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Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Grandfather sat quietly in the big caboose. Nobody spoke1. The train rattled2 along.
At last Jessie said, “I can’t stand this. I’m going to see if Benny is in the little caboose. I hope you don’t mind, Grandfather.”
Mr. Alden said, “No, Jessie, I don’t mind. I think you are right. He ought to wake up anyway. It’s time for supper.”
Jessie and Violet opened the door of the little caboose. They took one look. They could see all four bunks4. They were empty.
“He’s not here!” they called.
“Oh, Grandfather, what shall we do?” said Violet.
Mr. Alden said quickly, “Don’t worry, Violet. We’ll find him. I’m perfectly5 sure of that.”
Henry said, “Now is the time for those air brakes. We can let the trainmen know we are in trouble.”
He went to the desk and turned the lever halfway6. The train slowed down at once and stopped.
The Aldens jumped off and met Al running down beside the train to meet them.
“Benny is missing!” shouted Grandfather.
“Missing!” called Al. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later,” said Mr. Alden. “I’m sure he is still at Glass Factory Junction7. He went to see the talking horse.”
“We can’t go back, sir,” said Al, frowning. “I’m sorry, but those are the rules. It might cause an accident.”
Grandfather nodded. “I understand,” he said, “but how can we get back to Glass Factory and find him?”
Al said, “I think you’d better go right along to the next station and get off. That will be Woodstock. You can hire some kind of a car at the station. Maybe you can catch us at Springdale if you find the boy.”
“Oh, we’ll find him!” said Grandfather. “We’ll find him if we have to cut down the whole woods.”
“We’ll do all we can,” said Al. “We’ll make a fast run to Woodstock.”
Al ran back to the engine. The Aldens piled into the big caboose. Two whistles, and away they went.
Jessie said, “Grandfather, where do you think Benny really is?”
“Well, my dear, Benny has a good head on his shoulders. He will think it out. When he sees that he has missed the train, he will probably stay right there. I am counting on that. What else could he do?”
“He might telephone,” said Violet.
“Well, where would he find a telephone?” asked Mr. Alden. “The station is probably closed, and so is the factory. Anyway, we will hurry back to Glass Factory and see if he is there.”
The caboose swayed from side to side.
“We’re going faster than usual,” said Jessie. “The engineer is helping8 us.”
The whole family was ready to jump off as soon as the train stopped at Woodstock. As they hurried toward the head of the train, they saw Mr. Carr talking to a man in an old station wagon9.
Mr. Carr called, “Here is a man who will take you back to Glass Factory. I know him, and he’s a good driver.”
“Do you know the shortest way?” asked Grandfather, as they all got into the car.
“Yes, sir, we’ll come out by the factory and go over the track. There’s the station and the woods.”
“Right!”
Nobody spoke. The old car bumped along. At last it passed the glass factory and bumped over the railroad track.
“Here’s the station,” Henry called out, as the car came to a quick stop.
Benny and Charley sat on the step, eating apples. Benny looked up.
“There he is!” said Jessie.
“Oh, Benny! “called Violet.
Benny shouted, “There’s my grandfather, Charley.” He rushed to the car with an apple in each hand. “I knew it, I knew it! I knew you’d find me,” he said over and over. “I got lost and Charley was awfully10 good to me.”
Mr. Alden was in a great hurry, but he took time to thank Charley. He said, “Thank you, Charley. I can’t talk long now because we want to catch that train at the next station.”
“You can’t do it, mister,” said Charley. “Don’t stop at the next station. Go on to Fairfield and catch it there.”
“Thank you,” called Mr. Alden.
Charley watched the car as it turned around and went out of sight. Then he went off through the woods. He had had a wonderful time.
“That boy was right,” the driver said. “I won’t try to catch the train at Springdale, but I’ll go right across to Fairfield.”
They passed through Springdale, and no Little North Freight was in sight.
The car raced along. The driver was going to Fairfield, just as Charley had told him. The driver soon took a different road. He said, “When I tell you, be ready to get out.”
“You bet we will,” said Benny.
“Now!” called the driver. He stopped. The Aldens raced to the station and looked down the track.
“Oh, dear!” said Jessie. “There goes the train. We’ve missed it!” The big caboose was just disappearing around the bend.
“Never mind,” said the driver. “Get right back in the car, and I’ll race it to Oak Hill.”
“Wait!” cried Violet. “The train is backing up! There is Al on the back platform. He sees us.”
“And the conductor, too,” said Henry. “They are both waving.”
Sure enough, the Little North freight was slowly chug-chugging back to the station.
Grandfather paid the driver, and they all waited in a row until the train came to a stop.
Never was a train crew so glad to see passengers. The engineer blew his whistle. The conductor took a deep breath and helped Mr. Alden up the steps. Al looked at Benny and said, “Don’t go off again, young man.”
“No, I never will,” Benny promised.
The Aldens sat down in the big caboose. Jessie washed off Benny’s knee and put on a bandage. Then they all looked at each other. “I’m cold,” said Grandfather.
“I’m cold, too,” said Violet, shivering.
“You all need food,” Al said, going up the ladder. “Remember you haven’t had supper, and it’s eight o’clock.”
Jessie said, “I’ve an idea. Henry, you make some hot cocoa on the stove in the small caboose. Violet and I will use the stove in Number 777. We’ll get up a fine supper in no time.”
Jessie opened a can of chicken and heated it. Violet used potato flakes11 to make mashed12 potatoes. The girls opened a big can of cherries for dessert.
What a dinner the Aldens had! It was almost nine o’clock before they were through eating.
“I can see some of us are almost asleep,” said Henry. He winked13 at Jessie. Benny’s eyes were almost shut. The girls went quietly into the other caboose.
Henry began to help Benny get into bed.
“What about the lower bunk3, old man?” said Henry. “Just for one night?”
“OK,” said Benny. That was all he could say. He was fast asleep.
收听单词发音 |
1
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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2
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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3
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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4
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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5
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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6
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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7
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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8
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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9
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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10
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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11
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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12
mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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13
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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