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儿童英语读物 The Ghost of the Chattering Bones CHAPTER 6 Eton’s Loop

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“I don’t understand it,” said Henry as they had a late-night meeting in the room that Violet and Jessie shared, “Someone’s going to a lot of trouble to make us think the bridge is haunted.”

Violet frowned. “Who would do such a thing?”

“And how?” Benny demanded.

“Beats me,” said Jessie, who was sitting on the bed next to Benny. “But it sure sounds like water’s flowing under that bridge.”

“Do you think anybody else heard it?” Benny wondered.

“Not likely,” said Henry. “Norah and Mrs. McGregor have rooms facing the front of the house. So does Annette.”

“What about Pam?” said Benny. “Her room faces the back.”

Jessie shrugged1. “Maybe she’s a sound sleeper2.”

“Or maybe she has heard it,” suggested Violet. “She does seem to think the bridge is haunted.”

Henry said, “There’s another possibility.”

The others turned to him, puzzled.

“Maybe Pam’s behind the whole thing.”

“Oh, Henry!” cried Violet. “You don’t really mean that, do you? You can’t suspect Norah’s niece.”

“We have to consider everybody,” said Henry.

“But why would she want to play a trick on us, Henry?” Violet couldn’t believe Pam would do such a thing.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about Pam,” said Jessie. “She said she never hiked as far as the woods. I wonder why she lied to us,”

“That was weird,” admitted Violet.

“What I can’t figure out,” said Henry, “is why Pam would lie about something like that.”

“Or why she’d try to scare us,” put in Benny.

“Maybe it’s her idea of a joke,” offered Jessie.

“Well, if it’s a joke,” said Henry, “it’s not a very funny one.”

“You know,” said Violet, “There’s somebody else we might want to include on our list of suspects.”

“You’re thinking of Spence Morton, right?” guessed Jessie.

Violet nodded. “Maybe he figures it’s the only way to get Norah to sell her bridge.”

“You mean, by convincing her it really is haunted?” asked Benny.

Violet nodded again. “He said he’d do whatever it takes.”

Jessie looked thoughtful. “It’s funny that he was sitting with Darlene last night. I didn’t think he knew anyone in town. He said he was just passing through.”

“Maybe they’re working together,” Henry suggested.

“You think Spence and Darlene are partners in crime?” asked Jessie.

“Could be,” said Henry.

The others had to admit it was possible. After all, it was Darlene who first told them about the bridge being haunted.

“I thought of someone,” Benny said. “Annette.”

Violet looked puzzled. “Annette’s a suspect?”

“She’s trying to scare us away,” said Benny. “And you know why? Because she wants to find the secret hiding place herself!”

That made sense to Henry. “You might be right, Benny,” he said. “Annette’s whole attitude changed as soon as Norah mentioned we’d be working on the mystery.”

“And that would explain why she insists the brooch was stolen,” Jessie realized. “She doesn’t want anyone else looking for it.”

Violet raised her eyebrows3. “You think Annette wants to steal the brooch?”

“Could be,” Henry answered. “Don’t forget, the brooch is made from valuable jewels. Maybe she needs money for school.”

Violet still looked doubtful. “I know Annette isn’t very friendly, but that doesn’t make her a thief.”

“No, but it does make her a suspect,” Henry insisted.

“I don’t think we should jump to any conclusions,” said Violet, “until we have more evidence.”

Jessie nodded. “We’ll keep our suspicions to ourselves for now. Let’s try to figure a few things out on our own first.”

On one thing they were in complete agreement—there were a lot of strange things going on at Eton Place.

After breakfast the next morning, Norah and Mrs. McGregor set off for town to do a bit of shopping. After waving goodbye, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny went into the backyard to do some investigating. Maybe the person who had been on the bridge last night had left a clue.

“Let’s spread out,” Jessie suggested. “That way we can cover more ground.”

“Good idea,” said Henry. “If anybody sees anything, shout.”

“Don’t worry,” Benny piped up. “I’ll shout really loud.”

After making a careful search of the bridge, Henry walked over to where Violet was combing the bushes. “Any luck?” he asked.

“Not so far,” Violet admitted.

“We checked out the flowerbeds under the bridge,” Jessie said when she and Benny joined them, “but—”

“We struck out,” finished Benny.

“Hi there, kids!” It was Spence Morton. He was coming around the side of the house. “Is Norah around?” He flashed them a smile.

Henry said only, “I’m afraid not.”

Benny folded his arms. “And for your information, the bridge isn’t for sale.”

Spence held up a hand. “Whoa, I didn’t come to pester4 Norah. I’m here to apologize.”

“Apologize?” Jessie echoed.

“I put a lot of pressure on Norah to sell me her bridge,” Spence explained. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“And you tried to scare everybody!” Benny said accusingly.

“What …?” Spence blinked.

Benny said, “You made it look like the bridge really was haunted.”

“No, I didn’t do that!” Spence looked startled. “I know I made a nuisance of myself, but I’d never pull a stunt5 like that.” He looked at each of the Aldens in turn. “I have children of my own,” he added. “I’d never try to scare kids like that.”

The Aldens looked at each other. They had a feeling Spence Morton was telling the truth.

Spence continued, “Last night, I had a chat with the lady from the gas station. She told me that Norah’s great-great-grandfather, Jon Eton, proposed to his wife on that bridge. She said he had it shipped all the way to America as a special gift for his homesick bride.”

“That’s right,” said Violet.

“The article in the paper never mentioned anything about it,” Spence went on. “I understand now why Norah refused to bargain. How can you put a price tag on family history?” He paused to gaze admiringly at the bridge. “Please say goodbye to Norah for me. It’s time I was heading home.” With a cheery wave, he walked away.

“Well, I guess that rules Spence Morton out as a suspect,” Jessie said, climbing the porch steps.

“It rules Darlene out, too,” added Henry as they trooped into the kitchen.

Benny sniffed6 the air. “Something sure smells good in here!”

Pam was taking a tray of cookies out of the oven. She smiled over at the youngest Alden. “Ready to do some decorating?” she asked him. “See what I’ve got? Butternut frosting and sprinkles!”

Benny didn’t need to be asked twice. After washing his hands, he set to work while Pam started on another batch7 of cookies.

The other Aldens sat around the table and tried to make sense of Meg’s verse.

Jessie opened her notebook and read aloud.

When last goes first,

and first goes last,

Eton’s Loop will show you

a clue from the past.

Once … twice … three times she read the verse. But it was no use. They still didn’t have the faintest idea what it meant.

Violet glanced over to where Pam was adding a drop of vanilla8 to the cookie batter9. “Do you bake at home, too, Pam?” she asked. “For your parents, I mean.”

Pam looked at Violet in a strange way. “Why do you mention my parents?” she said in a cold voice.

Violet sensed she’d said the wrong thing. “I just meant …” her voice trailed off.

Jessie and Henry exchanged a glance. What’s that all about? the look seemed to say. No one was sure what to say next. Then Pam dashed out of the room.

“That was odd,” Jessie said, keeping her voice low.

Henry agreed. “Pam sure doesn’t like talking about her parents.”

“It does seem that way,” admitted Violet.

As everyone gathered round to admire all the cookies, Benny said, “See the star-shaped one I decorated for Pam? Her name’s on it.”

Jessie tried to hide a smile when she saw where he was pointing. “You got the letters mixed up, Benny. You spelled MAP, not PAM.”

The youngest Alden smacked10 his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Oops!”

“The letter M goes last, Benny,” explained Violet. “And the letter P goes first.” Benny scraped off the sprinkles and tried again. This time, he spelled Pam’s name just right. Everyone cheered—everyone except Jessie, who wasn’t paying attention. She had the weirdest11 feeling she was close to figuring out the puzzle, but she couldn’t quite get hold of it. And then—in a flash—everything made sense.

“Of course!” she cried.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 sleeper gETyT     
n.睡眠者,卧车,卧铺
参考例句:
  • I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
  • But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。
3 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
4 pester uAByD     
v.纠缠,强求
参考例句:
  • He told her not to pester him with trifles.他对她说不要为小事而烦扰他。
  • Don't pester me.I've got something urgent to attend to.你别跟我蘑菇了,我还有急事呢。
5 stunt otxwC     
n.惊人表演,绝技,特技;vt.阻碍...发育,妨碍...生长
参考例句:
  • Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
  • Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。
6 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 batch HQgyz     
n.一批(组,群);一批生产量
参考例句:
  • The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
  • I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。
8 vanilla EKNzT     
n.香子兰,香草
参考例句:
  • He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
  • I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。
9 batter QuazN     
v.接连重击;磨损;n.牛奶面糊;击球员
参考例句:
  • The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
  • Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。
10 smacked bb7869468e11f63a1506d730c1d2219e     
拍,打,掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴,一声也不言语。
  • She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。
11 weirdest 1420dbd419e940f3a92df683409afc4e     
怪诞的( weird的最高级 ); 神秘而可怕的; 超然的; 古怪的
参考例句:
  • Think of the weirdest, craziest shit you'd like to see chicks do. 想想这最怪异,最疯狂的屁事。你会喜欢看这些鸡巴表演的。
  • It's still the weirdest damn sound I ever heard out of a Jersey boy. 这是我所听过新泽西人最为怪异的音调了。
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