儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Stolen Music CHAPTER 16 The Sounds of Music

Violet awoke early. By the time her family came down for breakfast, she had poured juice and made coffee for Grandfather.

“I wish I could be there for your rehearsal¹,” Mr. Alden told her, “but I have to work this morning.”

Violet was relieved. Having Mr. Alden in the audience during rehearsal might make her more nervous than she already was. “That’s all right, Grandfather,” she said. “You’ll hear us play at the concert.”

He finished his coffee and toast. “Good luck then,” he said and started out. At the door, he turned back. “And the rest of you, no more mysteries. Hear? You’ve solved enough for one week.”

They knew Grandfather was teasing. Last night, after they had told him all that had happened, he said, “You children attract mysteries the way a magnet attracts iron.” But they knew he was proud of them for having solved this latest puzzle.

The Aldens joined the stream of young people flowing into the auditorium². Inside, Melody was directing them to their places on stage. Excitement filled the air.

Violet didn’t seem at all nervous as she took her seat. She smiled to the string players near her and took out her violin.

One by one, the young musicians began to tune³ their instruments. Before long, the theater was vibrating with sound.

Benny put his hands over his ears. “It’s hard to believe they can sound so good later when they sound so awful now,” he said.

“I like to hear them tune their instruments,” said Jessie.

Henry agreed. “It’s exciting. It gets me ready to listen.”

“I’m already ready,” Benny said.

The first attempts were not good. Melody stopped the orchestra every few bars.

“Keep together,” she instructed gently.

Time and time again they started and stopped. Finally, they made it through an entire piece. After that, it seemed to get easier and sound better. By lunchtime they had played the entire program.

“Not bad for a first run-through,” Melody said. She told them to return late in the afternoon. Then, she dismissed them.

Early that afternoon, the adult orchestra held their final rehearsal. Later, it was the young people’s turn once again. Then, it was home to prepare for the big concert.

“I’ve never been to a real concert before,” Benny said. “I don’t know what to wear.”

“Your party best,” Jessie told him.

Mr. Alden was the last one downstairs. He wore a tuxedo⁴ and a stiff white shirt.

“You look very handsome,” Violet told him.

He smiled. “It seems to run in the family,” he said as he admired his grandchildren.

The Aldens had front row seats. As the auditorium filled, Benny kept looking around.

“There won’t be a seat left,” he said.

“You’re right,” Grandfather told him. “The house is sold out.”

The orchestra filed in and took their places. The audience hushed. Finally, the great Victor Perrelli entered. Everyone clapped. Victor bowed, then turned his back to the audience. He tapped for attention, paused, and raised his baton⁵. Every eye was on him, waiting expectantly.

“Start the music,” Benny whispered.

With a sharp downbeat, Victor did just that. The orchestra came to life. Victor swayed to the music, pointing to one section and then another. His baton was a magic wand, making all the different instruments sound beautiful together.

At intermission, the Aldens went out to the lobby. Mr. Alden stopped to visit with some old friends. The children went over to the display case to look at the Mozart score.

“Mozart’s music is so beautiful,” Violet said.

Janet Muller came up beside them. “I see the score is back.” She looked around as if to be sure no one was listening. Then, she leaned in close. “Do you know who took it?”

Jessie was about to answer when Victor came into the lobby. Seeing the children, he hurried over.

Janet’s hands fluttered nervously⁶. “Oh, my. Oh, dear,” she said. “There’s the maestro.” She stepped away as Victor approached.

It was nervous behavior like this that had made the Aldens suspect she was the thief.

“I haven’t had the chance to thank you for all you’ve done this week,” Victor told the Aldens.

“We were happy to help,” Henry said.

“We like solving mysteries,” Benny piped up.

Victor laughed. “You’re very good at it.”

Benny waved that away. “We’ve had lots of practice,” he said.

Still laughing, Victor drifted off. Awestruck, Janet watched him go. “What a talented man,” she said. “I have to go sit down — being around great stars like him makes me a bit light-headed.”

The last mystery was solved. Janet wasn’t nervous because she wasn’t hiding anything. She was just starstruck.

The second half of the concert was even better than the first. Melody’s solo was a showstopper. At the end of the performance, the audience rewarded the orchestra with ten full minutes of applause.

At the reception afterward⁷, Victor looked sad.

“That was a wonderful performance,” Mr. Alden said to him. “You should be very proud.”

“The orchestra played flawlessly,” Victor responded. “The praise is theirs. I’m just sorry Bob couldn’t be here.”

It was clear that Bob Weldon was not the only one who would suffer because of his actions.

The Aldens left the reception early so that Violet could get a good night’s rest. But she had trouble sleeping. Long after the others were in bed, the sweet strains of violin music drifted through the house.

In the morning, Benny brought his bear down to breakfast. Made from old stockings, it had been with him since their boxcar days. “I thought you might like to take Stockings, Violet. For luck.” He held out the bear to his sister.

Violet was pleased. “Oh, Benny,” she said, “that is so nice. But there’s no place to put him onstage.”

Benny wasn’t the least bit disappointed. He had already thought about that. “You could put him in your violin case.”

“But our instrument cases will be in a room offstage.”

“That’s okay,” Benny assured her. “It’ll still work.”

Soo Lee and her parents, Joe and Alice, were waiting in the lobby. One by one, the Aldens gave Violet a hug and wished her well.

Victor and Melody ushered⁸ the young musicians and their families into the auditorium.

“Come, children,” Victor said, “and we will make beautiful music together.”

Janet Muller rushed up to the door. She thrust an open book and a pen under Violet’s nose. “Would you please give me your autograph, Violet?” she asked shyly.

Violet was surprised. “You don’t want my signature,” she said. “I’m nobody famous.”

Janet said, “Who knows … ”

Victor, Melody, and the Aldens chimed in, “ … Maybe one day.”

Violet smiled as she signed her name. After the n in Alden, she drew a graceful⁹ flourish.

1 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

2 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 tuxedo   

n.礼服，无尾礼服

参考例句：

• Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢，你有自己的燕尾服。
• Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗？

5 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

6 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。