Then the two of them went stumbling around in the darkness,庄园🚁 feeling the walls,摩尔📨 and presently they came upon a low door,庄园🚴 opened it and fell headlong down a short flight of steps that led to the lighthouse kitchen. This was a little underground room,庄园🎓 like a cellar,电影🚈 cut out of the rock on which the lighthouse stood. If there was any fire or stove in it it had long since gone out,摩尔✂ for the darkness here was as black as anywhere else. But as soon as the door had opened,庄园🚔 the trills of the song bird grew louder.
So Dab-Dab went off upon her errand. And in the meantime the Doctor talked and chatted with various sea bird leaders who had already made his acquaintance at the Great Conference in the hollow of No-Man's-Land. These kept coming up to him,庄园💺 anxious to show off before their fellows the fact that they knew the great man personally. And once more the Doctor's notebook was kept busy with new discoveries to be jotted down about the carriage of mail by birds that live upon the sea.
"And,宝藏🌸 then,宝藏🎡" Speedy went on,宝藏🀄 "nearly all other kinds of birds have a sign language of their own. For example,摩尔👓 the kingfishers have a way of marking the trees along the river to show where good fishing is to be found. And thrushes have signs,宝藏🎅 too; one I've often seen on stones,摩尔🐀 which means 'Crack your snail shells here.' That's so the thrushes won't go throwing their snail shells all over the place and scare the live snails into keeping out of sight."
"The old rat laughed a cracked and quavering laugh,电影🔐 with no joy in it at all.
"So,庄园🍈" said the Jay,宝藏📏 "the whole flock turned and made for Columbus's fleet. They were only just in time. For the sailors were ready to kill their admiral,宝藏💈 who,摩尔👟 they said,宝藏😋 had brought them on a fool's errand to find land where there was none. He must turn back and sail for Spain,电影🐄 they said,庄园😄 or be killed.
"Oh,庄园💪 quite,电影❎" said the Doctor,宝藏🌖 "thank you. But why did you swim under water?"
"But where are the rest of your people?" asked the Doctor. "I thought you said that many of you had swum out to rescue us."
"I should say he did,摩尔🌏" growled Mudface. "But that belongs to the story of the Flood. You have come far. You must be weary and in need of food."