Posted by Peter H on January 21, 2005 at 22:35:04 from 81.131.35.101 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: What is your favourite Ransome quotation? posted by John Nichols on January 21, 2005 at 21:47:10:
Yes, John's right, but I think the answer is that Nancy must have reconnected the battery subsequently so that incoming pigeons from Timothy would be detected. This is supported by Dick's remark, when he and Dot are on the river in Ch XVI and hear the bell go off, that he 'ought to have reminded Nancy to take the tin tray off the bell to make it not so loud'. This does, as John points out, raise the question of raising the G.A.'s suspicions, but Nancy's priority would be to get Timothy's messages, as she knew how important the 'stinks' was (were). She must have felt she could explain away the bell, but it was a close thing as it turned out. From Nancy's account of the incident in Ch XVIII, it seems that the G.A. did not know of the pigeons' existence so probably Nancy thought that the mere ringing of a bell would not be any clue here.