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儿童英语读物 Mystery Behind the Wall CHAPTER 9 “Don’t Break the Glass!”

时间:2017-06-30 06:23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 Benny and Rory walked into the Jenny Wren1 Shop they found Mrs. Wren watering some plants in the sunny shop window.

“Did you find the coin collection?” she asked. “Oh! I can see by the look on your faces that you didn’t.”

Benny said, “But we did find the next clue. It was inside the grandfather’s clock, up in our attic2.”

“It doesn’t help us at all,” Rory said. “Stephanie wrote to look on the back of the house, but not to break the glass.”

“She meant that clue for her father,” Benny said. “I guess he would have known what it was about.”

Mrs. Wren said, “I’ve never been in your house. But once Stephanie showed me a photograph of the house. She wanted to get a frame3 for it to surprise her father.”

“That photograph is hanging in my room right now,” Rory said.

“Think of that!” exclaimed4 Mrs. Wren. “After all these years!”

Benny said, “Rory has our guest room. That’s the room Stephanie had. The furniture is different, but nobody changed the pictures.”

“On the back of the house,” Mrs. Wren said slowly. “You’re sure she didn’t write ‘in the back of the house’?”

“No,” Rory said, “it’s very plain. And the back of the house has all been changed. That’s what Henry said.”

Benny looked around the Jenny Wren Shop. He wished there was something he could buy. But everything was for sewing or knitting5.

Some buttons were on the counter. They were sewed on cards. One set of buttons caught Benny’s eye. The buttons looked just like coins.

All at once something clicked in Benny’s mind. He said, “Come on, Rory! I’ll race you home on our bikes! Let’s go.”

“Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?” Rory asked.

“Wait and see,” Benny said. “Good-bye, Mrs. Wren. Something here just gave me a new idea. If it helps, I’ll let you know. Let’s go, Rory.”

It didn’t take long for the boys to ride home.

“Have you thought of some place new to look?” Rory asked. “Do you think you know where the coins are?”

“We’ll find out,” Benny said, and he climbed up the stairs ahead of Rory. He ran into Rory’s room.

“Here in my room?” Rory asked. “Where?”

Benny didn’t say a thing. He walked over to the wall by Rory’s bed. He took down the framed6 photograph of the house, the one made when Stephanie lived there.

“What are you going to do with that?” Rory asked. “We looked at that picture and took it down the first day I was here. I remember that.”

“That’s right,” Benny said. “We looked at the picture. But remember what Stephanie said, ‘Look on the back of the house.’” As he said this, Benny turned the picture over.

“‘Don’t break the glass,’” Rory said. “Benny, do you think she meant the glass on the front of the picture?”

“I do!” said Benny. “Look—there’s cardboard7 on the back. We looked before and saw these little nails that hold the cardboard in place. I’m going to take them out.”

Rory held his breath while Benny tried to pull the small nails loose. But they were rusty8 and would not come out. His fingers weren’t strong enough.

“I’ll get the pliers,” Rory said. “What do you expect to find? Another clue?”

Benny shook his head. “I have another idea. You get the pliers. I’ll wait.”

Benny shook the picture gently. Nothing rattled9. But Benny did not look disappointed. He waited, and Rory ran into the room with the pliers.

Violet10 followed Rory. She said, “I heard you boys come in. What is it?”

“I have an idea,” Benny said. “Perhaps I understand what Stephanie was telling her father.”

He took the pliers. He pulled out the rusty nails as fast as he could. They came out easily.

“Lift out the cardboard, Ben,” Rory said. “Be careful. It’s very old.”

Benny pried11 off the cardboard. It was not easy to get out. As he lifted it up he caught his breath. There was something under the cardboard.

Benny, Violet, and Rory saw what was behind the cardboard at the same time. “Oh, oh!” they exclaimed. “There they are!”

Nobody moved. They sat and gazed12 at the back of the photograph as if they were stunned13.

The back of the photograph was covered with the same blue cloth as the coin case. The coins were stuck on the cloth in neat rows of five, glued in place.

As soon as they were over the first surprise, Rory said, “They are on the back of the house! And we didn’t have to break the glass!”

“How did you ever think of looking there?” Violet asked.

Benny laughed and said, “You’ll never guess. I got the idea in the Jenny Wren Shop.”

“Tell me,” Violet begged.

“Well, there were buttons like coins sewed on cards,” Benny said. “We’d been thinking about the coins stacked14 in a little box or something. We never thought how easy it would be to spread them out—just like this.”

Rory nodded. “They don’t take up much room. Nobody ever guessed they were in the picture frame. How many are there?”

Benny counted. There were five rows and ten coins in each row. That made fifty coins altogether. Big ones, little ones, gold ones, and copper16 ones.

This was the old Blue Collection that Stephanie Shaw had made so many years ago!

Violet was the first to speak. She said, “Of course the first thing to do is to show them to Grandfather. I know he hoped we would find them.”

Benny said, “Here, Violet, you carry the coins. They are sure to drop off if I try it.”

Violet lifted the picture very slowly and the three children went down the stairs to Mr. Alden’s home office.

As they were almost at the foot of the stairs, Benny called out, “Found! Found! We have found the coins, Grandfather!”

Henry and Jessie heard Benny. Henry called, “Ben! You found them? I can’t believe it!”

“You don’t mean the Blue Collection? The whole of it?” demanded Mr. Alden. He got up quickly from his desk.

“I think so,” answered Benny. “They are all stuck on blue cloth.”

“Bright blue,” added Violet. “Like the cases.”

Grandfather sat down again. Violet laid the coins on the desk in front of him.

“I can’t believe it!” said Grandfather. “I just can’t believe that these are the coins from little Stephanie Shaw.”

Grandfather looked sharply17 at the coins. He tried to lift one to see the back. “Stuck with glue,” he said. “Now where did you children find this?”

“Turn it over, Granda, and you’ll see,” said Rory. He was having the time of his life.

Mr. Alden turned the whole cardboard over and saw the photograph.

Henry exclaimed, “Right on the back of the very picture of our house. Stephanie told the truth. It is on the back of the house.”

“And her father never found it,” Violet said, a little sadly.

“I guess Stephanie thought the Shaws were coming back. Or perhaps something kept her father from following the clues,” Jessie said. “So the coins have been safely hidden all this time.”

Violet said suddenly, “We promised to tell Mrs. Wren if we found the coins. I’ll telephone the shop.”

She went at once to the telephone. Soon the family heard her say, “Yes, Mrs. Wren. We’ll come over soon to tell you the whole story. You’ll hardly believe it.”

Then she came back and sat down with the others.

“What are we going to do with the coins?” Benny asked his grandfather.

“Well, I think the time has come to call my friend, Professor Nichols,” he said.

“Will he come?” asked Benny.

“Oh, he’ll come all right if he hears the word ‘coin,’” said Mr. Alden. “You children will have to get another room ready for a guest.”

“That’s nothing,” said Benny. “Getting a room ready is the best thing we do.”

“When will you call him, Granda?” asked Rory. He wanted to see this professor who knew so much.

“This very minute,” said Mr. Alden with a smile. “When he comes, you must all be ready for his strange looks. He is a rather odd15 person. His hair is snow white, although he is not any older than I am. He never wears a hat, not even in winter. He is a wonderful person. You will be lucky to meet him.”

Mr. Alden found the telephone number and in a moment he was saying, “Hello, Andrew. This is James Alden.”

“You don’t say so!” answered a booming18 voice. The children could hear every word. “What’s the trouble?”

“No trouble,” replied Grandfather. “Just a few old coins turned up. My—”

“Say no more,” interrupted Professor Nichols. “I’ll come as soon as I can get a plane. You knew I’d say that, didn’t you?”

Grandfather laughed and answered, “We’ll meet your plane. You’ll know me because I will have five young people with me.”

“I’d know you anyway, anywhere,” said the professor’s voice. “Without any children at all.”

As Mr. Alden hung up the telephone he said, “Same old friend! Same old Andrew!”

“It’s lucky that you know Professor Nichols, Grandfather,” Benny said. “I don’t know anyone at all who could help us with the coins. But I guess we could have gone to the library for a book on coin collecting.”

“Yes, I’m sure the library has many books on coins,” said Grandfather with a quick nod. “But Professor Nichols is a real expert. He is just the man to ask about the hidden coins. After all, he knew Stephanie and her father many years ago.”

A day later Henry drove the station wagon19 to the airport. The Aldens could hardly wait for the plane to come in. When they saw Professor Nichols leaving the plane, they knew that Mr. Alden was right. People stared at the great man. His long white hair blew in the light breeze20.

“I came right away, James,” said Professor Nichols. “You know I will go almost anywhere if I can find a new coin.”

Mr. Alden said, “I know that very well, Andrew. I’m glad to get some coins together just to get you to come here to visit me. We have about fifty coins.”

“I can hardly wait to see them,” said the professor.

Henry had already turned the car around and was driving out of the airport.

“And the coins? Shall I see them at once?” asked the visitor.

“Just as soon as we get home, Andrew,” said Grandfather, smiling at Jessie. “I told you he would not pay much attention to anything but coins.”

The minute the car stopped in the driveway in front of the Alden house, they all took the professor into the dining room. The blue card was on the table before him.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wren veCzKb     
n.鹪鹩;英国皇家海军女子服务队成员
参考例句:
  • A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
  • My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信,一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。
2 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?
3 frame LfMzs     
n.框架,结构,体格;vt.构成,设计,制定,使适合,陷害; 框架,(是指在数据链路层中,将网络层数据包加上开始与结尾信息包组成一个框架)
参考例句:
  • The house has a wooden frame which is faced with brick.这个房子是木质结构的砖瓦房。
  • We must frame up that picture.我们必须给那幅画装上框。
4 exclaimed 68e477dcdab3965d2189fb7276ee5041     
vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊,惊叫,大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 knitting GpQzeQ     
n.编结物;接合,联合;[外科]骨愈合v.(使)愈合( knit的现在分词);编结,编织;(使)紧密地结合;织平针
参考例句:
  • Weaving and knitting are traditional cottage industries. 编织和针织是传统的家庭手工业。
  • manipulative skills such as typing and knitting 诸如打字、编织这样的技能
6 framed 5sxzd5     
框架坝,框架建筑,榫构合
参考例句:
  • The prisoner claimed that he had been framed up by his enemies. 囚犯声称他受到了仇人的诬陷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He framed his life according to a noble pattern. 他以高尚的模式构筑自己生活的框架。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 cardboard DTGyB     
n.硬纸板,卡纸板
参考例句:
  • She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
  • There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
8 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
9 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
10 violet 8h3wm     
adj.紫色的;n.紫罗兰
参考例句:
  • She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
  • Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的,和平的和力量的颜色。
11 pried 4844fa322f3d4b970a4e0727867b0b7f     
v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的过去式和过去分词 );撬开
参考例句:
  • We pried open the locked door with an iron bar. 我们用铁棍把锁着的门撬开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • So Tom pried his mouth open and poured down the Pain-killer. 因此汤姆撬开它的嘴,把止痛药灌下去。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
12 gazed 1ed4e09c62baf0bcfc59a52a3a1f67ec     
v.凝视,注视( gaze的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He gazed at her with pure adoration. 他一往情深地注视着她。
  • She gazed at him in amazement. 她惊异地注视着他。
13 stunned 735ec6d53723be15b1737edd89183ec2     
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
  • The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。
14 stacked 72a882b9d76cf9ee6d683ef1be82a3e7     
v.堆积( stack的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • a table stacked with glasses 摆满了玻璃杯的桌子
  • I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers. 我把衬衫和内衣塞进两个抽屉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 odd P5szQ     
adj.奇特的;临时的;奇数的;n.[pl.]机会
参考例句:
  • She looks a bit odd.I wonder what has happened to her.她的神色有些异样,不知出了什么事。
  • He's an odd character and no mistake!他的确是个怪人!
16 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。
17 sharply UiRziL     
adj.锐利地,急速;adv.严厉地,鲜明地
参考例句:
  • The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
  • Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。
18 booming mxKzi6     
adj.急速发展的v.激增( boom的现在分词 );猛涨;发出隆隆声;以低沉有力的声音说话
参考例句:
  • The opera singer has a deep, booming, masculine voice. 这位歌剧演唱家有一副深沉而又浑厚有力的嗓音。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He is booming as a teacher. 作为一位教师,他日趋成功。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 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。
20 breeze 7sRzv     
n.微风;轻而易举的事;vi.来去匆匆,急速走
参考例句:
  • A little breeze is blowing in from the window.微风从窗户里吹进来。
  • The clouds are pale and a light breeze is blowing.云淡风轻。
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