儿童英语读物 小木屋之谜 The Woodshed Mystery Chapter 14 藏宝袋

CHAPTER 14
A Treasure Bag

Sam drove home slowly. Violet¹ and Benny sat on the front seat. This made room for Andy on the back seat with Henry and Jessie.

“Now the next thing is to tell Aunt Jane,” said Jessie. “I am worried about that.”

“Oh, that will be easy,” said Andy Bean. “I’ll tell her myself.”

“What will you tell her?” Violet asked softly².

“Well, I came home to Boston on a ship. I saw in the paper that the Aldens had bought the old house. So I thought I’d come up and see if I was welcome. I knew Willie would keep my secret. He knew me right away.”

“You were the one stealing all those eggs!” said Benny.

Andy laughed. “Well, they were really my own eggs, you see. Half that Bean farm belongs to me.”

“What will your brother say?” asked Henry. “You have been away so long.”

“I don’t want the farm,” Andy said. “Don’t you worry about me. The only thing is Jane. If she wants me to stay, that’s all I care about.”

They soon drove up to their own back door. “Oh, dear!” said Violet, “This is going to be so hard for Aunt Jane. She thinks you may be dead. She isn’t very strong.”

“That’s one reason I came home,” said Andy. “I’m strong enough for two.”

And he looked it.

Aunt Jane was sitting in her long chair in the back yard. She was shelling peas. She looked up at the children. Then she saw the stranger smiling at her. Her face changed. She cried, “Andy! Andy! You did come back! Henry, get a chair!”

“I don’t need a chair, Jane,” said Andy. He went over to the little lady and took her hand. “Glad to see me, Jane?”

“Oh, yes! I’d know you anywhere. Will you stay?”

“You bet³ I’ll stay!” said the tall man. “I have a long story to tell. But first I have something for you. Everywhere I went, I bought one of these for you.”

He took the pan⁴ of shelled peas out of her lap and gave her a small bag. “Open it.”

The children sat down on the grass. Andy sat down beside Aunt Jane. He did not seem old at all. Aunt Jane opened the bag and took out a box. She opened the box and looked in.

“They look like old, old stones,” said Benny.

“Very good, young feller,” said Andy. “That’s just what they are. Old, old stones.” He laughed.

Aunt Jane picked one up and looked at it carefully. It was not round. It was not square. It was very different looking. But Jessie saw a flash as the stone turned. “It’s blue!” she said.

“Yes, that one is blue,” said Andy. “It’s a sapphire⁵. These stones are not cut. Just as they came from the ground. I got that one in India. Everywhere I went, I bought you a jewel, Jane. Look at this one!” He picked up a stone that flashed green.

“An emerald!” said Aunt Jane. “It is enormous⁶! These must have cost you a fortune, Andrew.”

“Well, I didn’t want a fortune,” said Andy. “I wanted adventure. But now I’m through with adventure.”

“I don’t believe a word of it!” cried Aunt Jane, but she looked at Andy proudly.

Benny said, “Why didn’t you come home long ago?”

Andy said with a crooked⁷ smile, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Yes, I would,” said Benny nodding his head.

“I was afraid of Jane,” said Andy, speaking quietly. “She’s a tiny little thing, but I was afraid of her. And she left, too, to go out West. What was there to come back for?”

Jessie said, “I can understand. If Aunt Jane turned you down, you’d have nothing to live for.”

“That is exactly right, young lady,” cried Andy. “You have a lot of good sense.”

Aunt Jane looked at the jewels one by one. “For me?” she said. “I don’t need them all. Andy, let’s have the children each choose one to keep. I want them each to have a jewel.”

“Oh, boy!” said Benny. “I can tell you what everyone will choose.”

“All right. Go ahead, boy,” said Andy.

“Jessie will take a blue sapphire, Violet will take a purple amethyst⁸, Henry will take a green emerald, and I will take a red ruby⁹.”

“Right!” shouted everyone.

“There is a fortune in that box, sure enough,” said Andy. “But I found something under the woodshed that I think is more exciting.”

“Always looking for excitement, Andy,” said Aunt Jane smiling.

“Yes, I suppose I always will be,” said Andy. “But I am glad to stay at home now. I shall find plenty of excitement right here.”

“When are you going to show us what you found in the woodshed?” asked Benny.

“Oh, let’s wait!” Jessie said, looking at Aunt Jane and Andy Bean. “I’m sure that everyone is hungry.”

“Thank you,” said Andy. “I am hungry. What I found can wait a little longer.”

“Mercy!” cried Aunt Jane. “Andy’s hungry! Benny, run and tell Maggie to have lunch just as soon as she can.”

“No eggs!” Andrew called after him. “I’m sick of eggs.”

“I’ll tell Maggie,” shouted Benny. “But I’m sure lunch isn’t all eggs anyway!”

1 violet   

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。

2 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。

3 bet   

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。

4 pan   

n.平底锅；v.严厉批评

参考例句：

• The water had all boiled away and the pan was burned.水煮干了，锅也烧坏了。
• The eggs were frying in the pan.鸡蛋正在锅里煎。

5 sapphire   

n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的

参考例句：

• Now let us consider crystals such as diamond or sapphire.现在让我们考虑象钻石和蓝宝石这样的晶体。
• He left a sapphire ring to her.他留给她一枚蓝宝石戒指。

6 enormous   

adj.巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。

7 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

8 amethyst   

n.紫水晶

参考例句：

• She pinned a large amethyst brooch to her lapel.她在翻领上别了一枚大大的紫水晶饰针。
• The exquisite flowers come alive in shades of amethyst.那些漂亮的花儿在紫水晶的映衬下显得格外夺目。

9 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。