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儿童英语读物 The Ghost Town Mystery CHAPTER 9 The Ghost Hunt

时间:2017-09-20 05:53来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The rest of the way back to the motel, the children figured out a plan. They would go alone into Tincup, just before sunset, and track down the Lady in Gray. This time she wouldn’t get away.

“I’m nervous,” Violet admitted. She couldn’t forget the sight of the yellowed, wrinkled face she had seen leering through the slatted door.

“Me, too,” Henry said. “The ghost is very lifelike. But we know it isn’t real.”

Jessie nodded in agreement. “We have to catch her — or him. It’s the only way to find out what’s going on here. If Grandfather decides to sell the land to Victor Lacey he could be making a big mistake. We have to do this for Grandfather.”

“What will we do with the ghost when we catch it?” Benny asked, his eyes round. A ghost hunt sounded neat, but he was also frightened.

“It’ll be okay,” Violet reassured1 her little brother.

“We’re the Aldens and we make a great team!” said Jessie, sounding like a cheerleader. “Let some old ghost try to get away from us!”

Benny giggled2, feeling better.

At Eagles Nest, they found Grandfather and Mr. Lacey in deep conversation in the sitting area of the dining hall. Lunch was about to be served.

Grandfather waved them over. “Mr. Lacey and I have been talking about the land. I’m wondering if anyone will ever visit there. Or if we’ll really use it. I’m thinking of selling it to Mr. Lacey.”

Benny stared at Grandfather, his hunger forgotten. “You’re going to sell the town? How can I be mayor and fire chief and police chief?”

“Oh, Benny,” Mr. Lacey said enticingly4. “You don’t want to be in charge of a rundown old town.”

“Lunch!” Mrs. Harrington called to the guests.

Jessie was amazed to see Corey Browne carry a huge bowl of soup from the kitchen. Marianne followed him with a large basket of bread. He looked at her as he set down the bowl, spilling the soup a little. Jessie could tell Corey was head over heels for Marianne Harrington. And for once, she wasn’t acting5 like she couldn’t stand him. Did Corey finally win her over?

Jessie dipped her spoon into her soup. Yuck. It was like dishwater with a few soggy carrots floating around. She broke off a hunk of stale bread to dunk in the thin soup. Like Benny, she was tired of the awful food.

“Excellent soup!” Victor praised Mrs. Harrington, scraping his bowl. “I’ll have seconds, if you have enough.”

“Oh, there’s plenty,” said Mrs. Harrington. “By the way, dinner will be late tonight. The power is off again.”

Violet noticed a mysterious glance pass between Victor Lacey and the owner as she ladled more watery6 soup into his bowl. Something strange was going on, but she didn’t have time to think about it now.

“Grandfather,” she announced. “Is it okay if we go down to Tincup? We know the way. And it’s not that far to walk. We’ve gotten pretty used to hiking.”

“We’ll be careful,” added Henry. “We won’t go into any of the buildings. We just want to walk through the town.”

He crossed his fingers under the table. This was an important part of their plan. Everyone in Eagles Nest had to know they were going to Tincup. And Grandfather had to give his permission.

“Well ... ” James Alden hesitated. “You are responsible children. I trust you. If you leave early and promise to be back well before dark, it’ll be fine.”

“We will,” said Benny. The first part of their plan had worked!

The children prepared for the hike immediately after lunch. Jessie packed snacks and bottles of water that Grandfather had brought back from his second trip to Beaverton.

“We can eat on the way,” she told the others. “That soup wouldn’t give a chipmunk7 strength.”

As they walked behind the dining hall, they noticed the gray metal panel was hanging open.

“The fuse box!” exclaimed Henry. He looked inside. Sure enough, one of the fuses was missing. “I bet that goes to the electricity.”

“Now we know Mrs. Harrington turns off the phones and power on purpose,” said Benny.

“We’d better hurry,” Violet said. “We don’t have the Jeep to ride in and we must be in Tincup by sunset.”

Although that seemed like a lot of time, lunch had been late and they had to pack for the hike. It was after two-thirty when the Aldens set off on the potholed road.

The day was clear but very warm. Before they had walked far, the children were glad Jessie had told them to put on short-sleeved T-shirts and shorts. Stout8 walking shoes prevented twisted ankles and sore feet.

Soon they were panting as they climbed the steep mountain.

“I wish we had the Jeep,” Jessie said. “It was bouncy, but it got us to the trail a lot quicker!”

“I like walking,” Benny said. As always, he had the most energy. “You can see the plants and birds this way.”

Jessie checked her watch. Almost three-thirty. They had been walking for nearly an hour and they hadn’t reached the end of the road yet. She had forgotten how long the road was.

Suddenly Violet stumbled and cracked her knee on a rock.

“It’s nothing,” she told Henry, who gently felt the swelling9.

“You might get a bruise,” he said. “Maybe we should stop. Walking on it could make it worse.”

“I’m okay,” Violet insisted. Her knee hurt only a little. She couldn’t let the others and Grandfather down.

“Are you sure?” asked Jessie, concerned. Of them all, Violet tended to be the most quiet.

Violet smiled gamely. “Positive.”

The children slowed their pace so Violet could keep up. It was after five when they reached the end of the potholed road.

“Here’s the old wagon10 trail,” Benny said.

It took them another thirty minutes to walk down the twisting road. By now, Violet’s knee had stopped hurting, but they still took it easy.

When they reached Tincup, the children stared at one another. As bravely as they had talked on the hike, their fears were back.

“We’re all scared,” Jessie said. “But this is for Grandfather, If he doesn’t know the truth, he could be making a mistake. And we owe it to Gert to save the land.”

“Jessie’s right,” said Violet. She drew in a deep breath. “The sun is nearly over the canyon11. Let’s go catch the ghost.”

“It’s not a real ghost,” Henry said firmly. But he was as nervous as the others. Saying there were no ghosts and seeing one were two different things.

Together, the Aldens entered the silent ghost town. The wind had risen again, kicking tumbleweeds ahead of them. A loose shingle12 shrieked13.

They decided14 to wait for full sunset by the dance hall, where Violet had seen the old crone’s face.

The sun dropped in a lazy arc till it touched the craggy ledge15 of the canyon.

And then they saw her.

She appeared from nowhere, gliding16 into the dusty street in her tattered17 gray dress, the gray shawl draped about her shoulders.

The Aldens stood rooted for a few seconds. Then Henry shouted, “Okay, guys. Let’s move!”

They ran then, with Jessie in the lead.

Jessie stared at the figure ahead of her. The Lady in Gray didn’t speed up or act as if she heard pounding feet behind her.

But Jessie didn’t see any shoes sticking out from under the hem3 of the gray dress. Was this Rose Payne, walking toward the sunset to meet her husband as she’d done for so many years? But she couldn’t let such thoughts take over. She had to catch this ghost.

Sprinting18, Jessie pulled away from the others. She was beside the Lady in Gray now. The figure turned her face sharply away from Jessie.

Swallowing her fear, Jessie grabbed one thin arm and yanked the figure around.

Amazed, she gasped19 at the yellowed, wrinkled face surrounded by wisps of scraggly gray hair. The yellowed hand Jessie grasped felt horrible, but she didn’t let go.

Instead she reached up and pulled off the gray wig20. The yellowed crone mask came off with it.

She found herself staring into the startled blue eyes of Marianne Harrington.

“You!” Jessie accused. “You’re the ghost!”

The others ran up.

“It’s Marianne!” Violet said. “She’s the Lady in Gray!”

Pulling off the fake rubber hands, Marianne began to cry.

At that moment, Victor Lacey blasted through the rickety swinging doors of the dance hall.

“All right, you kids!” he said menacingly. “I knew you were trouble the minute I laid eyes on you. Now I’ll have to fix you but good!”

Before the children had a chance to be frightened by his threat, a second voice boomed from the dry goods store.

“You’ll do nothing of the sort, you little weasel!”

Benny hopped21 up and down. “It’s Gert!”

It was indeed Old Gert. She loomed22 in the center of the road, her booted feet spread wide apart. No one was going anywhere without dealing23 with her.

“You leave these children alone,” she told Victor. “The jig24 is up. I’m on to your little game.”

“So are we,” said Henry. “But we needed to bring the ‘ghost’ out in the open first.”

Suddenly Violet figured out the missing piece that had been bothering her. They were on the wrong track! Marianne Harrington wasn’t the descendant of Rose and Duncan Payne.

Old Gert was!


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 hem 7dIxa     
n.贴边,镶边;vt.缝贴边;(in)包围,限制
参考例句:
  • The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
  • The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。
4 enticingly e9677c48f1d2a29c41d4dd68104cfe7b     
参考例句:
5 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
6 watery bU5zW     
adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的
参考例句:
  • In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
  • Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏,她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。
7 chipmunk lr4zT     
n.花栗鼠
参考例句:
  • This little chipmunk is hungry.这只小花栗鼠肚子饿了。
  • Once I brought her a chipmunk with a wound on its stomach.一次,我带了只腹部受伤的花栗鼠去找她。
8 stout PGuzF     
adj.强壮的,粗大的,结实的,勇猛的,矮胖的
参考例句:
  • He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
  • The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。
9 swelling OUzzd     
n.肿胀
参考例句:
  • Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
  • There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。
10 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。
11 canyon 4TYya     
n.峡谷,溪谷
参考例句:
  • The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
  • The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。
12 shingle 8yKwr     
n.木瓦板;小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌);v.用木瓦板盖(屋顶);把(女子头发)剪短
参考例句:
  • He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土,下面露出一块松木瓦块。
  • He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。
13 shrieked dc12d0d25b0f5d980f524cd70c1de8fe     
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
  • Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫,陆子潇尖声叫:“告诉什么? 来自汉英文学 - 围城
14 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
15 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
16 gliding gliding     
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的
参考例句:
  • Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
  • The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。
17 tattered bgSzkG     
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的
参考例句:
  • Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
  • Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。
18 sprinting 092e50364cf04239a3e5e17f4ae23116     
v.短距离疾跑( sprint的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Stride length and frequency are the most important elements of sprinting. 步长和步频是短跑最重要的因素。 来自互联网
  • Xiaoming won the gold medal for sprinting in the school sports meeting. 小明在学校运动会上夺得了短跑金牌。 来自互联网
19 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》
20 wig 1gRwR     
n.假发
参考例句:
  • The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
  • He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。
21 hopped 91b136feb9c3ae690a1c2672986faa1c     
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
参考例句:
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
22 loomed 9423e616fe6b658c9a341ebc71833279     
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
参考例句:
  • A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
  • The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
24 jig aRnzk     
n.快步舞(曲);v.上下晃动;用夹具辅助加工;蹦蹦跳跳
参考例句:
  • I went mad with joy and danced a little jig.我欣喜若狂,跳了几步吉格舞。
  • He piped a jig so that we could dance.他用笛子吹奏格舞曲好让我们跳舞。
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