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儿童英语读物 The Finders Keepers Mystery CHAPTER 6 Sales and Snoops

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“I just sold a box of old towels,” Violet reported, handing Lina the money. Lina was sitting at one of the tables with a metal box for the money. She was the yard sale treasurer1. The Aldens were walking among all the boxes, tables, chairs, lamps, and other items for sale, helping2 the shoppers.

“This is great!” Jessie said, coming to join them. “We’ve barely been here an hour, and just look at all these people!”

“All the signs you put up helped,” Lina said. “In fact, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Violet blushed. “Thanks,” she said. “But it wasn’t just us. Regina Lott gets some credit, too. A lot of people saw that story she did.”

A customer came up to pay for two flowerpots, and Violet let her gaze wander around the crowded yard sale. She noticed a short, bouncy-looking man who seemed to be looking as much at Lina as at the things for sale. He picked up an old vase, looked at the bottom of it, then put it down. He looked around again, then walked toward the house and moved partway behind an overgrown bush.

Violet frowned and stood up.

The man slipped out from behind the bush, glanced over his shoulder, then disappeared from sight around the corner of the house.

What was he doing? Where was he going? Violet turned to tell Lina, but Lina was busy helping another customer. Quickly, Violet walked toward where the man had disappeared.

Henry caught up with her. “What’s wrong?” he said.

“Someone just went around the side of the house,” Violet said.

“We should check it out,” Henry said.

With Henry leading the way, the two of them hurried after the man.

“Maybe he’s just using the shortcut3 back to his house,” Henry said.

“I don’t think so,” Violet said. “He acted as if he didn’t want anyone to see him.”

They saw no sign of the man in the backyard.

“Hmm,” said Henry. He turned and Violet followed as he walked up the back steps. The door to the kitchen was unlocked. Henry pushed it open.

The two Aldens slipped quietly inside and listened.

Muffled4 footsteps sounded on the stairs.

“Come on,” said Henry in a low voice.

Still moving as silently as they could, Henry and Violet rushed to the bottom of the staircase just as the man bounced out of sight. They heard a door open and close, more footsteps, then another door open.

Henry and Violet tiptoed up the stairs. The door at the end of the hall stood ajar.

Violet ran to the door and pushed through it just as the bouncy man was opening a closet door to peer inside.

“What are you doing?” asked Henry.

“Oh!” cried the man. He jumped, letting the door slam, then turned to face them.

He was dressed in an old navy jacket, neat khakis, and a pale blue shirt with a little animal stitched on the pocket. He was wearing very white, very clean sneakers.

The man gave Violet and Henry a hurt look. “You scared me,” he said.

“We’re sorry we scared you, but what are you doing in Lina’s house?” asked Violet.

The man sighed. “It’s a nice house,” he said.

“But you have no right to be in here,” said Henry.

“I’m… looking for the bathroom,” the man said.

“It’s downstairs, right past where you came in,” Violet said. “The door was open. You couldn’t miss it.”

The man’s eyebrows5 went up. He reached out, picked up a small mirror on a nearby table, and turned it over to look at it. “Was it?” he said, putting the mirror down. “I must have missed it.”

“We’ll show you where it is,” Henry said, stepping back and holding the door open.

“No, no, that won’t be necessary,” said the man, going past with his odd, bouncy step. He bounded down the steps and around the corner down the hall. Henry and Violet had to move fast to keep up. They barely made it to the kitchen before the back door slammed shut behind the odd visitor.

“How strange,” said Violet.

“Yes,” agreed Henry. “And I don’t think he really was looking for the bathroom.”

Violet and Henry locked the door carefully behind them and headed back to the yard sale.

People were everywhere. But the bouncy man was nowhere to be seen.

“Where have you been?” Jessie cried as they walked toward her. She was kneeling, pulling boxes from beneath a table. “We need to put the rest of these books out on this table. And Lina needs someone to be the treasurer while she takes a break. And — ”

An elderly couple interrupted her to ask the price of a lamp.

“I’ll help with the books,” Henry said.

Violet nodded. “I’ll give Lina a break,” she said. She added in a lower voice, “We can tell them about the bouncy man when the yard sale is over.”

By noon, most of the things were sold, and Lina’s cash box was fall of money. People still kept coming, though, and asking about the treasure.

At last, Henry made a sign that said YARD SALE OVER, put it on the fence, and shut the gate tight.

“I think we can begin counting the money,” Lina said.

“Let’s put everything we didn’t sell into a box and just give it away,” said Benny.

“Good idea,” said Lina. “We can leave the box outside the gate.”

Henry picked up a big cardboard box and walked to the nearest table.

“I’ll help,” said Benny. He hurried over to the table and scooped6 a deck of cards and some magazines into the box. At the next table, they piled in some small, chipped dishes.

At the third table, they found a woman with curly red hair kneeling by a box of old clothes.

“Oh!” said Benny when he saw the woman.

The woman looked up and smiled. “How much for this box of old clothes?” she said.

“We were going to put it all in our free box,” Benny said. “The yard sale is over.”

“I wish I could have gotten here sooner, but I couldn’t leave work,” the woman said. She looked down at the box. “Free is good, but let me at least pay something. Do you think two dollars is fair?”

“Sure,” said Henry. “You can pay Lina. She’s over there.”

“I’ll do that,” the woman said, with a smile. She had brown eyes that crinkled at the corners. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to look through a couple more boxes.”

“Okay,” said Benny.

Henry and Benny finished filling their box and left it outside the gate under a sign that said FREE. Then they walked back to the table where Lina, Jessie, and Violet stood. The red-haired woman was still there, too. She had the box of old clothes propped8 on one hip7. An old basket stood at her feet.

Benny looked down at the basket. It was full of cut-up bits of clothes and torn rags.

“Are you buying that, too?” he asked.

The woman nodded and smiled. “I can use the scraps9,” she said. She paused, then said, “So, is this all that you’re selling?”

“Well, for the time being,” said Lina. “I still have rooms of furniture I need to go through, and a few other things to sort out.”

The woman studied Lina, then glanced down at the basket, as if she might be about to say something in reply. But she didn’t.

“I could help you carry the box and the basket to your car,” Henry offered.

“No, no, no, thank you. I’m strong from all the lifting I do at my store,” the woman said.

“Store?” said Benny.

“I’m Coral Weaver10, owner of Weaver Stitch Shop,” said the woman. “I sell everything for people who like to sew. And I’m one of the founding members of the Crazy Quilters Club.” She patted the box. “That’s what these scraps are for. They’ll make a great quilt.”

“Crazy quilters?” said Benny.

“We read about crazy quilts at the library, Benny, remember?” said Violet. “They’re quilts without a pattern, made of all kinds and shapes of cloth stitched together.”

“That’s right!” Coral said, looking pleased. “You like quilts?”

“Yes,” said Violet. “They’re beautiful.”

“Lina’s Great-great-aunt Hope was a crazy quilter, too,” said Benny. “But her quilts are all made from patterns.”

“I’d love to see them,” Coral said. She gave Lina a hopeful look.

“Maybe some other time,” said Lina.

“If they’re still up in the attic11, I don’t mind climbing stairs,” Coral said. “Really, I don’t.”

Lina looked startled. “How did you know they’re in the attic?” she said.

“I love quilts,” Coral said, ignoring the question. “The old ones are so beautiful, so full of stories — I always wonder about the lives of the women who made them. There’s a story in every stitch. Stories of engagements, weddings, births, friendships, even deaths.” Coral smiled. “It’s kind of crazy, I know, but then, some people do call me the crazy quilt lady. Get it? Crazy quilt lady?”

Lina smiled back. “I love quilts, too,” she said.

Coral sighed. “Well, I’d better be going. But come to my shop. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about quilts. I’ll even show you how to make one.”

“That would be fun,” said Jessie.

“Is it hard?” asked Violet.

“Not at all,” said Coral. “Nothing you love to do is hard, don’t you know?”

“I never thought about it that way,” said Jessie.

“South Street, just around the corner from the bank,” Coral said as she picked up her basket. “Come anytime.”

“We will,” Jessie promised.

Coral nodded, smiled one last time, and headed for her car.

As the gate swung closed behind Coral, Lina snapped the cash box shut.

“Crazy quilt lady,” she said. She shook her head. “That’s the way I’m beginning to feel, too.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 treasurer VmHwm     
n.司库,财务主管
参考例句:
  • Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
  • The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。
2 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。
3 shortcut Cyswg     
n.近路,捷径
参考例句:
  • He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
  • If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。
4 muffled fnmzel     
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己)
参考例句:
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
6 scooped a4cb36a9a46ab2830b09e95772d85c96     
v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 );(敏捷地)抱起;抢先获得;用铲[勺]等挖(洞等)
参考例句:
  • They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块,在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 hip 1dOxX     
n.臀部,髋;屋脊
参考例句:
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
8 propped 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e     
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
  • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
9 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
10 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
11 attic Hv4zZ     
n.顶楼,屋顶室
参考例句:
  • Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
  • What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理?
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