Five On Kirrin Island Again Chapter Eight DOWN IN THE QUARRY（在线收听）

Chapter Eight DOWN IN THE QUARRY

The next day dawned bright and sunny. The four tore down to breakfast, full of high spirits.

'Can we bathe? Aunt Fanny, it's really warm enough! Oh do say we can!'

'Of  course  not!  Whoever  heard  of  bathing  in  April!'  said  Aunt  Fanny.  'Why,  the  sea  is  terribly cold. Do you want to be in bed for the rest of the holiday with a chill?'

'Well, let's go for a walk on the moors at the back of Kirrin Cottage,' said George. 'Timmy would love that. Wouldn't you, Tim?'

'Woof,' said Timmy, thumping his tail hard on the ground.

'Take your lunch with you if you like,' said her mother. 'I'll pack some for you.'

'You'll be glad to be rid of us for a little while, I expect, Aunt Fanny,' said Dick, with a grin. 'I know  what  we'll  do.  We'll  go  to  the  old  quarry  and  look  for  prehistoric  weapons!  We've  got  a jolly good museum at school, and I'd like to take back some stone arrow-heads or something like that.'

They all liked hunting for things. It would be fun to go to the old quarry, and it would be lovely and warm in the hollow there.

'I hope we shan't find a poor dead sheep there, as we once did,' said Anne, with a shudder. 'Poor thing! It must have fallen down and baa-ed for help for ages.'

'Of course we shan't,' said Julian. 'We shall find stacks of primroses and violets though, growing down the sides of the quarry. They are always early there because it's sheltered from every wind.'

'I should love to have bunches of primroses,' said his aunt. 'Nice big ones! Enough to put all over the house.'

'Well, while the boys are looking for arrow-heads we'll look for primroses,' said Anne, pleased. 'I like picking flowers.'

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'And  Timmy,  of  course,  will  hunt  for  rabbits,  and  will  hope  to  bring  home  enough  for  you  to decorate the larder from top to bottom,' said Dick, solemnly.

Timmy looked thrilled and gave an excited little woof.

They waited for Uncle Quentin's signal at half past ten.  It came  - six flashes of a mirror in the sun. The flashes were quite blinding.

'Nice little bit of heliographing!' said Dick. 'Good morning and good-bye, Uncle! We'll watch for you  tonight.  Now,  everybody  ready?'  'Yes!  Come'  on,  Tim!  Who's  got  the  sandwiches?  I  say, isn't the sun hot!'

Off they all went. They had on coats and their rubber boots, but no hats, and nobody thought of taking a macintosh. It was going to be a really lovely day! The quarry was not really very far  -

only about a quarter of a mile. The children went for a walk beforehand, for Timmy's sake. Then they made for the quarry.

It was a queer place. At some time or other it had been deeply quarried for stone, and then left to itself.  Now  the  sides  were  covered  with  small  bushels  and  grass  and  plants  of  all  kinds.  In  the sandy places heather grew.

The sides were very steep, and as few people came there, there were no paths to follow. It was like a huge rough bowl, irregular in places, and full of colour now where primroses opened their pale petals to the sky. Violets grew there by the thousand, both white and purple. Cowslips were opening too, the earliest anywhere.

'Oh, it's lovely!' said Anne, stopping at the top and looking down. 'Simply super! I never in my life saw so many primroses - nor such huge ones!'

'Be careful how you go, Anne,' said Julian. 'These sides are very steep. If you lose your footing you'll roll right down to the bottom - and find yourself with a broken arm or leg!'

'I'll be careful,' said Anne. 'I'll throw my basket down to the bottom, so that I can have two hands to cling to bushes with,  if I want to.  I shall be able to fill that basket cramful of primroses and violets!'

She flung the basket down, and it bounced all the way to the bottom of the quarry. The children climbed down to where they wanted to go - the girls to a great patch of big primroses, the boys to a place where they thought they might find stone weapons.

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'Hallo!' said a voice, suddenly, from much lower down. The four stopped in surprise, and Timmy growled.

'Why - it's you!' said George, recognizing the boy they had met the day before.

'Yes. I don't know if you know my name. It's Martin Curton,' said the boy.

Julian told him their names too. 'We've come to picnic here,' he said. 'And to see if we can find stone weapons. What have you come for?'

'Oh -- to see if I can find stone weapons too,' said the Martin.

'Have you found any?' asked George.

'No. Not yet.'

'Well,  you  won't  find  any  just  there,'  said  Dick.  'Not  in  heather!  You  want  to  come  over  here, where the ground is bare and gravelly.'

Dick was trying to  be friendly, to  make up for the day before. Martin  came over and began to scrape about with the boys. They had trowels with them, but he had only his hands.

'Isn't it hot down here?' called Anne. 'I'm going to take off my coat.'

Timmy  had  his  head  and  shoulders  down  a  rabbit  hole.  He  was  scraping  violently,  sending  up heaps of soil behind him in a shower.

'Don't go near Timmy unless you want to be buried in earth!' said Dick. 'Hey, Timmy - is a rabbit really worth all that hard work?'

Apparently  it  was,  for  Timmy,  panting  loudly,  went  on  digging  for  all  he  was  worth.  A  stone flew  high  in  the  air  and  hit  Julian.  He  rubbed  his  cheek.  Then  he  looked  at  the  stone  that  lay beside him. He gave a shout.

'Look  at  this  -  a  jolly  fine  arrow-head!  Thanks,  Timmy,  old  fellow.  Very  good  of  you  to  go digging for me. What about a hammer-head next?'

The others came to see the stone arrow-head. Anne thought she would never have known what it was -- but Julian and Dick exclaimed over it in admiration.

'Jolly good specimen,' said Dick. 'See how it's been shaped, George? To think that this was used thousands of years ago to kill the enemies of a cave-man!'

Martin  did  not  say  much.  He  just  looked  at  the  arrowhead,  which  certainly  was  a  very  fine unspoilt  specimen,  and  then  turned  away.  Dick  thought  he  was  a  queer  fellow.  A  bit  dull  and boring. He wondered if they ought to ask him to their picnic. He didn't want to in the least.

But George did! 'Are you having a picnic here too?' she asked.

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Martin shook his head. 'No. I've not brought any sandwiches.'

'Well, we've plenty. Stay and have some with us when we eat them,' said George, generously.

'Thanks.  It's  very nice of  you,' said  the boy.  'And will  you  come and see  my television set  this afternoon in return! I'd like you to.'

'Yes, we will,' said George. 'It would be something to do! Oh Anne -- just look at those violets!

I've never seen such big white ones' before. Won't Mother be pleased?'

The boys went deeper down, scraping about with their trowels in any likely place. They came to where a shelf of stone projected out a good way. It would be a nice place to have their lunch. The stone  would  be  warm  to  sit  on,  and  was  flat  enough  to  take,  ginger-beer  bottles  and  cups  in safety.

At  half  past  twelve  they  all  had  their  lunch.  They  were  very  hungry.  Martin  shared  their sandwiches, and became quite friendly over them.

'Best sandwiches I've ever tasted,' he said. I do like those sardine ones. Does your mother make them for you? I wish I had a mother. Mine died ages ago.'

There was a sympathetic silence. The four could not think of any worse thing to happen to a boy or girl. They offered Martin the nicest buns, and the biggest piece of cake immediately.

'I saw your father flashing his signals last night,' said Martin, munching a bun.

Dick looked up at once. 'How do you know he was signaling?' he asked. 'Who told you?'

'Nobody,' said the 'boy. 'I just saw the six flashes, and I thought it must be George's father.' He looked surprised at  Dick's  sharp tone. Julian gave Dick a nudge, to  warn him not  to  go off the deep end again.

George  scowled  at  Dick.  'I  suppose  you  saw  my  father  signaling  this  morning  too,'  she  said  to Martin. 'I bet scores of people saw the flashes. He just heliographs with a mirror at half past ten to signal that he's all right -- and flashes a lantern at the same time at night.'

Now  it  was  Dick's  turn  to  scowl  at  George.  Why  give  away  all  this  information?  It  wasn't necessary. Dick felt sure she was doing it just to pay him out for his sharp question. He tried to change the subject.

'Where do you go to school?' he asked.

'I don't,' said the boy. 'I've been ill.'

'Well, where did you go to school before you were ill?' asked Dick.

"I -- I had a tutor,' said Martin. 'I didn't go to school.'

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'Bad luck!' said Julian. He thought it must be terrible not to go to school and have all the fun, the work  and  the  games  of  school-life.  He  looked  curiously  at  Martin.  Was  he  one  of  these  rather stupid  boys  who  did  no  good  at  school,  but  had  to  have  a  tutor  at  home?  Still  he  didn't  look stupid. He just looked rather sullen and dull.

Timmy was sitting on the warm stone with the  others. He had his share of the sandwiches, but had  to  be  rationed,  as  Martin  had  to  have  some  too.  He  was  funny  with  Martin.  He  took absolutely no notice of him at all. Martin might not have been there! And Martin took no notice of Timmy. He did not talk to him, or pat him. Anne was sure he didn't really like dogs, as he had said.  How  could  anyone  be  with  Timmy  and  not  give  him  even  one  pat?

Timmy did not even look at Martin, but sat with his back to him, leaning against George. It was really  rather  amusing,  if  it  wasn't  so  odd.  After  all,  George  was  talking  in  a  friendly  way  to Martin;  they  were  all  sharing  their  food  with  him  -  and  Timmy  behaved  as  if  Martin  simply wasn't there at all! Anne was just about to remark on Timmv's odd behaviour when he yawned, shook himself, and leapt down from the rock.

'He's  going  rabbiting  again,'  said  Julian.  'Hey,  Tim  -  find  me  another  arrow-head  will  you,  old fellow?'

Timmy  wagged  his  tail.  He  disappeared  under  the  shelf  of  rock,  and  there  came  the  sound  of digging. A shower of stones and soil flew into the air.

The children lay back on the stone and felt sleepy. They talked for some minutes, and then Anne felt her eyes closing. She was awakened by George's voice.

'Where's  Timmy? Timmy! Timmy! Come here!  Where have  you got  to?' But  no Timmy came.

There  was  not  even  an  answering  bark.  'Oh  blow'  said  George.,  'Now  he's  gone  down  some extra-deep rabbit hole, I suppose. I must get him. Timmy! Wherever are you?'