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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
We need a really good grocery list,” Jessie told the others. “Cap wants Grandfather’s dinner to be special.”
“And it’s our last chance to cook for Cap,” Henry added. Everyone wanted to add something. It was late when they finally finished the list and went to bed.
They were barely asleep when the wind rose. Before Jessie and Henry could even get the windows closed, a cold rain came blowing in, too. Lightning sliced across the sky, followed by crashing thunder.
“Come on, Henry,” Jessie cried, pulling the yellow oilskin ponchos2 from the hooks by the door. “I’ll check the chicken house windows. You check on Pilot.”
Leaning into the driving rain, Jessie ran to the henhouse while Henry closed the windows and doors of the barn. Violet and Benny were huddled3 together under a dry blanket watching the storm when they got back inside. The thunder had wakened Cap. He stood in the door, frowning. “You kids all right? Not scared, are you?”
Violet shook her head. “It’s beautiful,” she said.
The thunder finally growled4 away, but the rain kept coming. It settled into a slow steady drumming against the closed porch windows. It was still falling the next morning.
“We’re stuck here today,” Cap told them. “Possum Creek5 is probably up over our road.”
Violet made hot biscuits to eat with honey and scrambled6 eggs. “Maybe you’d like some of that canned ham with these biscuits,” Cap suggested.
“Let’s save it for when Grandfather comes,” Jessie said. “In case the storm keeps us from getting to town.”
Since they couldn’t work outside, the children cleaned the inside of Cap’s windows. After supper they made a hearth7 fire and roasted marshmallows until Cap went off to bed.
Henry went out to check on Pilot one last time. He came back within minutes, his poncho1 dripping. Jessie could tell from his face that he was upset. He motioned to the others to gather close. “Somebody’s been out there since I shut the barn up. One of the windows I had closed was open, and hay was scattered8 all over the barn floor again.”
“The wind could have done that,” Violet said, looking thoughtful. “Did you turn on the lights and look around?”
Henry shook his head. “I was afraid Cap would see them from his bedroom window.”
“I know where there’s a big flashlight,” Benny said. “I found it when I was straightening some shelves.”
Jessie reached for her shoes. “That’s wonderful. Let’s go out with the flashlight.”
“That’s a good idea,” Violet said. “We need to find an answer, even if it’s only the wind.”
“Do we all have to go?” Henry asked, looking at Benny.
“Don’t even think about leaving me here,” Benny told him. “After all, I’m the one who found the flashlight.”
Since they had only two ponchos, the children doubled up in them. They made their way to the barn between great puddles9 of rain. Henry stopped outside of the window he had found open. “There,” he said, shining the flashlight on the ground. “Footsteps, right in the mud.”
“Are you sure they’re not yours?” Violet asked.
“Positive,” Henry said, holding up his boot. “See, my soles are smooth, and these have a waffle weave on them.”
There were more waffle-weave footsteps inside the barn. The children looked at each other. “Why would anyone want to poke10 around out here during such a storm?” Jessie asked.
“Maybe they felt safe because the floodlight was off,” Henry suggested.
“And we couldn’t hear them for the thunder,” Benny added.
“But why do they come here at all? Why are they doing this? They can’t just be trying to scare Cap!” Violet said.
Jessie kicked some hay aside to clear a path. “Look, Henry,” she said. “Here’s a hole with a loose board over it that you missed.”
He knelt beside her and shook his head. “I didn’t miss it,” he said. “It’s been pried11 up again. See that old rusty12 nail I used to fasten it down?”
Violet was walking past Pilot’s stall when she stopped and stood frowning. “What’s wrong?” Benny asked her.
“It smells funny in here,” she said. “Not like wet hay and horses, but a sharp kind of smell.”
Henry sniffed13 and nodded. “That’s kerosene,” he said. “You know, the liquid they burn in lamps. I know the barn didn’t smell like that when I was in here before.”
“It’s dangerous to have that kind of lamp around all this loose hay,” Jessie said. “It could start a fire.”
“Lamp,” Violet cried. “Remember that funny flickering15 light we saw? If it had been a flashlight, someone would have pointed16 it ahead and up and down. But a lamp …”
“You’re right,” Henry said. “You carry a lamp with a handle that goes over the top. It would always be at about the same height. It would also seem to flicker14 when you went behind a tree or a fence post.”
Jessie sat down on an overturned bucket with her chin in her hands. “Who could be coming here to stamp around in the mud, carrying a lamp?”
“Or to dig holes in the barn and orchard17,” Benny added.
“Or to pick vegetables and steal a chicken and eggs?” Violet reminded them.
“We need two things, a who and a why,” Jessie said.
“If we could find out who it was, we’d probably know the why,” Henry told her.
Benny stood very still, thinking. “Do you remember what Mr. Edwards said about the pirates lying in wait to grab people?” he asked dreamily. “Couldn’t we do that? Then we’d grab the who, and make them tell us the why.”
Henry stared at Benny, then laughed softly. “There’s our Benny, figuring out exactly what needs to be done.”
“The hayloft,” Benny went on. “If we were hidden in the hayloft, we could see anyone who came in down here.”
“Nobody’s said anything about that strange scary whistling noise,” Violet reminded them. “Could that be some kind of a signal? If so, maybe there are at least two people in this gang.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Henry said. “We need to make a plan. Let’s go back to the cabin and figure out exactly what to do.”
“The door,” Benny whispered. “I just heard a door bang at the cabin.” When they rushed to the barn window to look out, they saw Cap in his white nightshirt leaning on his cane18 in the clearing. Then the awful whistle sounded from the direction of the orchard. It was dark in the shadow of the barn, but they could see a bulky shadow leaping away into the trees.
Violet gasped19. “There it is again. That’s the same thing I saw running away when I was in the henhouse.”
“The dwarf,” Benny whispered. As they spoke20, Cap turned and walked back toward the cabin.
“But now we do know something for sure,” Henry said. “There have to be at least two people. One person stands guard and whistles to the other one as a warning.”
“Let’s go figure out what to do,” Jessie said, shivering. “I can’t believe that they’ll dare come back tonight.”
收听单词发音 |
1
poncho
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| n.斗篷，雨衣 | |
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ponchos
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| n.斗篷( poncho的名词复数 ) | |
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3
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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puddles
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| n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 ) | |
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poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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pried
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| v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开 | |
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12
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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13
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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14
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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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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