【英】《柳林风声》第14集：A Secret Passage

“Who comes there?”asked Ferret.

“What do you mean talking to me like that?”said Toad angrily.“Come out here at once or I’ll . . .”

Ferret never said a word. He brought his gun upto his shoulder and fired. Bang! A bullet whistledright over Toad’s head.

Startled, Toad scampered down the road as fast as he could. As he ran away, he heard Ferret laughing at him.

“I told you,”said Rat when Toad told him what had happened.“What did you expect? They are all armed. You must simply wait. It is too dangerous.”

But Toad couldn’t wait. He jumped into a boat and rowed to where Toad Hall met the river. As he approached, he rested his oars. All seemed peaceful and still. He stared for a moment at the entrance of Toad Hall. It would be his again. He was determined.

As he started to row under the bridge, crash! A great stone dropped from above smashing the bottom of the boat. It filled and sank the boat and Toad found himself struggling in the deep water.

Looking up, he saw two Stoats peering over the bridge.“Next time, it will be your head, Toad.”

The indignant Toad swam to shore while the animals laughed at him. Again.

“What did I tell you?”said Rat when Toad explained his wet clothes.“Now look what you’ve done! You’ve destroyed my boat and ruined the nice clothes I lent you. I wonder how you manage to keep any friends at all, Toad.”

Toad knew he had been acting foolish again. He admitted such and apologized to Rat.“Ratty, I have been headstrong and have done as I pleased. I will now be humble and will take no further action without your support.”

“If you are telling the truth,”said Rat,“then my advice to you is to sit and have supper. It’s late. You must wait to hear the latest news from Mole and Badger.”

Toad nodded.“What’s become of my friends?”

Rat explained how they had been camping in the open in all sorts of weather watching over Toad’shouse. They provided a constant eye over the Weasels and the Stoats.

“Toad, you’ll be sorry that you didn’t value them more!”said Rat.

Toad sobbed. He did value their friendship and couldn’t wait to tell them. He didn’t have to wait long. After dinner, Mole and Badger arrived.

“Welcome home, Toad,”said Badger.“I only wish you had a home to return to.”

“Hooray for Toad,”said Mole.“Fancy to have you back again.”He began to dance around him.“We never thought you would have turned up so soon. You must have escaped. You clever, ingenious, intelligent Toad!”

Before Rat could interrupt, Toad was back to his old ways.“Clever? Why if you consider breaking out of the strongest prison in England, escaping on a railroad train, and disguising myself as a washerwoman clever, then I suppose I am! Yes, I am the most clever Toad!”

Toad pulled out a pile of silver from his pocket.“Mole, guess how I got these coins? Horse dealing!”

Rat was annoyed.“Mole, don’t egg him on. Instead, why not tell us about the conditions at Toad Hall? What is the latest news?”

Mole turned serious.“It’s quite grave. Every animal is armed with weapons. It’s a difficult situation.”

The whole conversation angered Toad.“That is my house. I’m going to go there and . . .”

Badger stood and shouted.“Toad! You are a fool! Won’t you ever learn? You are a bad, troublesome animal. What do you think your father, my old friend, would say if he were here tonight? He would not be happy with all of your foolishness.”

Toad sat on the sofa and started to shake. He sobbed and proclaimed he was indeed truly sorry for acting so foolish.

Badger softened his voice.“You must truly be sorry, Toad. Let’s start again. Let’s come up with a plan and not be hasty. There is another way to get back your home that doesn’t involve taking it by storm. Lean in. For I shall tell you a great secret.”

Toad dried his eyes. He loved secrets, perhaps because he could never keep one.

Badger continued.“There is an underground passage. It leads from the River Bank to the middle of Toad Hall.”

“Nonsense,”said Toad.“I would have known about it.”

“My dear friend,”said Badger,“your father was a friend of mine. He told me things he wouldn’t dare tell you. He didn’t make the passage, but he discovered it. He repaired and cleaned it out. He asked me not to tell you because he knew you couldn’t keep a secret. He explained that I could tell you only if you fell into a fix. And dear Toad, you are in a fix.”

At first, Toad felt sulky but brightened up almost at once.“My tongue does get wagging, I suppose.”