儿童英语读物 The Outer Space Mystery CHAPTER 2 The Cabin in the Glen

Jessie grabbed Benny’s hand and ran toward the dormitory. Lightning flashed all around them. The claps of thunder were deafening 1.



Everyone scurried 2 for shelter. Jessie and Benny raced inside the Seneca Building, just ahead of Violet and Henry. Mark Jacobs was right behind them.



A fire blazed in the huge stone fireplace. Several people gathered around the warmth of the flames.



“I am so wet!” cried Violet as she plopped down on the hearth 3 to dry off. “Those raindrops were cold!”



“That was a mountain cloudburst,” said Mark, wringing 4 out his soggy tie. “Definitely not a gentle summer shower.”



Thunder rocked the building.



Benny’s eyes grew round. “This storm is very noisy,” he said, trying to be brave.



“It’ll be over soon,” Mark assured him. “One thing about weather up here — it changes quickly. If it’s clear tomorrow night, I’ll let you look through the telescope.”



“Can we see Jupiter?” asked Henry.



“Sure,” said Mark. “I wish I could show you Saturn 5, too. But it rises much later. You’d have to get up very early in the morning, while it’s still dark out.”



“I always get up really early,” Benny bragged 6. The storm was rumbling 7 down the mountain and he felt braver.



“But first you have to go to bed,” said a familiar voice.



“Grandfather,” said Violet. “Where were you?”



“Able Porter and I waited out the rain in the main building. But before we got there we were soaked,” replied James Alden. “I’m going to toast by the fire a bit. You children should go on up to bed. You’ve had a busy day.”



After saying good night, the Aldens went upstairs. Jessie and Violet unlocked their door and went into room six.



Henry got out the key to his and Benny’s room.



“It’s already open,” whispered Benny. He pushed on the door, which swung inward. “Maybe somebody’s in there!”



“Let me go in first,” Henry cautioned. He stepped carefully into the room, switching on the light.



First he checked under the beds and then in the tiny bathroom. But no one was hiding.



“All clear,” Henry told Benny.



“Who was in our room?” Benny asked.



“I don’t know,” Henry replied. “But I know the door was locked. Somebody came in while we were at the cookout. Is anything missing?”



“Hey!” cried Benny. “There were four apples in the basket. I ate one. But look!” He held up two apples. “Somebody took an apple.”



A sharp rap on the doorjam caused them both to jump.



Hazel Watson came into the room. “I heard your conversation from the hall. Is anything wrong?”



“Somebody broke into our room,” Henry told her. “We found the door unlocked.”



“Oh, dear,” said the housekeeper 8. “I hope nothing is missing.”



“An apple,” Benny reported.



“Are you sure the door was locked, Henry?” Hazel asked. “People have been arriving for the conference all evening. Maybe one of them accidently went into your room.”



Now Henry wasn’t so certain. “Maybe I was wrong,” he said. “Sorry to bother you.”



“No trouble. See you in the morning,” Hazel said, pulling the door shut behind her.



Henry went over to the window to close the blinds. Suddenly he slipped and nearly fell.



There was a puddle 9 of water beneath the window.



“Water!” he exclaimed. “How did that get here?”



Then it came to him. Whoever had broken into their room might have been at the cookout. Drenched 10 from the storm, the intruder had dripped on the floor.



Benny bent 11 down. “What is this?” He held up a damp, pale blue piece of paper.



“It looks like a gum or candy wrapper,” Henry observed. “The person must have dropped it.”



“You know what this means?” Benny exclaimed. “We have a new mystery to solve!”



The next morning was sparkling and sunny. The rain had left the campus fresh and green.



In the dining room, the Aldens sat at a table by a big window. The room buzzed with the chatter 12 of scientists. Grandfather was attending a special breakfast meeting.



Violet put down her menu. “Ugh! Who’d want mountain trout 13 for breakfast?”



“Fresh-caught trout is supposed to be good,” Henry said. “But I’m with you, Violet. I can’t face fish this early.”



Rachel Cunningham came over to take their orders. She wore a cheerful pink sweater, but no smile.



Jessie wondered why the girl seemed so unhappy. It was a beautiful day. Who could be glum 14 under such blue skies?



Jessie smiled at Rachel when she brought the Aldens’ orders, but Rachel didn’t respond.



While the Aldens spooned up oatmeal with maple 15 syrup 16 and raisins 17, they discussed the new mystery.



“You should have shown the puddle and that wrapper to Hazel,” Jessie said to Henry. “That’s proof somebody was in your room.”



“Hazel had already left,” Henry said. “Anyway, she thinks someone just went in there by accident.”



“If the person didn’t take anything, maybe it was an accident,” Violet mused 18.



Benny waved his spoon. “They took one of my apples!”



“I guess he — or she — was hungry,” said Henry.



“But he couldn’t have been hungry if he’d just come in from the cookout,” Jessie pointed 19 out.



Henry buttered a corn muffin. “We don’t know for sure that the person was at the cookout. Maybe he just got caught in the storm.”



Just then Randy Merchant walked by, carrying a Styrofoam cup of juice. “Hey, guys!” he greeted. “When you finish, come by the observatory 20. I’ll show you the telescope.”



“Oh, boy!” Benny said, stuffing half a muffin in his mouth. “Let’s hurry!”



Violet laughed. “Benny! The telescope isn’t going anywhere.” But she was eager to visit the observatory, too.



“Good breakfast,” Jessie said when Rachel cleared their plates. “Thanks.”



“Don’t thank me,” she said shortly. “I’m not the cook.”



As the Aldens went outside, Jessie remarked, “I wonder why Rachel is so unfriendly.”



“Maybe she’s just having a bad day.” Henry indicated a sign beside a graveled path. “The observatory is this way.”



The trail wound upward, between jagged rocks and thick bushes. The children were out of breath when, a while later, they reached a windowless building capped by a white dome 21.



“We’re on the very top of the mountain,” said Henry as they headed toward the building. “You can see the campus down there.”



They opened the door to the building and walked down a hall lined with desks and bookcases. At the end of the hall another door stood open.



“Come in!” Randy’s voice echoed from within.



The children stepped into a huge round room. The ceiling curved overhead like the inside of an egg. In the center of the room was a large cylinder 22-shaped object.



Randy Merchant stood at the base of the instrument, holding a pair of pliers. “Welcome,” he said, grinning.



Henry looked up, marveling at the enormous structure. “We’re inside the dome, aren’t we?”



“There’s a big crack in it,” Benny said, pointing to a narrow slit 23 in the roof. “You should get it fixed 24.”



Randy laughed. “The slit is supposed to be there. The roof slides open when the telescope is in use.” He patted the huge cylinder. “I told you it was a beauty.”



“Can we look through it?” asked Benny.



“I’m doing some maintenance on it right now,” Randy replied. “But I’ll tell you about it. This is a twenty-four-inch reflecting telescope.”



“How does it work?” asked Henry. He was interested in mechanical devices.



Randy adjusted a wheel on the side of the telescope. “There are two types of telescopes,” he explained. “Refracting and reflecting. Both types gather light and send it toward the eye of the viewer. Refracting telescopes use a lens. Reflecting telescopes use a mirror. Both types of lenses allow you to see objects very far away.”



“Speaking of far away, why is this building so far from the rest of the college?” Jessie wanted to know.



“Good question,” said Randy. “Observatories are always located in high places, like a mountaintop. The air is clearer up here and we are farther away from city lights. You want a really dark sky so you can see the stars.”



Henry touched the sleek 25 white metal of the telescope. “Are you an astronomer 26 like Mark Jacobs and Eugene Scott?”



“Oh, you’ve met those two already,” Randy said with a chuckle 27. “No, I’m not a student. I work for the college, keeping the telescope in working order. I’m also a writer,” he added proudly.



“I’m a writer, too,” Benny put in. “I can write my name. I can write Watch’s name, too.”



“Watch is our dog back home,” Jessie told Randy. “What have you written?”



Randy went over to a desk and pulled out a box.



“These are my journals,” he said. “I write down everything the astronomers 28 do. Even what they eat for snacks. Mark likes peanut butter sandwiches. Eugene Scott eats anything. I hope to get an article published about young astronomers in a science magazine.”



Henry glanced at the clock over the desk. “This has been great, but we should let you get back to work.”



“Come back tonight,” Randy urged. “Mark will show you the stars like you’ve never seen them.”



The Aldens went back outside and down the mountain. It was too early for lunch. They decided 29 to walk through the campus and down the main drive.



“Here’s that trail we saw on the way in,” said Henry.



“But Randy told us to stay away from it,” Violet said.



“But he wouldn’t say why,” said Benny.



“I’m sure he has a good reason —” Jessie began, but a thrashing noise in the woods cut her off.



The children caught a glimpse of a small animal running down the trail.



“What was that?” Violet exclaimed.



“Let’s follow it and find out!” Henry cried.



They hiked a while, swatting gnats 30 and looking for the animal they’d seen. Then the trail became narrower and fainter until it disappeared altogether.



“I think we should go back,” Jessie said.



“I do, too,” agreed Henry. “But which way is back?”



Violet gazed down into the hollow. “Is that a chimney?” she said to the others. “It must belong to a cabin.”



Jessie stared at the stone chimney. “I don’t remember any cabin near the college. I think we’re lost!”