04-01-02-不平静的坟墓 [21]
，and trying to'improve his game．'Perhaps he was not wholly successful in this，because by the end of the afternoon the Colonel's face was a most alarming colour． Even his moustache looked angry，and Parkins decided that it would be safer not to walk back to the inn with him．He thought he would walk along the beach instead， and try to find the remains of the Templar church．
He found them very easily—by falling over some of the old stones，in fact． When he picked himself up， he saw that the ground all around him was broken up with shallow holes and bits of old stone wall covered in grass．The Templars used to build round churches， Parkins remembered， and even after hundreds of years there were enough grass-covered stones left to show the circle of the outer wall． For a time Parkins walked around，looking and measuring，and making notes in his note- book．
There was a large stone in the centre of the circle， and Parkins noticed that the grass had been pulled away from one corner of it．He knelt down and，using his pocket-knife， dug away some more of the grass to see the stone underneath． As he did so，a piece of earth fell inwards，showing that there was a hole under the stone．He tried to light a match to see inside， but the wind was too strong， so he put his hand into the hole and felt around with his knife．The sides，top，and bottom of the hole were smooth and regular，he discovered；it must be a man-made hole in a wall．As he pulled the knife out， he heard the sound of metal on metal—there was something in the hole． He put his hand back in and his fingers found a thin piece of metal．Naturally enough， he pulled it out，and saw that it was a piece of metal pipe about ten centimetres long，also man- made and clearly very old．By this time it was getting too dark to do anything more， so he put the metal pipe in his pocket and started to walk home along the beach．
In the evening half－light the place seemed wild and lonely， and a cold north wind blew at his back． Far ahead of him he could see the lights of the village， but here there was only the long empty beach with its black wooden breakwaters， and the shadowy， whispering sea．
He crossed the stones higher up on the beach and went down to the sand， which was easier to walk on， although he had to climb over the breakwaters every few metres．
When he looked behind him to see how far he had come， he saw that he might have a companion on his walk home． A dark figure， some way back， seemed to be running to catch up with him，but he never seemed to get any closer．It couldn't be anybody he knew， Parkins thought，so he did not wait for him． However，a companion， he began to think， would really be very welcome on that cold， dark beach．He suddenly remembered the stories he had read in his less sensible childhood—stories of strange companions met in lonely places． 'What would I do now，'he wondered，'if I looked back and saw a black figure with wings and a tail？ Would I run， or would I stand and fight？Fortunately，the person behind me doesn't look like that—and he seems to be as far away as when I first saw him．I shall get my dinner before he does， and， oh dear！It's nearly time for dinner now．I must run！'
At dinner the Professor found the Colonel much calmer than he had been in the afternoon．Later，the two men played cards together and， as Parkins played cards much better than he played golf，the Colonel became quite friendly and they arranged to play golf together again the next day．
When Parkins returned to his room， he found the little met- al pipe where he had put it on the table．He looked at it carefully and realized that it was a whistle．He tried to blow it but it was full of earth，so he took out his knife and cleared the earth out onto a piece of paper，which he then shook out of the window As he stood at the open window， he was surprised to see someone standing on the grass in front of the hotel， although it was almost midnight．
He shut the window and took the whistle over to the light to look at it again He cleaned the dirt off and found that there were letters deeply cut along the side of the whistle
He found them very easily—by falling over some of the old stones，in fact． When he picked himself up， he saw that the ground all around him was broken up with shallow holes and bits of old stone wall covered in grass．The Templars used to build round churches， Parkins remembered， and even after hundreds of years there were enough grass-covered stones left to show the circle of the outer wall． For a time Parkins walked around，looking and measuring，and making notes in his note- book．
There was a large stone in the centre of the circle， and Parkins noticed that the grass had been pulled away from one corner of it．He knelt down and，using his pocket-knife， dug away some more of the grass to see the stone underneath． As he did so，a piece of earth fell inwards，showing that there was a hole under the stone．He tried to light a match to see inside， but the wind was too strong， so he put his hand into the hole and felt around with his knife．The sides，top，and bottom of the hole were smooth and regular，he discovered；it must be a man-made hole in a wall．As he pulled the knife out， he heard the sound of metal on metal—there was something in the hole． He put his hand back in and his fingers found a thin piece of metal．Naturally enough， he pulled it out，and saw that it was a piece of metal pipe about ten centimetres long，also man- made and clearly very old．By this time it was getting too dark to do anything more， so he put the metal pipe in his pocket and started to walk home along the beach．
In the evening half－light the place seemed wild and lonely， and a cold north wind blew at his back． Far ahead of him he could see the lights of the village， but here there was only the long empty beach with its black wooden breakwaters， and the shadowy， whispering sea．
He crossed the stones higher up on the beach and went down to the sand， which was easier to walk on， although he had to climb over the breakwaters every few metres．
When he looked behind him to see how far he had come， he saw that he might have a companion on his walk home． A dark figure， some way back， seemed to be running to catch up with him，but he never seemed to get any closer．It couldn't be anybody he knew， Parkins thought，so he did not wait for him． However，a companion， he began to think， would really be very welcome on that cold， dark beach．He suddenly remembered the stories he had read in his less sensible childhood—stories of strange companions met in lonely places． 'What would I do now，'he wondered，'if I looked back and saw a black figure with wings and a tail？ Would I run， or would I stand and fight？Fortunately，the person behind me doesn't look like that—and he seems to be as far away as when I first saw him．I shall get my dinner before he does， and， oh dear！It's nearly time for dinner now．I must run！'
At dinner the Professor found the Colonel much calmer than he had been in the afternoon．Later，the two men played cards together and， as Parkins played cards much better than he played golf，the Colonel became quite friendly and they arranged to play golf together again the next day．
When Parkins returned to his room， he found the little met- al pipe where he had put it on the table．He looked at it carefully and realized that it was a whistle．He tried to blow it but it was full of earth，so he took out his knife and cleared the earth out onto a piece of paper，which he then shook out of the window As he stood at the open window， he was surprised to see someone standing on the grass in front of the hotel， although it was almost midnight．
He shut the window and took the whistle over to the light to look at it again He cleaned the dirt off and found that there were letters deeply cut along the side of the whistle