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儿童英语读物 The Poison Frog Mystery CHAPTER 9 To Catch a Thief

时间:2017-09-25 08:46来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

When Grandfather Alden heard of the plan to catch the mysterious caller, he insisted on being part of it, just to be safe.

Shortly after dark, he and the children, plus Lindsey, took their places. They hid in a little cluster of trees about fifty feet from the fir tree with the large rock at the base. They were far enough away to see what was going on without running the risk of being noticed.

At precisely1 eight o’clock, Brian came walking down the main path, as planned, but with a plastic bag filled with nothing but water.

Brian set the bag down behind the rock, picked up the envelope of money, then returned the way he came, careful not to look back. Having done that, his part in the plan was over. He and the others had agreed that he shouldn’t hang around, just in case the mystery man was watching him. He was also careful not to give any hints as to where Lindsey and the Aldens were hiding. He was to act like this was an ordinary “drop,” just like the last two. It was important for the mystery man to believe everything was going normally.

After Brian disappeared, the park fell silent. A few crickets chirped2 in the tall grass bordering Gallagher’s Pond, and some peepers trilled in the low bushes. The moon burned bright in the cloudless sky, casting everything in a soothing3 white glow. The air was cool and still.

After the first hour passed, everyone began to get a little worried.

“I wonder if we scared him off,” Jessie whispered. “I wonder if he knew somehow.”

“Anything’s possible,” Grandfather answered. “Whoever this man is, he’s been pretty clever so far.”

“I say we wait another hour, at the most,” Lindsey told them.

“I agree,” Grandfather replied.

As it turned out, the guest of honor showed up about fifteen minutes later.

He left a smaller trail and walked out onto the main path. He was a large person, dressed in a dark overcoat and a dark hat. He kept his collar turned up and his head low, making it impossible to see his face. He looked around cautiously, which wasn’t surprising. The Aldens also wore dark clothes, and they’d made a wise decision—the mystery man looked directly at them but didn’t see them. Once he seemed sure he was alone, he headed for the big rock under the fir tree.

“Okay, let’s go,” Grandfather Alden said in a whisper. “And remember—quietly.”

The Alden party filed out of the woods with their grandfather a good ten steps in the lead. The mystery man was already at the big rock, reaching behind it to claim his latest prize. By the time he brought the bag out and realized it contained nothing but water, Grandfather Alden was already behind him.

“What in the world—?”

“Hold it right there, my friend,” Grandfather said firmly. The rest of his team gathered around. “Sorry, but I’m afraid this little game of yours is over.”

The man remained frozen for a moment. Then his shoulders sagged4 and his head drooped5. He turned to face the people who had captured him. As he did, his identity was finally revealed.

Violet gasped6. Benny’s eyes grew enormous. Jessie’s hands went to her mouth.

And Lindsey said in a truly disappointed voice, “Oh, Mr. Colby, how could you?”

Back at the Alden home the following evening, Grandfather held a huge celebration dinner. Jordan and Lindsey came, and so did Brian, who wanted to apologize to Jordan in person.

After dinner, Jordan took Brian home, and Danny Fischer, a reporter from the local newspaper, arrived. A short, strongly built, enthusiastic young man, Danny wanted to cover the story of the zoo thefts for the local paper. As soon as he walked into the living room, Benny jumped up. Benny remembered him from the food court a few days ago. Now that the mystery was over, the young reporter was eager to gather the exciting details of this intriguing8 chapter in town history.

“I know you,” Benny said. “You’re the man with the bright shirts! You were taking notes at the zoo!”

“Right you are,” said Danny with a laugh, and he introduced himself to the Aldens.

He sat on the living room couch with his notepad. Lindsey was next to him, the children spread out on the floor. Watch, as always, snoozed peacefully nearby. Grandfather sat in his easy chair with his eyes closed, feet up, and his hands folded across his chest.

“So Darren Colby was going to do what with the animals?” Danny asked, his pen at the ready.

“He was going to have them returned to the wild,” Jessie said. “Which, according to Lindsey, isn’t the worst thing that could have happened to them.”

Lindsey nodded. “We all thought he was going to sell them. That would have been truly terrible.”

“He said he didn’t want to hurt them,” Benny pointed7 out.

The reporter shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like he did.”

Lindsey said, “No, Mr. Colby did some bad things, but he didn’t try to hurt any of the animals. Thank goodness he wasn’t that kind of a person.”

“And why exactly did he do this in the first place?” Danny asked.

“Money,” Lindsey answered quickly. “It’s always been about money with him.”

“I ... I don’t understand,” Danny said. “If he wasn’t planning on selling the animals, then why would he have done all this for the money?”

“He wanted to spend the money that they put toward the animals on building a small amusement park at the zoo instead,” Henry told him. “Rides, games, a candy shop, stuff like that.”

Lindsey nodded. “His way of thinking was this: Spending a lot of money on endangered species would bring in a few more visitors. But putting together an amusement park would bring in a lot more visitors, and more visitors meant more money. He and Jordan had argued about this quite a bit. Mr. Colby was only thinking of ways to make more money. And he planned to use the insurance money from the stolen animals to help pay for the building of the amusement park. Jordan wanted instead to make a little less money, but do more for the animals. That’s how it always was with those two—Mr. Colby only thought about money, Jordan only thought about animals.”

Danny said, “So ... Colby wanted to make it look like the animals were being stolen because ...”

“He needed a real excuse to shut down the breeding program,” Jessie finished. “Then he could say to Jordan, ‘You see what a bad idea that was?’ Then Jordan wouldn’t have any way to argue against his amusement park idea anymore.”

“And his plan almost worked, too,” Lindsey said. “After he shut down the program, we thought that was it for sure. We figured the rest of the endangered species would be returned to the zoos where we first got them, and they’d start building the park right away.”

Danny scribbled9 all this down on his pad. “But you kids came along and figured everything out, right?”

Henry nodded. “I guess so.”

“Don’t be so modest, Henry,” Grandfather said, eyes still closed. “My grandchildren are the finest detectives around. I pity anyone who tries to commit a crime around here. They don’t stand a chance.”

Everyone laughed. “It makes for a great story, I’ll tell you that,” Danny assured them. “And I’m going to put it all in, too.”

“Well, you don’t have to do that,” Jessie said. “We were just glad to help.”

Hearing this warmed her grandfather’s heart.

“So what happened to all the other animals that were first taken?” Danny continued. “The ferrets and the condors10?”

Violet giggled11. “They were in Mr. Colby’s house. They made a mess.”

“A mess?” Danny asked.

Lindsey smiled. “I don’t know if you’ve ever been around ferrets, Danny, but they’re very mischievous12 animals. They love to hide things, chew things, tear things. Mr. Colby tried to keep them in their cages, but every now and then he had to take them out so he could do a cleaning. Of course, having no experience with animals or animal care, his attempts were always disastrous13. The ferrets would scurry14 off and hide, and then Mr. Colby would find holes in his clothes or little things would be missing. They are very naughty creatures.”

“The ferrets were pretty hungry because they had the wrong kind of food,” Benny said. “I felt really sorry for them.”

“And what about the condors?”

“He kept them in his cellar. They were very loud and very mean sometimes. They’re actually kind of dangerous and should be handled only by experts. He got a nasty scratch on his arm from one of them.”

“But the animals are okay now?” Danny asked.

“Yes,” Benny piped in. “I checked them myself.”

Lindsey smiled. “Benny was my assistant when I gave them a checkup after we got them back. All the animals were in good health and happy to be home again.”

“That’s wonderful,” Danny said, writing it all down. “So what happens to Mr. Colby now?”

“He’s not a partner at the zoo anymore,” Henry said.

“And that’s probably best,” Grandfather added. “I don’t think he’s cut out for zoo work.”

Lindsey offered some further details: “He’s agreed to sell his part of the zoo, and in return no charges will be pressed against him.”

“But won’t the next partner be the same way?” Danny asked. “Won’t he be a businessman, too?”

Jessie smiled and shook her head. “I doubt it. Jordan’s the new partner.”

Danny looked surprised. “You’re kidding!”

Lindsey said, “Nope. Jordan has decided15 to run the zoo entirely16 by himself from now on. He had to take out a big bank loan to buy out Mr. Colby’s share, but I think in the long run he’ll be a lot happier. He said he learned a lot from Mr. Colby about how to run a business, and he thinks he can do it on his own. We’ll all help him, of course. It’ll be tight for a while, but we’ll manage.”

“And we’ll help, too!” Benny pointed out.

“That’s right,” Lindsey said, looking at the little boy. “Benny and his family have agreed to come by every now and then and help out with some of the little tasks. That’ll certainly save us some money.”

“Well, that’s really terrific,” Danny said, still scribbling17. “This is going to make one fabulous18 story. Finally, what about the kid who actually took the animals? Will he be charged by the police?”

Lindsey said, “No. Jordan came up with a better idea ...”

The Aldens fixed19 their attention on her. Even Grandfather opened his eyes. Lindsey had announced right before the reporter came that Jordan had something special in mind for Brian, but she wanted to wait until just the right moment to reveal it.

“He’s going to rehire Brian as an apprentice20 keeper,” she said.

Violet smiled. “That’s wonderful!”

“Good for him,” Grandfather said.

“He didn’t really seem like he had his heart in being a thief anyway,” Henry joked.

“No, he didn’t,” Lindsey said. “He wants to take care of animals. He’s a keeper by nature, he just has to learn to be more responsible. So we’re going to give him some training and we’ll see how he does.”

“What did he do with the money he got from Mr. Colby for taking the animals?” Danny asked.

“The money goes back to the zoo,” Jessie answered.

Danny wrote a few more lines, then closed the cover of his notepad.

“Well, this has been one incredible story, I must say,” Danny told them. “The best one I’ve ever covered. I don’t know how I’m going to top it.”

“Oh, just keep an eye on my grandchildren,” Grandfather Alden advised, “and I’m sure you’ll have lots to write about. They’ll make you famous!”

Henry put his hand on Benny’s shoulder. “Maybe we should tell you about what happened to Benny right before he saw you at the food court that day. Now, that was really news!”

Danny’s face brightened with anticipation21. “What? What happened?”

“I lost my appetite for a few minutes!” Benny said, and everyone burst out laughing.

“And around here,” Grandfather added, “that really is big news.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
2 chirped 2d76a8bfe4602c9719744234606acfc8     
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽,在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
  • The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。
3 soothing soothing     
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的
参考例句:
  • Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
  • His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。
4 sagged 4efd2c4ac7fe572508b0252e448a38d0     
下垂的
参考例句:
  • The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
  • He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。
5 drooped ebf637c3f860adcaaf9c11089a322fa5     
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
  • The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
6 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》
7 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。
8 intriguing vqyzM1     
adj.有趣的;迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词);激起…的好奇心
参考例句:
  • These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
  • It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 scribbled de374a2e21876e209006cd3e9a90c01b     
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
  • He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
10 condors 084a80ec4ee2f15a20bb076fbb4bea48     
n.神鹰( condor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • What would our condors feed on if no one was in danger? 你不发生危险,那我们秃鹰吃啥呢? 来自互联网
  • Yo mama so fat she has been declared a natural habitat for Condors. Yomama是如此之肥,她被定为秃鹰的自然栖息地。 来自互联网
11 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》
12 mischievous mischievous     
adj.调皮的,恶作剧的,有害的,伤人的
参考例句:
  • He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
  • A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。
13 disastrous 2ujx0     
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的
参考例句:
  • The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
  • Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨,血本无归。
14 scurry kDkz1     
vi.急匆匆地走;使急赶;催促;n.快步急跑,疾走;仓皇奔跑声;骤雨,骤雪;短距离赛马
参考例句:
  • I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
  • There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。
15 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。
16 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
17 scribbling 82fe3d42f37de6f101db3de98fc9e23d     
n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • Once the money got into the book, all that remained were some scribbling. 折子上的钱只是几个字! 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字,妈妈看在眼里,就替他报读了幼稚园。 来自互联网
18 fabulous ch6zI     
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的
参考例句:
  • We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
  • This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。
19 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
20 apprentice 0vFzq     
n.学徒,徒弟
参考例句:
  • My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
  • The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。
21 anticipation iMTyh     
n.预期,预料,期望
参考例句:
  • We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着,期待她的到来。
  • The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安,像是感到了地震即将发生。
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