上去很黑的液体。 会是什么呢？“首先，”彼得接着说，“我们必须安排一个新密码，因为温塞斯拉斯似乎不适合在圣诞节后使用——再说，科林扯着嗓子喊出来的，所以现在大家大概都知道了。”