儿童英语读物 小木屋之谜 The Woodshed Mystery Chapter 10 重探小木屋

CHAPTER 10
Back to the Woodshed

The next day Maggie saw an old man in overalls¹ coming to the back door. He had a basket of eggs.

“Are you selling eggs?” Maggie asked.

“Yep,” said the old man.

“Where did you come from?” she asked again.

“Beans’,” said the man.

Benny heard him from the next room. He laughed. He said to Violet, “He doesn’t talk much, does he?”

“I wonder who he is?” said Violet.

“I know who he is,” said Benny. “He is the Beans’ hired man. I saw him working there when I went over.”

Maggie told the man, “We will have plenty of eggs later. Sam is going to raise chickens.”

“Yep,” said the man.

“We do want two dozen eggs now,” Maggie went on. “Put them in this pan.”

Benny and Violet listened.

“Have you lost any more eggs?” asked Maggie.

“Yep,” said the man.

“Can’t you say anything but ‘yep’?” Maggie laughed.

“No,” said the man. He did not laugh.

“Well, come every week,” said Maggie. “What’s your name?”

“Willie,” said the man.

“My, my! A grown man called Willie! You ought to be William.”

The man did not answer. Then he left.

Benny went into the kitchen at once. “What’s the matter with him?” he asked. “Can’t he talk?”

“Well,” said Maggie, “he doesn’t act very smart to me. Maybe he doesn’t know very much. Not very bright. He can’t help that. Maybe he’s a good worker. He sells very nice eggs.”

“Hi! Come on!” called Henry from outside. “I’ve got a bigger flashlight this time. It will last longer.”

Very soon Henry, Benny, and the two girls were on their way to the woodshed. Sam had to stop his work and go with them.

“I’ll never get anything done,” said Sam. But he smiled.

“I don’t think it will be much longer now,” said Henry mysteriously. “Do any of you know why all those things were taken out of the woodshed?”

“I think I do,” said Violet. “Somebody found my flowers on the table.”

“Right!” said Henry. “And then why were the things put back?”

“I bet someone saw us,” said Benny, “and said, ‘Oh, it’s only children!’”

“Good, Benny. That’s what I think too,” replied Henry. “We’ll be careful this time to leave everything just as it is now.”

“Do you want me to stay outside and watch?” asked Sam.

“Yes, I think that would be best, wouldn’t it?” said Jessie. “We’ll take Watch down in the hole with us. If you see anyone, just call.”

Soon the four children and the dog were down in the hole. The flashlight was very bright.

“Almost as bright as day,” said Benny, looking around. Watch was already in the tunnel, smelling around, wagging² his tail. Henry followed him. He had to bend over.

Soon Henry called back, “This isn’t a tunnel! It’s just a big room. I can almost stand up.”

Jessie followed him. She said, “This was certainly a storehouse. All kinds of things are on the floor. Don’t fall over them.”

Benny came in. He said, “Let’s put the light in the middle, Henry. Then we can look at every single thing. What are the little red balls all over the floor?”

“I think they are bullets,” said Henry. “They are all rusty³. That makes them look red. Pick them all up.”

“Oh, Violet, I wish we had a bag!” cried Jessie.

“We have,” said Violet. She held up what looked like a small, folded piece of cloth. But when she shook it out, it was a large bag folded up many times. When it was open, it was enormous.

“How do you think of everything, Violet?” said Jessie. “That will hold all we find.”

“All but this,” shouted Benny. He dug out a flintlock. It was almost buried in the dirt.

“Just exactly like the other!” cried Violet.

“That settles it,” said Henry. “This was a hiding place for ammunition⁴.”

Jessie added, “Only somebody has been here lately. It must be the one who lives in this woodshed.”

“I just wonder who it could be!” said Violet. “Who would want to hide here these days?”

“Look here!” cried Jessie. “I almost fell over this!” She held up an old milking stool⁵ with three legs.

Henry looked at it. “I can just see one of those soldiers sitting on that stool with a candle!”

“What do you see him doing, Henry?” asked Benny.

“Well, packing bullets and cartridges⁶ and gunpowder⁷ in candle boxes.”

At last they could not find anything more. They went up the steps and put the cover over the hole. Then they went home with their treasures. Sam had not seen anyone.

When Aunt Jane had seen everything, she looked at the four children. She said, “I think we are soon going to find a very exciting story. Mr. Cole has come to spend the summer with his brother, and he wants to see you right away!”

1 overalls   

n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣

参考例句：

• He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
• He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤，换上了一套西服。

2 wagging   

adj.（左右）摆动，摇摆，摇动v.（使）摇动，摇摆( wag的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The dog ran up, wagging its tail. 那条狗摇着尾巴跑上前去。
• A dog reacts to kindness by wagging its tail. 狗摇尾巴以报答人们的爱护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 rusty   

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。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 stool   

n.凳子；粪便；根株；v.长出新枝，排便

参考例句：

• The stool is steady enough.这个凳子很稳。
• The boy was straining at stool.那个男孩在用力大便。

6 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

7 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。