儿童英语读物 The Camp-Out Mystery CHAPTER 5 Loud Dreams

Violet awoke with a start. She thought she had heard something. She sat up in her sleeping bag. On the other side of the tent, Watch was alert, his ears up, listening. Violet seemed to be the only one of the Aldens in the big tent who was awake. She got up and peeked 1 outside. The woods were wrapped in mist.



Jessie came up behind Violet. “What’s the matter?” she asked her sister.



“I thought I heard something,” Violet said. She and Jessie started toward the dining tent.



“Music?” Jessie asked.



“Loud music,” Violet answered. “Did you hear it, too?”



Jessie nodded. “I thought I was dreaming. Where do you suppose it was coming from?”



Violet shook her head. “I don’t know. At first, I thought it was someone’s radio—another camper’s maybe. But it kept getting louder. It seemed to be coming from just over there.” She pointed 2 toward the trees at the edge of their camp.



“And then it faded,” Jessie said. “Maybe someone walked past carrying a radio.”



“I don’t think so,” Violet said. “It was too dark to be hiking in the woods.”



“Whoever it was might know the woods well,” Jessie suggested. “And maybe they had a lantern.”



“But why would anyone want to play loud music like that in the middle of the night? Especially if they were hiking in the woods?” Violet wondered.



“To scare animals?” Jessie suggested.



“I don’t know,” Violet said. “It just doesn’t make sense. And I heard something else: someone or something moving around out here. Watch heard it, too.”



“Well, it’s quiet now,” Jessie said.



“And it’s getting light,” Violet added. “I don’t think I can get back to sleep.”



“A nice hot shower would feel good,” Jessie said.



“Yes,” Violet agreed.



While the others slept, Jessie and Violet got out clean clothes and followed the path to the bathhouse. It was a big building divided into two parts: one for men; one for women. Inside each section, a line of sinks faced a line of showers.



When they were dressed in clean jeans and T-shirts, they walked back to camp.



At the site, Henry was up and setting the table. “I used the plastic tablecloth,” he said. “I thought we should save the blue one for dinnertime.”



Henry put a bowl of fruit on the table next to the lantern. The red apples, yellow bananas, and green grapes made a colorful centerpiece.



Benny brought out the cereal boxes. “I can’t find the honey,” he told the others.



“It was in the big box with the cereal and crackers,” Jessie said.



Benny shrugged 3. “I didn’t see it there.”



Jessie went back to the kitchen tent with him. She glanced into the box, but she didn’t see the squeeze bottle of honey either. She lifted everything out and looked inside. “That’s strange,” she said. “The honey isn’t here.”



Henry saw something on the ground next to the cooler. He reached down and picked it up. It was the honey.



“How do you suppose it got out of the box?” Jessie wondered aloud.



Benny glanced to either side of him. “Are there bears in these woods?” he asked.



“It was probably just a raccoon or something,” Violet assured him. That would explain the noise she heard.



Mr. Alden emerged from the tent. “Good morning, children,” he said. “You’re up early.”



“Good morning, Grandfather,” Jessie and Benny chorused.



“Breakfast is ready,” Henry said. “I’m afraid there’s no coffee, though. We didn’t make a fire to heat the water.”



“Orange juice and cereal are just fine,” Grandfather said.



They all sat down and poured their favorite cereal into bowls. Benny sliced a banana on top of his cornflakes.



“Did everyone sleep well?” Mr. Alden asked.



“I dreamed I was listening to an orchestra,” Henry said. “Suddenly, the music got louder and louder.”



Benny looked surprised. “I dreamed about loud music, too,” he said.



Violet and Jessie exchanged glances. “That wasn’t a dream,” Jessie said. “We heard loud music, too!”



“So did I,” Mr. Alden put in. “It didn’t last long, but it was very disturbing.”



“I wonder where it came from,” Henry said.



“Some camper with his radio volume turned up,” Mr. Alden suggested.



“That’s what we thought,” Violet said, “but it got so loud it sounded as though it were near us.”



“And then it faded,” Jessie added.



“Well, I just hope they don’t do that every night,” Benny said. “I don’t like loud dreams.”



Violet and Benny put the napkins and other dry garbage in the center of the fire pit, and put a log on top so it wouldn’t blow away. They set the wet garbage at the edge of the pit to dry. They would burn it later.



Jessie and Henry washed off the spoons and knives in the brook 4.



“We’ll heat water later to wash them properly,” Jessie said.



“What do you children want to do today?” Mr. Alden asked.



“Go exploring!” they all said at once.



“Run along then,” he said.



“Don’t you want to come with us, Grandfather?” Violet asked.



Mr. Alden shook his head. “Thank you, no. I think I’d like to stay here and read.” He opened a magazine he had brought with him.



“We won’t be too long,” Jessie said.



“Take all the time you want,” Mr. Alden said. “Just don’t get lost. The woods can be tricky 5. They can make a person lose all sense of direction.”



Henry held up a silver compass. “We won’t get lost with this,” he assured their grandfather.



Jessie packed some fruit and trail mix for their trip. Now they were ready to go. Watch followed them to the hiking path.



“You stay here with Grandfather,” Jessie told him.



“Take Watch with you,” Mr. Alden said. “With him along and the compass, I won’t worry about you getting lost.”



Violet paused to look at the dark buds on the maple 6 tree. She reached up and touched one. It felt like velvet 7. “These are ready to open,” she said. “We’ve come to the forest at a very good time.”