Story of the Three Calenders - 4

As I had promised I prepared to do as I was told, and giving my hand to the lady, I escorted her, by the light of the moon, to the place of which the prince had spoken. We had barely reached it when he joined us himself, carrying a small vessel ² of water, a pickaxe（镐）, and a little bag containing plaster. , ,With the pickaxe he at once began to destroy the empty sepulchre（坟墓） in the middle of the tomb. One by one he took the stones and piled them up in a corner. When he had knocked down the whole sepulchre he proceeded to dig at the earth, and beneath where the sepulchre had been I saw a trap-door. He raised the door and I caught sight of the top of a spiral staircase; then he said, turning to the lady, "Madam, this is the way that will lead you down to the spot which I told you of." , ,The lady did not answer, but silently descended ³ the staircase, the prince following her. At the top, however, he looked at me. "My cousin," he exclaimed, "I do not know how to thank you for your kindness. Farewell." , , ,"No matter," he replied, "go back by the path that you came." , ,He would say no more, and, greatly puzzled, I returned to my room in the palace and went to bed. When I woke, and considered my adventure, I thought that I must have been dreaming, and sent a servant to ask if the prince was dressed and could see me. But on hearing that he had not slept at home I was much alarmed, and hastened to the cemetery⁴（墓地）, where, unluckily, the tombs were all so alike that I could not discover which was the one I was in search of, though I spent four days in looking for it. , ,The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。,The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海 。