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儿童英语读物 The Hurricane Mystery CHAPTER 5 Hoofbeats of History

时间:2017-08-24 08:31来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Your son!” exclaimed Henry. He was very surprised.

“But . . .” Jessie began, then stopped. It would be rude to say what the Boxcar Children were all thinking: that Mrs. Ashleigh was so nice, but her son didn’t seem nice at all.

“I’m sorry I called your son a mean man,” said Benny contritely1.

Mrs. Ashleigh shook her head sadly. “That’s all right, Benny. You didn’t know he was my son.”

“Why does he want you to sell your house?” asked Violet softly.

“He’s just worried about me. He says it’s not safe. Hurricanes hit this island often, you know. This last one wasn’t the first, nor the worst. And another hurricane could come along at any time,” said Mrs. Ashleigh.

“But this house has been here for years and years without a hurricane blowing it away,” said Henry. “Diana Shelby told us that. She said the old houses are the strongest.”

“I wish she could meet Forrest and convince him of that.” Mrs. Ashleigh took a deep breath and stood up. “But let’s not think about that now.” She smiled at the four children. “I have some good news for you. You’re fired.”

“Fired?” said Jessie. “But why? What did we do wrong?”

“Uh-oh,” said Benny.

Mrs. Ashleigh smiled. This time it wasn’t a sad smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re only fired for tomorrow. We all need a break from work. I’m declaring tomorrow a holiday!”

“And tonight we’re going out to dinner,” said Grandfather Alden, walking into the room. “Right here on the island. Ellen’s favorite restaurant, the Crab2 House, has just reopened.”

Mrs. Ashleigh looked a little more cheerful. “I’m so glad,” she said. “What a wonderful idea, James. We’ve all been working too hard!”

Everyone hurried to get ready to go out to dinner. Then they went downstairs and waited on the big front porch while Benny went to the kitchen to fill Watch’s water bowl with fresh water and give Watch his own dinner.

“Be a good dog and watch the house,” Benny told Watch. “Maybe I’ll bring you some leftovers3.” He paused and added thoughtfully, “If there are any!”

Like everything on the small island, the restaurant wasn’t far away. The Aldens and Mrs. Ashleigh strolled down the quiet streets.

“I’ve been at home working so hard on my house, I haven’t seen how much work everyone else has done on theirs,” admitted Mrs. Ashleigh.

In the restaurant, Mrs. Ashleigh seemed to know almost everyone. The Aldens met lots of new people.

And they saw one familiar face.

“Look! There’s Jackie,” said Benny. He waved.

Jackie got up from her table and came over to say hello. “A big crowd tonight,” she said, motioning to all the people in the restaurant. “The hurricane doesn’t seem to have hurt the Crab House’s business.”

“Everyone’s been working hard,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. “They’re probably glad to take a break, just like we are.”

“Tomorrow we have a holiday,” added Jessie. “We’re not going to work at all.”

Jackie smiled. “You’ve been a lot of help to Ellen, haven’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” said Benny. “We have moved furniture and cleaned and we’re even helping4 go through lots of old papers. Pirate papers.”

Raising one eyebrow5, Jackie looked at Mrs. Ashleigh. “Some of those papers are very old and fragile,” she said.

“The Aldens are being careful,” Mrs. Ashleigh said. “We’ll have them ready for the museum in no time.”

Jackie looked as if she didn’t quite believe Mrs. Ashleigh. “Let me know if you need help,” she said. Then, as if sorry for sounding a little rude, she said, “If tomorrow is a holiday, why don’t you come to town? Drive into Charleston and take a carriage tour with Hoofbeats of History, just like I promised you?”

“That would be fun!” said Violet.

“I think it’s a grand idea,” said Mrs. Ashleigh.

“Good,” said Jackie. “Be there at ten tomorrow! You can even bring your dog. Have a good dinner.”

“We will,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. “How do lobsters6 and crab cakes sound, Benny?”

“Crab cakes? Can I have chocolate cake instead?” asked Benny. Everybody laughed.

Early the next morning, Henry sneaked7 down and put a special “pirate’s map” on top of a pile of carefully sorted papers in the study. Jessie and Violet hurried out to bury the “treasure” for Benny to find later that day.

Then, right after breakfast, all the Aldens and Mrs. Ashleigh drove to Charleston. They passed Diana working on a house just down the street and waved as they went by.

But when they got to the Hoofbeats of History stable, Jackie wasn’t there.

“Oh, no,” said Jessie to the man who came out to meet them. “She was supposed to give us a tour.”

The man smiled. He was medium height, with shoulder-length brown hair, and he wore sunglasses. “Then you must be the Aldens. I’m Mike Carson, Jackie’s partner. She couldn’t be here, so she arranged for me to give you a special tour.”

“That sounds great,” said Henry. “My name’s Henry and these are my sisters, Jessie and Violet, and my brother Benny.”

Mike led them toward a black carriage with silver trim. A big, sandy-colored horse stood hitched8 to it.

“Welcome to Hoofbeats of History,” Mike said. He nodded toward the horse. “This is Sugar. Not only did Jackie leave the very best tour guide in charge but she left the very best horse.”

“Is she called Sugar because she is a sweet horse?” asked Jessie, patting Sugar’s soft nose.

“Because she’s sweet and she likes to be fed lumps of sugar,” said Mike.

“Watch, our dog, is called Watch because he is a good watchdog,” said Benny.

“Hello, Watch,” said Mike, scratching Watch’s ears. Then he motioned toward the carriage. “Now, all aboard.”

The Aldens and Mrs. Ashleigh got in the carriage. Benny held tightly to Watch’s leash9.

“Okay, Sugar, let’s go,” said Mike, and Sugar pulled the carriage out into the streets of Charleston.

“Look at all the people!” said Benny as they drove up one narrow street and down another. He waved at people as Sugar trotted10 by. “It’s like being in a parade.” Benny loved parades.

“Look at all the beautiful houses,” Violet breathed. She pointed11 at fences made of iron shaped into delicate patterns. “It looks like lace made of iron,” she said.

Mrs. Ashleigh laughed and nodded. “That’s a very good description, Violet.”

As they drove, Mike told them that Charleston had been built in the middle of a marsh12 and behind walls to protect it from enemy attack. “The name Charleston comes from Charles Town, after the English King Charles II,” he explained.

He showed them the high-water marks that the sea had left behind after the last hurricane. The water had been taller than Benny, taller than Jessie, even taller than Grandfather.

“But Charleston is used to hurricanes,” he said. “And earthquakes, too.”

“That’s what Diana told us,” said Henry. “She said San Francisco had lots of earthquakes, but that Charleston had had them, too.”

“Well, I don’t know Diana, but she’s right. In 1886 we had an earthquake that lasted eight minutes!” Mike said.

“That won’t happen again soon, will it?” asked Violet, looking a little nervous.

“I don’t think so,” said Mike. “I hope not!”

They drove past the City Market, where people once shopped for food, “just like in a big, open grocery store,” Mike told them. Now the market was the center of restaurants and shops and artists of all kinds. Women sat on corners and wove beautiful baskets of palmetto, bulrush, pine, and sweetgrass, “a craft brought by their great-great-grandmothers from Africa and the Caribbean and handed down for generations from mother to daughter,” Mike told them. “Some of those baskets are in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. They are works of art and are worth a lot of money.”

At the end of the tour, the Aldens thanked Mike, and Sugar, too. “I’ve lived all my life in Charleston,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, “but I’ve never been on a tour before. I learned a lot of new things.”

“You should give tours dressed as a pirate,” said Benny.

“That’s a great idea, Benny,” said Mike. “Maybe I will.”

As they walked away from the stable, Mike called after them, “Are you going home now?”

“Not just yet,” said Grandfather. “I think we’ll go get some ice cream.”

“Good,” said Benny.

“The best ice cream is over by the market,” said Mike. “It’ll take a little while to walk there, but it’ll be worth it. And you can see more of Charleston.”

“Thank you, Mike,” said Mr. Alden.

“Take your time in Charleston,” Mike urged. “There is a lot to see and do.”

“We will,” said Jessie cheerfully. “After all, we’re on a holiday today!”

Grandfather Alden and Mrs. Ashleigh dropped the children off at the house before going to the hardware store for supplies.

When they got back, Henry said, “I think we should take a look in the study, don’t you, Jessie and Violet?”

“Yes,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” said Violet. “Come on, Benny.”

She and Jessie and Henry wanted Benny to find his made-up pirate map so they could go on their treasure hunt.

But when they pushed the door of the study open, they stopped in shock.

“Oh, no!” cried Violet. “What happened?”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 contritely 3ab449eb7416f0b47d0891f1aca396c2     
参考例句:
2 crab xoozE     
n.螃蟹,偏航,脾气乖戾的人,酸苹果;vi.捕蟹,偏航,发牢骚;vt.使偏航,发脾气
参考例句:
  • I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
  • The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了,就象螃蟹的壳似的。
3 leftovers AprzGJ     
n.剩余物,残留物,剩菜
参考例句:
  • He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
  • She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。
4 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
5 eyebrow vlOxk     
n.眉毛,眉
参考例句:
  • Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
  • With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬,似乎既感到吃惊,又觉有趣。
6 lobsters 67c1952945bc98558012e9740c2ba11b     
龙虾( lobster的名词复数 ); 龙虾肉
参考例句:
  • I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
  • She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。
7 sneaked fcb2f62c486b1c2ed19664da4b5204be     
v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 );偷偷溜走;(儿童向成人)打小报告;告状
参考例句:
  • I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
  • She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。
8 hitched fc65ed4d8ef2e272cfe190bf8919d2d2     
(免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上
参考例句:
  • They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
  • We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。
9 leash M9rz1     
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住
参考例句:
  • I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳,但被狗挡住了路。
  • The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带,想挣脱开去。
10 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
11 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
12 marsh Y7Rzo     
n.沼泽,湿地
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
  • I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。
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