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儿童英语读物 The Firehouse Mystery CHAPTER 9 The Final Clue

时间:2017-08-29 02:06来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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At first Steve and the Aldens just stared at the empty shelf. “I can’t believe we didn’t notice this before,” said Steve, at last.

“It’s so dark back here in this corner that you wouldn’t notice unless you came and stood right in front,” said Jessie.

“The old copper1 hose nozzle is gone,” said Violet.

“And that really tall speaking trumpet2,” added Henry.

“I’m going to go tell Mike and call the police,” Steve said, his voice angry. “It’s getting late, and you kids should be getting home. After all, the rally’s tomorrow, and you need to get a good night’s sleep. I’ll call you if the police discover any clues.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” Jessie asked.

“Thanks, but I don’t think so,” Steve said.

That night after dinner, the Aldens gathered in the boxcar to talk about the burglary.

“I’ve been thinking. Do you suppose the burglary has anything to do with all the other stuff that’s been going on?” asked Benny.

“I’ve been wondering that, too,” said Henry.

“It certainly explains all the false alarms. Someone must have been trying to get the firefighters out of the firehouse so he or she could come in and steal the antiques,” said Jessie.

“But what about the spilled paint and the trampled3 evergreens4?” asked Violet. “How could those be connected?”

The children all thought for a moment.

Suddenly Henry gasped5. “I know! Maybe the person has been trying to sneak6 in here all week. He or she might have tried the garage door first. Remember we left our paint cans right in the doorway7?”

“You think someone tried to sneak in at night, didn’t see the cans in the dark, and accidently knocked them over?” Jessie said.

“Exactly,” said Henry.

“But the paint couldn’t have just spilled out,” Violet pointed8 out. “Benny had put on the lids. Right?” She turned to her little brother.

Benny squirmed uncomfortably. “Well, um . . . I started to. But then there was that fire alarm, and Steve said we could come with him to watch and . . .”

“Benny,” Jessie said, “are you saying you didn’t put all the tops on securely?”

“I’m not really sure,” Benny said uncertainly.

Jessie sighed. “Try to be more careful next time. Anyway, we’ve got a bigger problem now.”

“I’ve been thinking about the evergreens,” said Violet. “Those window boxes are in the side windows, and the ground was all scuffed9 up below them.”

“That’s right!” Henry cried. “The person wasn’t after our evergreens — he was trying to get in through those windows. The window boxes just got in the way!”

“That still doesn’t explain why Rebecca had our petition,” Jessie noted10.

“No, it doesn’t,” Henry agreed. “And speaking of Rebecca, remember how interested she was in the antiques? She kept looking at them whenever she was here — even today.”

“And remember she made that detailed11 drawing of them, and then seemed embarrassed to talk about it,” Violet added.

“She also said something about old things being valuable,” Jessie remembered.

“I just thought of something else,” Benny said. “When we first came in to her studio, she was talking on the phone about making a lot of money.”

“That’s right,” said Henry. “Maybe she was planning to steal the trophies12 and sell them.”

“Henry, when you showed Ms. Lerner and Rebecca around, didn’t you say Ms. Lerner was interested in the antiques, too?” Jessie asked.

“She was,” Henry recalled. “In fact, she was the one who told Rebecca that they were valuable in the first place.”

“I think there’s someone else we’re forgetting,” said Violet. “Mr. Frederick.”

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “He keeps showing up here, and it doesn’t seem that he’s telling the truth about writing a book on Greenfield’s historic buildings. He doesn’t know anything about our town’s buildings. Maybe he was really after the antiques.”

The children heard the cuckoo clock striking in the house and knew that it was getting late.

“Maybe tomorrow we’ll find some more clues,” Henry told the others as he led the way back to the house.

The Aldens were happy to wake up to a bright winter morning that really wasn’t very cold. “This will be a perfect day for the rally,” said Jessie.

After lunch, Grandfather drove them to the firehouse. Steve and Sparky greeted them inside.

“Any news about the burglary?” Henry asked.

“No, but the police are working on the case,” Steve answered.

Grandfather and Mike helped the children hang their banner on the front of the building. As they were putting it up, Ms. Lerner appeared.

“I hear you’ve had a burglary,” she said to Mike.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” he replied.

“If there’d been a proper display case — with a lock — maybe those pieces would still be here,” she said angrily. Then she walked away to join the small crowd that was gathering13.

“Did you hear that?” Jessie whispered to Henry.

“Yes,” her brother answered. “Do you think Ms. Lerner would have taken the pieces herself, just to create one more strike against the firehouse?”

“Maybe,” said Jessie.

As more and more people showed up for the rally, Henry passed the petition around. More and more signatures were added to the already full page.

“Look, there’s Rebecca,” said Violet.

A woman right next to Rebecca was speaking loudly. “I think it’s just terrible they’re planning to tear down this beautiful old building.”

“I know. They’ll probably put up something big and modern that will look just awful,” said the man next to her.

Violet knew that Rebecca must have heard what they were saying. She saw Rebecca sigh heavily, but she couldn’t tell if Rebecca was angry or sad.

Then Mike stood up on a chair and began speaking. “I want to thank you all for coming today. I especially want to thank James Alden’s grandchildren, Henry Jessie, Violet, and Benny, who came up with the idea for this rally. They did all the wonderful posters you’ve seen around town, as well as this banner.”

A murmur14 went through the crowd, and someone shouted, “Great job, kids!”

Mike went on, “As you know, the town council is thinking of tearing down our firehouse and putting up a new one. I’ve worked here a long time, and I know this place has some problems. But it’s also got a lot of history, and it belongs here.”

“That’s right!” someone called out.

Mike continued speaking. “The Aldens have been helping15 us fix up the building, and I think it looks pretty good. I invite all of you to go inside and take a look. I hope that with your help, we can convince the town council that this building should stay.”

Mike went on to tell a little bit about the history of the firehouse, back to the days when the pumpers were pulled by horses. Then he asked everyone to please sign the petition. When he finished, everyone cheered.

“Nice speech,” Grandfather said, patting Mike on the back. The Aldens watched as Ms. Lerner and Rebecca walked away. They did not look happy.

When the crowd of people had gone home, Steve came over to the Aldens. “The rally was a real success,” he told them. “You all have been working so hard — how about taking a break this afternoon?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Jessie.

“How does a game of basketball sound?” Steve suggested. “Benny and me against Violet, Jessie, and Henry.”

“Can you play basketball in your wheelchair?” Benny asked.

“You bet,” Steve answered. “I even have a special sports wheelchair that’s more flexible. Come on!”

As Grandfather left to go home, the children followed Steve eagerly out to the basketball court in back of the firehouse. In no time, Steve and Benny were winning, 10 to 4.

Just as Benny was running to the basket to take another shot, Violet pointed over his shoulder. “Hey, what’s that over there?” she called out.

Benny was so startled that he lost control of the ball. It bounced away and rolled onto the grass. “Violet!” Benny said angrily. “Are you trying to make us lose?”

“No, really,” Violet said, running over to the side. She reached down below a bush and picked up a small blue notebook.

“That looks familiar,” said Jessie. “Didn’t we see someone carrying that recently?”

“Yes, but I can’t remember who. . . .” said Henry.

“Maybe there’s a name on the inside.” Violet opened the cover. “Oh, my goodness. . . .” she said as she read what was on the first page.

“What is it?” asked Benny.

“I think it’s a clue to the burglary,” said Violet.

“What’s in there?” Jessie asked.

Violet took a deep breath, “Listen to this,” she said, and began to read aloud: “Silver speaking trumpet, 1890; copper hose nozzle, 1900; looks valuable — call Lenny to arrange a deal.”

“That must have been written by the burglar,” said Henry.

“If only we could remember who we saw carrying that notebook,” said Jessie.

“I remember!” Benny cried.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 copper HZXyU     
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的
参考例句:
  • The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
  • Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。
2 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
3 trampled 8c4f546db10d3d9e64a5bba8494912e6     
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯
参考例句:
  • He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊,怕他让暴民踩着。
  • People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。
4 evergreens 70f63183fe24f27a2e70b25ab8a14ce5     
n.常青树,常绿植物,万年青( evergreen的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The leaves of evergreens are often shaped like needles. 常绿植物的叶常是针形的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The pine, cedar and spruce are evergreens. 松树、雪松、云杉都是常绿的树。 来自辞典例句
5 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 sneak vr2yk     
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行
参考例句:
  • He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
  • I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
7 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
8 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。
9 scuffed 6f08ab429a81544fbc47a95f5c147e74     
v.使磨损( scuff的过去式和过去分词 );拖着脚走
参考例句:
  • I scuffed the heel of my shoe on the stonework. 我的鞋跟儿给铺好的石头磨坏了。
  • Polly dropped her head and scuffed her feet. 波莉低下头拖着脚走开了。 来自辞典例句
10 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
11 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
12 trophies e5e690ffd5b76ced5606f229288652f6     
n.(为竞赛获胜者颁发的)奖品( trophy的名词复数 );奖杯;(尤指狩猎或战争中获得的)纪念品;(用于比赛或赛跑名称)奖
参考例句:
  • His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
13 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
14 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
15 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。
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