友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
合租小说网 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

the story of doctor dolittle-第14部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!



coteor perhaps a granarywith the mid…day

sun on it; black kid gloves lying in a bureau…

drawer of walnut…wood; a dusty road with a

horses' drinking…trough beneath the sycamores;

little mushrooms bursting through the rotting

leaves; andandand〃



〃Any parsnips?〃 asked Gub…Gub。



〃No;〃 said Jip。  〃You always think of things

to eat。  No parsnips whatever。  And no snuff

plenty of pipes and cigarettes; and a few cigars。

But no snuff。  We must wait till the wind

changes to the South。〃  



〃Yes; it's a poor wind; that;〃 said Gub…Gub。

〃I think you're a fake; Jip。  Who ever heard of

finding a man in the middle of the ocean just by

smell!  I told you you couldn't do it。〃  



〃Look here;〃 said Jip; getting really angry。

〃You're going to get a bite on the nose in a min…

ute!  You needn't think that just because the

Doctor won't let us give you what you deserve;

that you can be as cheeky as you like!〃



〃Stop quarreling!〃 said the Doctor〃Stop

it!  Life's too short。  Tell me; Jip; where do

you think those smells are coming from?〃



〃From Devon and Walesmost of them;〃

said Jip〃The wind is coming that way。〃  



〃Well; well!〃 said the Doctor。  〃You know

that's really quite remarkablequite。  I must

make a note of that for my new book。  I wonder

if you could train me to smell as well as that。。。。

But noperhaps I'm better off the way I am。

‘Enough is as good as a feast;' they say。

Let's go down to supper。  I'm quite hungry。〃  



〃So am I;〃 said Gub…Gub。







THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER



THE ROCK



UP they got; early next morning; out of the silken beds;

and they saw that the sun was shining brightly and that

the wind was blowing from the South。



Jip smelt the South wind for half an hour。  Then he came

to the Doctor; shaking his head。



〃I smell no snuff as yet;〃 he said。  〃We must wait

till the wind changes to the East。〃  



But even when the East wind came; at three o'clock

that afternoon; the dog could not catch the smell of snuff。



The little boy was terribly disappointed and

began to cry again; saying that no one seemed

to be able to find his uncle for him。  But all Jip

said to the Doctor was;



〃Tell him that when the wind changes to

the West; I'll find his uncle even though he be

in Chinaso long as he is still taking Black

Rappee snuff。〃  



Three days they had to wait before the West

wind came。  This was on a Friday morning;

earlyjust as it was getting light。  A fine rainy

mist lay on the sea like a thin fog。  And the

wind was soft and warm and wet。



As soon as Jip awoke he ran upstairs and

poked his nose in the air。  Then he got most

frightfully excited and rushed down again to

wake the Doctor up。



〃Doctor!〃 he cried。  〃I've got it!  Doctor!

Doctor!  Wake up!  Listen!  I've got it!

The wind's from the West and it smells of nothing

but snuff。  Come upstairs and start the shipquick!〃



So the Doctor tumbled out of bed and went

to the rudder to steer the ship。



〃Now I'll go up to the front;〃 said Jip; 〃and

you watch my nosewhichever way I point it;

you turn the ship the same way。  The man cannot

be far offwith the smell as strong as

this。  And the wind's all lovely and wet。  Now

watch me!〃



So all that morning Jip stood in the front

part of the ship; sniffing the wind and pointing

the way for the Doctor to steer; while all the

animals and the little boy stood round with their

eyes wide open; watching the dog in wonder。



About lunch…time Jip asked Dab…Dab to tell

the Doctor that he was getting worried and

wanted to speak to him。  So Dab…Dab went and

fetched the Doctor from the other end of the

ship and Jip said to him;



〃The boy's uncle is starving。  We must make

the ship go as fast as we can。〃  



〃How do you know he is starving?〃 asked the Doctor。



〃Because there is no other smell in the West

wind but snuff;〃 said Jip。  〃If the man were

cooking or eating food of any kind; I would

be bound to smell it too。  But he hasn't even

fresh water to drink。  All he is taking is snuff

in large pinches。  We are getting nearer to

him all the time; because the smell grows

stronger every minute。  But make the ship go

as fast as you can; for I am certain that the

man is starving。〃  



〃All right;〃 said the Doctor; and he sent

Dab…Dab to ask the swallows to pull the ship;

the same as they had done when the pirates were

chasing them。



So the stout little birds came down and once

more harnessed themselves to the ship。



And now the boat went bounding through the

waves at a terrible speed。  It went so fast that

the fishes in the sea had to jump for their lives

to get out of the way and not be run over。



And all the animals got tremendously excited;

and they gave up looking at Jip and turned to

watch the sea in front; to spy out any land or

islands where the starving man might be。



But hour after hour went by and still the ship

went rushing on; over the same flat; flat sea; and

no land anywhere came in sight。



And now the animals gave up chattering and

sat around silent; anxious and miserable。  The

little boy again grew sad。  And on Jip's face

there was a worried look。



At last; late in the afternoon; just as the sun

was going down; the owl; Too…Too; who

was perched on the tip of the mast; suddenly

startled them all by crying out at the top of his

voice;



〃Jip!  Jip!  I see a great; great rock in front

of uslookway out there where the sky and

the water meet。  See the sun shine on itlike

gold!  Is the smell coming from there?〃



And Jip called back;



〃Yes。  That's it。  That is where the man is。

At last; at last!〃



And when they got nearer they could see that

the rock was very largeas large as a big field。

No trees grew on it; no grassnothing。  The

great rock was as smooth and as bare as the back

of a tortoise。



Then the Doctor sailed the ship right round

the rock。  But nowhere on it could a man be

seen。  All the animals screwed up their eyes

and looked as hard as they could; and John

Dolittle got a telescope from downstairs。



But not one living thing could they spy

not even a gull; nor a star…fish; nor a shred of

sea…weed。



They all stood still and listened; straining

their ears for any sound。  But the only noise

they heard was the gentle lapping of the little

waves against the sides of their ship。



Then they all started calling; 〃Hulloa; there!

HULLOA!〃 till their voices were hoarse。

But only the echo came back from the rock。



And the little boy burst into tears and said;



〃I am afraid I shall never see my uncle any

more!  What shall I tell them when I get home!〃



But Jip called to the Doctor;



〃He must be therehe mustHE MUST!

The smell goes on no further。  He must be

there; I tell you!  Sail the ship close to the rock

and let me jump out on it。〃  



So the Doctor brought the ship as close as

he could and let down the anchor。  Then he

and Jip got out of the ship on to the rock。



Jip at once put his nose down close to the

ground and began to run all over the place。  Up

and down he went; back and forthzig…zagging;

twisting; doubling and turning。  And

everywhere he went; the Doctor ran behind him;

close at his heelstill he was terribly out of

breath。



At last Jip let out a great bark and sat down。

And when the Doctor came running up to him;

he found the dog staring into a big; deep hole in

the middle of the rock。



〃The boy's uncle is down there;〃 said Jip

quietly。  〃No wonder those silly eagles couldn't

see him!It takes a dog to find a man。〃  



So the Doctor got down into the hole; which

seemed to be a kind of cave; or tunnel; running

a long way under the ground。  Then he struck

a match and started to make his way along the

dark passage with Jip following behind。



The Doctor's match soon went out; and he

had to strike another and another and another。



At last the passage came to an end; and the

Doctor found himself in a kind of tiny room

with walls of rock。



And there; in the middle of the room; his

head resting on his arms; lay a man with very

red hairfast asleep!



Jip went up and sniffed at something lying

on the ground beside him。  The Doctor stooped

and picked it up。  It was an enormous snuff…

box。  And it was full of Black Rappee!









THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER



THE FISHERMAN'S TOWN



GENTLY thenvery gently; the Doctor woke the man up。



But just at that moment the match went out again。

And the man thought it was Ben Ali coming back;

and he began to punch the Doctor in the dark。



But when John Dolittle told him who it was;

and that he had his little nephew safe on his

ship; the man was tremendously glad; and said

he was sorry he had fought the Doctor。  He

had not hurt him much thoughbecause it was

too dark to punch properly。  Then he gave the

Doctor a pinch of snuff。



And the man told how the Barbary Dragon

had put him on to this rock and left him there;

when he wouldn't promise to become a pirate;

and how he used to sleep down in this hole

because there was no house on the rock to keep

him warm。



And then he said;



〃For four days I have had nothing to eat or

drink。  I have lived on snuff。〃  



〃There you are!〃 said Jip。  〃What did I tell you?〃



So they struck some more matches and made

their way out through the passage into the daylight;

and the Doctor hurried the man down to

the boat to get some soup。



When the animals and the little boy saw the

Doctor and Jip coming back to the ship with

a red…headed man; they began to cheer and yell

and dance about the boat。  And the swallows

up above started whistling at the top of their

voicesthousands and millions of themto

show that they too were glad that the boy's brave

uncle had been found。  Th
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!