Re: Unusual words and phrases in Blyton - dictionary needed?
Posted: 28 Dec 2017, 03:21
You are quite right as usual Rob!
Mr. Lenoir laughed again. His cold blue eyes looked intently at all the children. 'By the way, Pierre,' he said suddenly, 'I forbid you to wander about the catacombs in this hill, as I have forbidden you before, and I also forbid you to do any of your dare-devil climbing, nor will I have you acting about on the city wall, now that you have others here.
'What are catacombs?' asked Anne, with a vague picture of cats and combs in her head.
'Winding, secret tunnels in the hill,' said Sooty. 'Nobody knows them all. You can get lost in them easily, and never get out again. Lots of people have.'
'Why are there so many secret ways and things here?' wondered George.
'Easy!' said Julian. 'It was a haunt of smugglers, and there must have been many a time when they had to hide not only their goods, but themselves! And, according to old Sooty, there still is a smuggler here!
Sooty swung his torch round, and the children saw various passages leading off here and there.
'Where do they all lead to?' asked Julian, in amazement.
'Well, I told you this hill was full of tunnels,' said Sooty. 'This pit is down in the hill and these tunnels lead into the catacombs. There are miles and miles of them. No one explores them now, because so many people have been lost in them and never heard of again. There used to be an old map of them, but it's lost.'
'It's weird!' said Anne, and shivered. 'I wouldn't like to be down here alone.'