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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Missing Cat CHAPTER 9 Looking for Mr. Jones

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As they turned down the street where they lived, Jessie suddenly exclaimed1, “I have an idea! And I know it’s going to help us solve this mystery!”

“What is it?” asked Violet2.

“Yes, tell us,” urged Henry.

“Remember that man who called you, Violet?” Jessie asked her sister.

“Mr. Jones.” Violet nodded. “I remember.”

“He gave you a post office box to write to. Why don’t we write him a letter and tell him we have a lost cat.”

“But won’t that be a lie?” said Violet.

“No!” crowed Benny. “Because we do have a lost cat. The cat Professor Madison gave us.”

Jessie said, “That’s right. And when Mr. Jones gets our letter, he’ll call and we’ll tell him to come over and we can see who he is and ask him a few questions.”

“That’s a terrific3 idea,” said Henry.

“Thanks, Henry,” said Jessie. “We’ll write the letter this afternoon. If we take it to the post office, he might even get it tomorrow.”

“We could have another clue by tomorrow!” cried Benny. “Hooray, hooray!”

“Don’t say hooray yet,” Jessie warned. “Let’s see if this works4.”

That afternoon, right after lunch, the Aldens sat down at the kitchen table to write the letter. Henry did the writing, since he was the oldest, but everyone helped compose the letter. It read:

Dear Mr. Jones,

We have a lost cat like the one you were looking for. Please call us and you can come and see if she is yours.

Sincerely,

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden

Then Henry folded up the letter and carefully put their address on it. Grandfather Alden gave them a stamp and they walked down to the mailbox on the corner to mail it.

“We got here just in time,” said Jessie, reading the sign on the mailbox. “The last time they pick up here is in fifteen minutes.”

“Hurry, let’s mail the letter!” Benny cried.

“Here, Jessie,” said Henry. “You can mail it.” He gave the letter to Jessie. Henry held the mailbox open and Jessie carefully pushed the letter in.

“Will Mr. Jones get the letter tomorrow?” asked Benny.

“I hope so,” said Henry.

Benny looked at Henry seriously. “Spotzie has been away from home a long time. I’ll bet5 she’s homesick.”

But no one called about Spotzie the next morning, although the Aldens all stayed home.

At lunch, Grandfather Alden looked around. “Why is everyone so quiet?” he asked.

“We still haven’t found Spotzie,” said Jessie.

“And we don’t have any more clues,” added Violet.

“You mustn’t give up,” said Grandfather.

“We won’t,” said Jessie. “But it’s hard not to sometimes.”

“Stick to it,” said Grandfather. “That’s the important thing.”

Everyone nodded. They knew their grandfather was right. But it was hard not to worry.

Then, after everyone was finished with lunch, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it!” cried Violet. She picked up the phone. “Hello?” She smiled. “Oh, hello Mr. Jones. You got our letter? Do you . . .” Violet’s voice trailed off. The smile left her face. “Oh. Oh, I see. Are you sure? What kind of cat is yours? Mr. Jones? Hello? Mr. Jones?”

Slowly Violet hung up the phone.

“What is it?” demanded Jessie. “What did he say?”

Violet looked puzzled. “He said he’d found his cat. That we should keep the cat we have. She’s probably a very nice cat. But when I tried to ask him about his cat, he hung up on me!”

“This is very strange,” said Henry.

“What are we going to do now?” sighed Violet.

The Aldens went outside and sat down beneath the shade of an old oak6 tree by the old boxcar that had once been their home.

“What are we going to do now?” Violet repeated.

“Maybe we should talk to Professor Madison again,” said Henry.

Jessie said, “It’s true, she’s acted pretty strangely. But if that man really was trying to break into her house and steal the cat, that would explain it.”

“If she’s telling the truth,” said Henry.

“But why would Professor Madison steal a cat when she already has so many?” asked Violet.

“That’s true,” said Henry.

Suddenly Jessie said, “Whitney!”

Henry, Violet, and Benny looked at her in surprise. “What about Whitney?” asked Henry. “She couldn’t have had anything to do with Spotzie’s disappearance7. Spotzie disappeared before Whitney ever arrived.”

“But what if Whitney is the one making the mysterious phone calls? What if there is no Mr. Jones at all?” asked Jessie.

“Why would Whitney do that?” Benny wanted to know.

Jessie furrowed8 her brow9. “Because … because she thinks we’re just children and we can’t solve this case. Maybe it’s a practical joke?”

Benny shook his head. “It would be a mean joke!” he declared.

“I wonder if Whitney would do something like that?” said Violet. “I don’t think she would.”

After a moment, Jessie nodded her head in agreement with Violet. “You’re right, Violet. I guess I don’t think she would, either.”

“Well, what about Mr. Allen?” suggested Henry. “Did you notice he seemed surprised when he saw Spotzie’s photograph — almost as if he recognized her.”

“That’s true,” Jessie said.

“Yes, he did act surprised,” said Violet. “But why would he lie about ever having seen Spotzie?”

“Maybe he has Spotzie!” cried Benny.

“But why, Benny,” said Jessie. “Why would he want Spotzie when he has so many other beautiful cats?”

“Mr. Jones, whoever he is, is the most likely ‘cat burglar10.’ We have to find him to solve the mystery and find Spotzie.”

“But how?” said Jessie. “How are we going to find Mr. Jones?”

Henry said, “Wait a minute. I’ve thought of a way we could find Mr. Jones.”

“How?” cried Jessie excitedly.

“We wrote to him at a post office box,” said Henry. “Box number ninety-three. All we have to do is watch the post office and see who comes to get the mail out of that box.”

“Oh, Henry, that’s a wonderful idea!” exclaimed Violet.

“We’ll be like spies,” said Benny. “Will we need disguises11?”

Everyone smiled at that. “No, Benny,” said Henry. “But we will be like spies, sort of, watching for Mr. Jones to see who he really is.”

Benny nodded. “We can take Watch to watch for Mr. Jones.”

“We’ll do that,” said Henry. “We can take turns, Benny. You and Watch and Jessie can watch tomorrow morning. Then Violet and I will come up to watch for a while.”

“Can Soo Lee come, too?” asked Violet.

“Yes, of course,” said Henry. “The more people we have helping12 us, the better!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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》
2 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。
3 terrific 9pwwG     
adj.可怕的,极好的,非常的
参考例句:
  • The game was terrific.那场比赛棒极了。
  • Darren drove at a terrific speed.达伦以惊人的速度驾车。
4 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
5 bet ddZy8     
v.打赌,以(与)...打赌;n.赌注,赌金;打赌
参考例句:
  • I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说,你解决不了这个难题。
  • I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。
6 oak YHoxP     
n.栎树,橡树,栎木,橡木
参考例句:
  • The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
  • The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。
7 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
8 furrowed furrowed     
v.犁田,开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
  • The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠,在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句
9 brow RcTyx     
n.额,脑门子;眉毛,眉脊
参考例句:
  • The years have set their mark on his brow.年岁在他的额上打下了印记。
  • He wiped the sweat from his brow with his hands.他用手擦去了额头上的汗。
10 burglar rssz2     
n.窃贼,破门盗窃者
参考例句:
  • The policeman took the burglar by surprise as he opened the window.当夜盗开窗时,警察冷不防地捉住了他。
  • The man glanced the burglar climbing out of the window.那人瞥见小偷从窗户爬出来。
11 disguises 29b83cbfddab5ccec73e7be2c255931f     
n.伪装( disguise的名词复数 );伪装品v.假扮( disguise的第三人称单数 );化装;伪装;掩盖
参考例句:
  • But as they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too per fect. 正象他们不久就发现的那样,化装效果有时可能太完美无缺了。 来自《用法词典》
  • He has tried all sorts of disguises. 他曾经设法找各种借口。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
12 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。
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