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儿童英语读物 The Haunted Cabin Mystery CHAPTER 8 The Carpenter

时间:2017-07-05 06:27来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“Nothing new in town, I guess,” Cap said when the boys had brought in the groceries and brushed Pilot down.

“The new thing is going to be here,” Henry told him.

Cap listened to him explain about putting up the floodlight and examined it carefully. “That’s a clever way to drive away varmints. That’s the biggest light I ever saw. Where did you think to put it up?”

“It should light both the chicken yard and the barn.”

Cap nodded. “For that, it should be fastened at the back corner of the porch. You’ll need a mighty1 long cord.”

Henry nodded. “I bought the longest one, but let’s check it anyway.” Violet held the plug end of the cord next to the outlet2. Jessie and Benny led the cord up the wall and out of the window. Henry, on the ladder at the corner of the porch, nodded when Jessie handed him the end. “It’s going to work fine,” Henry said. “There’s even some extra.”

Benny, on the ladder, handed the nails and hammer up as Henry fastened the metal bracket to the outside corner of the porch. Cap watched as Jessie and Violet hammered in the U-shaped nails to hold the cord against the wall.

“I don’t know why I never thought of that,” Cap said as Henry set the big floodlight into the bracket. “Now I can’t wait until night to see how well it works.”

When Cap returned to the front porch with Doodle on his shoulder, Jessie turned to Henry. “Now for the barn floor?”

Henry slapped his forehead with his hand. “Jessie! I can’t believe this. I forgot to buy any extra nails.”

“We could ask Cap if he has some,” Violet suggested.

Jessie shook her head. “We need too many to explain to Cap. Let’s see if we can’t find some for ourselves.”

The search for nails went slowly. They found a few bent4 ones in a toolbox in the barn. Benny went up in the loft5 to look. “Do you need a little red wagon6?” he called down.

Henry laughed. “Not that I know of, why?”

“Because there’s one up here,” Benny told him. “And a box of books with all kinds of good pictures in them.”

“How about nails?” Henry asked.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Benny said. He came down the ladder carrying a tin coffee can full of more bent nails.

“We’ll hammer them straight on a flat rock in the woods,” Henry said. “That way Cap won’t hear the noise.”

“Somebody has to stay with Cap,” Jessie said. “He gets nervous when we’re gone too long. He was really fretting7 when Violet and I finally got back from the orchard8 today.”

“Oh,” Violet cried. “We haven’t had a chance to tell you about the holes in the orchard.”

“In the orchard!” Henry said. “Tell me about them while we straighten these nails.”

While the others went to the woods, Jessie stayed with Cap. He cocked his head. “Do I hear hammering?” he asked.

Jessie nodded. “Henry’s nailing down some loose boards in the barn,” she said. “He really likes to stay busy.”

“I’ve never seen such kids for work,” he said.

As the hammering stopped, a low eerie9 cry sounded from high up in a pine tree. Jessie caught her breath. She thought of that awful whistling sound they had all heard. Though this was different, it was scary enough to make her shiver. Cap leaned to peer up into the tree. “Listen to that screech10 owl3. Doesn’t he make your blood run cold?”

“He sure does,” Jessie said, laughing at how scared she’d been. “Your birds do make some strange noises!”

Henry and Benny came back from the barn. “I heard a spook or something out there,” Benny cried.

Cap laughed. “That’s the owl this glen is named for. There’s nothing like a screech owl to raise your hair up. It makes some people think this place is haunted.” Seeing Benny’s eyes widen, Cap changed the subject. “I’m glad you boys are back,” he said, reaching for his crutches11. “I’ve been smelling that applesauce all day, and I say it’s time to eat.”

Henry nodded and glanced at his sister. The screech owl had made a scary noise, but it hadn’t “raised his hair up” as badly as that awful whistle they had all heard at one time or another. But he couldn’t believe Cap’s cabin was haunted … by what?

At the table Cap turned to Henry. “So now you’re a carpenter,” he said. “Did you get the barn back in shape?”

Henry nodded. “I like carpenter work.”

“I sure appreciate all you’re doing,” Cap said, reaching for the bowl to take another serving of applesauce.

“And I appreciate applesauce,” Benny said, taking the bowl from Cap to serve himself again.

That night before going to bed, they turned on the big new floodlight. The yard and barn were almost as bright as day.

Jessie had heard the scary whistling sound the first night they spent in Cap’s cabin. She and Henry and Benny had all seen the flickering12 light. Benny had kept talking about a strange scraping sound. Later Henry had heard the whistling, and Violet had heard it the morning she saw the strange creature running off into the dark woods.

After Henry put up the big floodlight, everything stopped. For several days there was no strange whistling sound, no light, no scraping sound, and no more sign of the awkward dark creature that Violet had seen.

Henry was puzzled. “Did we imagine all that stuff?” he asked.

“That can’t be it,” Violet told him. “The holes were real, and Cap talked to me about that whistling.”

“Maybe that strange creature got scared when Violet saw it out by the barn that morning,” Jessie suggested.

“Or maybe it’s been afraid to come back since you put that floodlight up,” Violet said.

“Oh, I don’t like those ideas at all,” Benny said.

The others stared at him. “Why not?”

He shrugged13. “That would mean we haven’t helped Cap at all. Those things could come back and scare Cap again, or make him have another accident after we’re gone.”

Jessie sighed. “Benny hit the nail on the head again,” she said. “What’s more, this trip was only supposed to last ten days. We only have about three days left.”

“Maybe Grandfather will be too busy to come get us on time,” Violet said hopefully. “Grandfather always keeps promises,” Benny told them.

The mailman hadn’t stopped at Cap’s cabin once since the children came. The very next day he stopped out in the road and tooted his horn twice. Cap looked up in surprise. “That’s a change,” he said. “I don’t get much mail. You boys want to run and get it for me?”

After Henry took the letter, Benny carried it back to Cap on the porch. “How’s the old man doing?” the mailman asked Henry. “I was sorry to hear about his fall.”

“He’s getting better every day,” Henry told him.

“I thought about stopping but I always run late. Then when I saw that he had help out here, I quit worrying.”

“You mean us?” Henry asked. He hadn’t thought of them as “help,” but he liked the way that sounded.

The mailman shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong. I keep seeing a strange man on the road. I thought he worked for Cap.”

Henry frowned. “What does this man look like?”

“Sober fellow, never smiles,” the mailman said. As he described the man, Henry caught a quick breath. The mailman was describing Mr. Jay from the riverboat perfectly14.

“Tell Cap to get well soon,” the mailman added, putting his car in gear and starting off. Henry walked back to the porch thoughtfully. It was one thing for Mr. Jay to hang around town and act strange, but hearing that he was walking up and down Cap’s road really bothered Henry.

Cap’s letter was from Mr. Alden. He read it aloud. Grandfather Alden had gotten the children’s message from Mrs. McGregor and appreciated hearing from them. He told Cap not to worry about the kids, that they were doing what they liked to do best. He said to expect him this coming Saturday. He was eager to see all of them.

“We need to fix a good fancy meal for my old friend,” Cap said. “You probably need to ride Pilot into town again. I’d hate not to give your grandfather a hearty15 welcome.”

“We could use a few things,” Jessie said. “Maybe we could go tomorrow. That would leave us time for other jobs.”

“What other jobs?” Cap asked. “You’ve done plenty!”

Violet grinned at him. “Oh, Cap,” she said. “Even though your ankle is ever so much better, you’ll still have to use that cane16 for a while. We’ve thought of lots of little things to help with before we leave.” She didn’t add what she was really thinking — that they meant to solve the mysteries before they went off and left him alone.

“Like climb the trees and pick the apples,” Benny said.

“And weed and thin the garden,” Violet put in.

“And I’d like to clean up the barn,” Henry said. “I want to sweep up the loose hay to save it for Pilot.”

Cap threw up his hands. “I give up,” he said. “But groceries for your grandfather’s dinner come first. Agreed?”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
2 outlet ZJFxG     
n.出口/路;销路;批发商店;通风口;发泄
参考例句:
  • The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
  • Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。
3 owl 7KFxk     
n.猫头鹰,枭
参考例句:
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚,经常半夜后才睡觉。
4 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
5 loft VkhyQ     
n.阁楼,顶楼
参考例句:
  • We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
  • By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下,他们就可以多出两间卧室。
6 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
7 fretting fretting     
n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的
参考例句:
  • Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补。
  • The old lady is always fretting over something unimportant. 那位老妇人总是为一些小事焦虑不安。
8 orchard UJzxu     
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场
参考例句:
  • My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
  • Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。
9 eerie N8gy0     
adj.怪诞的;奇异的;可怕的;胆怯的
参考例句:
  • It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
  • I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。
10 screech uDkzc     
n./v.尖叫;(发出)刺耳的声音
参考例句:
  • He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
  • The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。
11 crutches crutches     
n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑
参考例句:
  • After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
  • When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后,不得不靠拐杖走路。
12 flickering wjLxa     
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的
参考例句:
  • The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
  • The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。
13 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》
14 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
15 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
16 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
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